Customer Reviews

An Anniversary to Die For (A Susan Henshaw Mystery #14)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Susan and Jed Henshaw are spending their anniversary by throwing a big party at the inn where they spent their honeymoon. All is well until they discover the dead body of one of their guests under a pile of presents on their bed. Thus begins Susan's latest efforts at solving a murder mystery. This book did not hold my interest as some of the others in the series have because there were so few suspects and not enough interesting red herrings. Susan, her friend Kathleen, and her husband Jed seem to hash and rehash the same scenarios over and over before the murderer is revealed. As in some of the earliest books in the series, the solution is pretty far-fetched and didn't provide a satisfying climax to the book. This series has its ups and downs and this is one of the less sterling additions to the Susan Henshaw Mysteries.

I love the Susan Henshaw series, but this was not one of the best by any means. I love her writing style, but this book just lacked the normal red herrings and clues that the other books in this series have had. There were several suspects that were never investigated (people I thought should have been investigated). I also found the ending to be a big disappointment. You are reading along, Susan figures it out, and then the next chapter explains it, except, as the reader none of this makes sense. It is like a chapter is missing (well more than a chapter). I felt cheated. I also had a hard time finishing the book and usually I have a hard time putting her books down.

I also noticed the Alice/Emily thing. Did Kathleen change her daughter's name? I didn't see any explanation for the name change.

I think Valerie Wolzien is an excellent writer, and I look forward to her next book. This one just didn't do it for me. If you have never read one of her books, don't make this the first. Start at the beginning, and read this one after you have read the others.

Susan and Jed Henshaw are celebrating their thirtieth anniversary with a party at the inn where they spent their honeymoon. The party is great. Unfortunately when they go up to their room, they discover the body of Ashley marks, their neighbor, dead on their bed under their gifts. She was poisoned.

Ashley wasn't very popular, but who disliked her enough to poison her? She'd just been acquitted of poisoning her husband. Susan had never really liked Ashley, but finds herself helping to track down the killer. Could it have something to do with Ashley's past? As Susan finds out more, she realizes how little she knows. She also gets a lot of help from her friends throughout the investigation.

Since Ashley's death happened in a neighboring town, Brett is not the detective in charge this time. Susan does not like Chief Konowitz. She tries avoiding him while she investigates. She is not always successful.

I highly recommend this book. This is a terrific series and this book is a delight to read. It is a quick, easy to read cozy.

I really enjoyed this book. I have been reading the Susan Henshaw books since the beginning and have always found them entertaining as well as believable. The characters are well-rounded and easy to understand and I like that Valerie Wolzien has used upper-class characters instead of hard-boiled characters as are frequently used. I feel that Susan might be me or one of my friends and I like that. I highly recommend this cozy series.

My opinion of this book echo the other reviewer who thought it was just ok.

I have always enjoyed the Susan Henshaw mysteries, but I was alittle disappointed in this one. For one thing her friend, Kathleen, has two children, and somehow the daughter's named changed from Alice, in the last two books, to Emily in this book. It just didn't keep me entertained. I kept wanting to get to the end, so I skipped over quite a few pages. I hope that the next book will be better.

Another solid suburbian mystery by Valerie Wolzien. The antics of Susan Henshaw continue as the body of a recently acquited murder suspect ends up in the B&B room of Jed and Susan the night of their big anniversary party. Susan's friend from "The Student Body", Jinx, returns to help solve this one!
This is a great quick read for a plane ride. As usual, I can't wait for the next in the series to hit bookstores!

Excellently written, good for women to relate too, and have fun imagining themselves in these messes. And always endeding up the hero.