An often engaging New Orleans mystery with romantic and humorous touches.
In Sharma’s debut mystery, an unexpected inheritance brings a young woman to New Orleans, where she confronts a tangled legacy of family secrets.
Tess Parnell receives a mysterious letter in the mail informing her of a surprise windfall. It couldn’t come at a better time; in the last six months, she lost her school librarian job, her boyfriend dumped her, and her mother committed suicide. The letter, from a New Orleans law firm, says that she’s inherited some land in that city; the firm also represents an oil company that wants to buy the land from her. Tess decides to travel from Los Angeles to New Orleans to check things out and evaluate the firm’s $500,000 offer. It also gives her the chance to investigate her family history, about which she knows almost nothing; a yellowed newspaper clipping included in the law firm’s packet, for example, informs her for the first time that her grandfather was murdered many years ago. As she tracks down further clues, she meets several exciting and varied men while also enjoying New Orleans’ food, music, sights and unique atmosphere. Every step closer to the truth, however, brings her that much closer to danger. Sharma portrays New Orleans as beautiful, corrupt, complicated, secretive and tragic—far more than just an atmospheric backdrop for Tess’ genealogical investigations. She skillfully shows how the family betrayals, murders, lies and vengeance Tess uncovers are inextricably linked with New Orleans’ history, racial and sexual politics, and geography. The author handles dialogue (and dialect) well, which gives vitality to her large, varied cast, and she depicts Tess herself as likable, enterprising and sympathetic. However, the complicated family relationships, dating back several generations, may be hard for some readers to follow, and the frequent genealogical discussions become oppressive at times, even with the chart provided (which is difficult to read on an e-reader). At such points, the action sometimes bogs down, and more charts might have been helpful to illustrate some of the tangled relationships. That said, Sharma paces the novel well, gradually unfolding layers of mystery until the final truth is revealed.
An often engaging New Orleans mystery with romantic and humorous touches.Pub Date: May 9, 2013
ISBN: 978-1482786262
Page Count: 302
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Sept. 10, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.
Too much free time leads a New Hampshire bookseller into yet another case of murder.
Now that Tricia Miles has Pixie Poe and Mr. Everett practically running her bookstore, Haven’t Got a Clue, she finds herself at loose ends. Her wealthy sister, Angelica, who in the guise of Nigela Ricita has invested heavily in making Stoneham a bookish tourist attraction, is entering the amateur competition for the Great Booktown Bake-Off. So Tricia, who’s recently taken up baking as a hobby, decides to join her and spends a lot of time looking for the perfect cupcake recipe. A visit to another bookstore leaves Tricia witnessing a nasty argument between owner Joyce Widman and next-door neighbor Vera Olson over the trimming of tree branches that hang over Joyce’s yard—also overheard by new town police officer Cindy Pearson. After Tricia accepts Joyce’s offer of some produce from her garden, they find Vera skewered by a pitchfork, and when Police Chief Grant Baker arrives, Joyce is his obvious suspect. Ever since Tricia moved to Stoneham, the homicide rate has skyrocketed (Poisoned Pages, 2018, etc.), and her history with Baker is fraught. She’s also become suspicious about the activities at Pets-A-Plenty, the animal shelter where Vera was a dedicated volunteer. Tricia’s offered her expertise to the board, but president Toby Kingston has been less than welcoming. With nothing but baking on her calendar, Tricia has plenty of time to investigate both the murder and her vague suspicions about the shelter. Plenty of small-town friendships and rivalries emerge in her quest for the truth.
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0272-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
A murder is committed in a stalled transcontinental train in the Balkans, and every passenger has a watertight alibi. But Hercule Poirot finds a way.
**Note: This classic Agatha Christie mystery was originally published in England as Murder on the Orient Express, but in the United States as Murder in the Calais Coach. Kirkus reviewed the book in 1934 under the original US title, but we changed the title in our database to the now recognizable title Murder on the Orient Express. This is the only name now known for the book. The reason the US publisher, Dodd Mead, did not use the UK title in 1934 was to avoid confusion with the 1932 Graham Greene novel, Orient Express.
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 1934
ISBN: 978-0062073495
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dodd, Mead
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1934
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