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Reviews (4)
19 Aug, 2012
Good, but not a 5-Star Read.
Geraldine "Gerry" Porter got talked into serving as the chair of the summer craft fair. Granted, she was going to be there anyway selling what she could from her many dollhouses and miniatures. She even took advantage of her position to place herself next to Linda Reed, a friend and follow miniaturist.
But the fair hasn't been open long when Linda disappears only to call Gerry in the middle of the night from a pay phone in the middle of nowhere. When Gerry picks her up, Linda refuses to answer any questions. But the questions get even bigger when the body of an unidentified woman is discovered in the same location. What is going on? How is Linda connected? Can Gerry clear her friend or will her digging just create more problems?
This isn't a bad series debut at all. The plot starts a little slowly, but it builds quite nicely until I was quite hooked. Gerry is an endearing main character. And I loved her sidekicks, especially her granddaughter Maddie and nephew Skip. The small town was also charming, and I couldn't help but smile at all the references to Lincoln the book managed to work in.
But the book does have a couple problems as well. The biggest is Linda and her family. We are supposed to care for them and root for them to be cleared of the crimes. However, they aren't at all likable. Furthermore, the book occasionally gives way to asides. I don't mind a few, especially if they are humorous, but a few times they were clumped together and irritated me.
This is one of those books that I would enjoy while reading but really didn't want to sit down and read when I wasn't. I think I would give this book 3.5 stars if I could. I'm sure hobby enthusiasts will enjoy it much more then I did.
19 Aug, 2012
If I could give 3.5 I would
Ten years ago, at the age of twenty-nine, Clare Cosi used to manage the historic Village Blend located in the heart of Greenwich Village, New York, when she left to pursue a life in suburbia where she could raise her daughter. Now, at the age of thirty-nine, she's decided that the slow pace of New Jersey is beginning to bore her, so when she gets a call from Madame (the owner of the Village Blend) to come back as manager, Clare jumps at the chance. However, as she and her cat Java make their way into the Blend, Clare is startled to find Anabelle, the Village Blend's assistant manager, sprawled on the floor, unconscious, surrounded by coffee grounds. When the police arrive, they feel that it was nothing more than an accident, as there is no sign of forced entry, or a struggle, but Clare feels differently. Now she's on the case to find out who had it in bad enough to hurt Anabelle, before the Blend is sued for everything they have.
I love Cleo Coyle/Alice Kimberly Haunted Bookstore books and had hoped these books would also be good. Not as impressed. Lots and lots of coffee detail which was great, and I got some really goood tips, but the mystery wasn't there for me. I'm just going to have to be patient and wait for the next installment in the Haunted Bookstore mysteries and give these a pass.
21 Jan, 2010
U is for Unmemorable
1 of 1 found this helpful I waited a long time for this novel to come out. I had about given up on Ms. Grafton waiting for T is for Trespass so I was surprised when this one popped up so quick. The story has merit, but it was long in the telling and was quite confusing going back and forth between what happened in the 60's and what was going on in the present. Lot's of characters, but not necessary hard to keep track of them. Also, I missed the whole Undertow premise so if someone can explain that to me I will be grateful. I kept thinking that she had to tie up all the loose ends and felt like she rushed through it in the final pages. I got through it though and will patiently wait for the next one to arrive because I am a Grafton and Milhone fan. I'm sure she's running out of interesting topics to go with captivating letters, V, W, X, Y and Z? I hope that we here more from Henry and that Kinsey reconciles with her relatives. I liked the conclusion with her gramma. Maybe we'll see a "happy ending" to the series.