Tag Archives: paperback

Where Lawyers Fear To Tread by Lia Matera (1987) – BR00058 (1999) – 🐸🐸🐸⚪⚪

The PolyBlog
June 5 1999

Plot or Premise

Willa Jansson is the senior articles editor for a law school review when her editor-in-chief gets killed. She wants to know who did it, even more so after a couple more get bumped off.

What I Liked

The law school aspect is well-done, perhaps reflective of the fact that the author actually attended a law school, a nice change from some of the legal authors today. The story zips along at a good pace, and is enjoyable, once you get past the five-too-many characters / suspects and the obligatory “oops, I’ve written 50 pages and haven’t killed anybody else off in order to sustain the suspense” technique.

What I Didn’t Like

The problem with the book is that there are too many pieces, and they all get equal weight: Willa’s relationships with the various men running through the story (she’s the protagonist but all you do sometimes is feel sorry for her), all of the various suspects (pretty much everyone), and a host of motives ranging from being petty to outright greed to the green-eyed monster of justified jealousy. The character development is mediocre, including some peripheral characters that wind up being key ingredients, and some main characters that turn out to be a complete waste of paper. Ironic that the protag is an editor because that is what this book really needed.

The Bottom Line

Zips along at a good pace.

Malice Domestic by Mollie Hardwick (1986) – BR00053 (1999) – 🐸🐸🐸⚪⚪

The PolyBlog
June 5 1999

Plot or Premise

St. Crispin’s Village, although not quiet per se, is at least restful. Until Leonard Mumbray retires to the village and tries to exact evil upon its townsfolk, with words here or suggestions there. Extortion, blackmail, threats, sneers…whatever it takes to stir up trouble. And trouble leads to deaths, including suicides and murder.

What I Liked

Miss Doran Fairweather doesn’t like it, not one bit. And if Christie had written Ms. Marple at age 26, it might have been Miss Fairweather who resulted. Written in the classic style of life in an English village, there are lots of characters. Besides Mumbray and Fairweather, there is her love — the local widowed vicar, Rodney Chelmarsh. Only love does not run smoothly because Rodney has a handicapped daughter who exaggerates her ailments to monopolize all of Rodney’s time and throws fits if he tries to make friends with others.

What I Didn’t Like

Well-written, but there are too many little twists and turns that are not needed for the story. As well, the ending is a little anti-climactic in terms of the mystery, although it is slightly made up for with a twist in the love story part. Not enough to save the mediocre ending to the mystery but a nice ending nevertheless.

The Bottom Line

Nice ending

Taxed to Death by Debra Purdy Kong (1995) – BR00089 (1999) – 🐸🐸🐸⚪⚪

The PolyBlog
February 7 1999

Plot or Premise

A tax auditor discovers fraud, revenge and murder.

What I Liked

The writing is pretty good and I love the premise of the protagonist (a Revenue Canada tax auditor).

What I Didn’t Like

I had difficulty with three things in the book. First, I found there were way too many characters to keep them all straight. Second, I didn’t like the relationship between Alex and Jillian, very hard to follow why this would be a romance that would “bloom”. Third, I just plain don’t like Jillian…the choices she makes, the rationale for her relationships and interactions with men, all of it made me feel like an accomplice to sexism. Altogether, it presented a challenge for realism, but it may also just be my personal preference to not read about a character like Jillian.

Disclosure

I am not personal friends with the author, but I have interacted with them briefly on social media.

The Bottom Line

Could have been better laid out with fewer characters.

Dying to Get Published by Judy Fitzwater (1995) – BR00075 (1998) – 🐸🐸🐸⚪⚪

The PolyBlog
August 18 1998

Plot or Premise

The main character, as-yet-unpublished author Jennifer Marsh, decides to plan a murder in order to liven up her writing. A touch of realism, or writing what she knows by planning it. But when the murder really happens, her plans make her suspect number one.

What I Liked

It’s an easy, quick-paced story, and Jennifer is a bit quirky. Nice, occasionally a dingbat, she has her moments, but quirky. She has a new romantic interest that adds some fun to the story, and lots of female friends who are supportive. Plus, the victim is obviously deserving of murder — a book agent. In addition to being well-written, with great storylines, there were some seriously funny moments that made me smile repeatedly (people seem to frown on you laughing out loud when you are by yourself reading on buses or in restaurants, so I held myself to grinning).

What I Didn’t Like

The book was a little tough for me to get into at first, and I initially hated the main character who talks to her future, as yet unconceived, child on a fairly regular basis as a plot device.

Disclosure

I am not personal friends with the author, but I have interacted with them briefly on social media.

The Bottom Line

Liked it enough to get the next one in the series

Murder in C Major by Sara Hoskinson Frommer (1986) – BR00076 (1998) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
July 3 1998

Plot or Premise

Joan Spencer, widowed, moves back to the town of Oliver with her son Andrew and joins the local orchestra in her spare time. The second week of rehearsals is marred by the death of an unpopular oboe player. Joan helps the police investigate the murder (big surprise!) and does a pretty good job of spotting essential clues.

What I Liked

The story is well-written, and the characters are nicely developed, including some hints of romance between Joan and the cop. Interesting was the switch between the two characters as the narrator — not quite third person, not quite first person and surprisingly well-executed in the writing. The story moves along fairly quickly and doesn’t drag.

What I Didn’t Like

Perhaps too many characters with too many motives and opportunities. Unfortunately for me, I figured out the ending far too far in advance as well as the reasons for it — and yet I still got the murderer wrong! (Missed it by that much!)

Disclosure

I am not personal friends with the author, but I have interacted with them briefly on social media.

The Bottom Line

A nice light read for a Sunday afternoon.