Customer Reviews

Asking For Murder (Advice Column Mysteries)

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When Dr. Rebecca Butterman's close friend, therapist Annabelle Hart is badly beaten and left for dead, Rebecca not only takes on some of Annabelle's patients she sets out to find her attacker. The police, including Detective Jack Meigs, think it was either a botched robbery or an abusive boyfriend, but Rebecca disagrees and wants to find out what really happened. She's on her own - Meigs doesn't want her help, nor does Annabelle's sister Victoria. Rebecca is determined to find out who attacked Annabelle, even if it puts her own life at risk.

"Asking for Murder" is a nicely written, well-plotted mystery. Rebecca is a complex character - a psychologist who is good at her job but with plenty of her own issues. One of the things I like best about her is that she doesn't have all the answers and often jumps to the wrong conclusions, which makes her a very realistic character. She is a loyal friend to Annabelle but she struggles with her relationship with her ex-husband and Meigs as well as a new relationship with a guy who might be too nice for her. The psychology aspects are well done (author Roberta Isleib is a clinical psychologist) and I found the sand play therapy fascinating. Rebecca also writes an advice column and Isleib deftly weaves the advice columns into the plot. The mystery is well plotted and readers will have a hard time figuring out who Annabelle's attacker is. There are some surprises that are nicely incorporated into the book and at the end I went back to a few spots to see how cleverly Isleib had worked them into the plot. While the book sounds like a cozy mystery, it is a bit too gritty at times to be called that (it reminds me a bit of Diane Mott Davidson's catering mysteries).

"Asking for Murder" is the third book in the "Advice Column" mystery series (the first two are Deadly Advice (An Advice Column Mystery) and Preaching to the Corpse: An Advice Column Mystery) and the series gets better with each book. Well done!

This was a terrific mystery that kept me guessing until the last moment. But even more than that, it made me want to be there with protagonist Rebecca Butterman as she figured it all out. Besides the mystery line -- who's attacking Rebecca's best friend and leaving her for dead -- there are fascinating details on sandtray therapy and a great romantic triangle. Plus, you can almost smell the pancetta frying when Rebecca has a dinner party.

When psychotherapist Rebecca Butterman's friend, therapist Annabelle Hart, misses a luncheon engagement and does not return her calls, Rebecca becomes concerned. She goes to her friend's house and finds Annabelle badly beaten. Annabelle is rushed to the hospital, where she lies in coma. Rebecca's attempts to see Annabelle at the hospital are denied by Annabelle's sister, a cold woman who writes a catty gossip column. Rebecca incorporates the help of Detective Meigs, who concludes that Annabelle was beaten as the result of a botched robbery, and then mysteriously disappears. Rebecca decides to do some sleuthing on her own, which isn't easy with so many people connected to Annabelle acting suspicious, if not guilty.

This third outing in the Advice Column Mystery series by Roberta Isleib proves another winner. Rebecca Butterman is complicated, has unresolved issues, and is still trying to find her way in the world. She can be petty and has lingering doubts about her divorce, but overall is intelligent and loyal and works hard to make the best out of the situations she finds herself in while trying to deal with past traumas and lingering issues. Isleib throws in plenty of red herrings, wrapped around an intriguing plot.

Roberta Isleib writes entertaining murder-mysteries with characters who completely draw you into the story. In "Asking for Murder," readers are reacquainted with Dr. Rebecca Butterman, the ever-so-likable psychologist who has an unfortunate knack for stumbling upon crime scenes, then becoming consumed by the need to solve each case. This time, when her best friend Annabelle doesn't show up for a lunch date, Rebecca investigates - only to find Annabelle's bloody body in her own home. Naturally Rebecca has to get to the bottom of things, and in the process she gets herself into several tight situations. This is one of the things I love most about her character - although she's not a trained detective and is often out of her depths, Rebecca is a fiercely loyal, intelligent woman who's far braver than most would be in similar situations. The story's an easy read, and while I could have done without the "advice column" snippets - where Rebecca shares and responds to her readers' letters - I understand why this element of the story was essential to an advice column mystery. Perhaps it's simply that the problems Rebecca's readers ask her for advice on seem so petty compared to the issues she is dealing with herself!

Dr. Rebecca Butterman arrives at her friend Annabelle Hart's office only to find her gone. It's not like Annabelle to forget about the lunch the two friends have been planning and Rebecca starts to worry. Dr. Butterman drives to Annabelle's home, where she finds a hidden key and lets herself in. Something terrible has happened and she's shocked to find Annabelle's bruised and battered body.

Rebecca's friend, Detective Meigs and the police believe Annabel's attacker might be one of her patients. Both women are therapists and it seems like a frightening possibility.

Annabelle's attack and recovery take center stage as Rebecca puts aside her own problems and determines to find her friend's attacker. Annabelle's sisters arrive on the scene and neither one of them seem very nice. Rebecca's involvement soon puts her in danger. It's becoming clear that Annabelle's attacker is after her too.

I'm fond of reading stories with Rebecca Butterman in them. Her character's strong, feisty and likable and the stories are well written and entertaining.

Dr. Rebecca Butterman is divorced, and grew up with her grandparents after her father left the family and her mother also left. She has issues of her own and isn't afraid to admit it, but when it comes to her patients, she is a very good therapist. She's also a great friend to Annabelle, who is a social worker. When Annabelle doesn't show up or answer her phone or door, Rebecca goes in and finds her severely beaten, and Annabelle remains in a coma. Her sister, Victoria, comes to see her, but is very rude to Rebecca and quite uppity since she writes a society gossip column and thinks herself a notch above the rest.

Rebecca takes on some investigating on her own after the police aren't interested in what she initially has to say. She also agrees to see some of Annabelle's patients until and if Annabelle gets well. Police are convinced that Annabelle's being left for dead was either from a robbery or a disgruntled boyfriend. With everything else going on, Rebecca must learn about sandbox therapy, because Annabelle uses it in her practice, and Rebecca isn't familiar with it. She doesn't pretend to know it all, and isn't afraid to say so. She also writes an advice column, as if she doesn't have enough to do. Add to the list that she's a fabulous cook, too.

I read this one without knowing it is the third book in the Advice Column Mystery series. I now have the first one to read and I'll be sure to read the third one, too. I really like the character of Dr. Rebecca Butterman and also her friends. I'm anxious to know how things work out that weren't wrapped up in this book. Rebecca has a good sense of humor, as do some of her friends, and she loves to eat. I think the author did a very good job of writing and putting the story together well, and only leaving enough loose ends that can be tied up in the next installment.

The information on sandbox or sandplay therapy was very interesting and informative. What little I know about it, I learned from this book. I wouldn't mind having that Red Velvet Cake recipe, either! This is a very enjoyable cozy mystery to include in one's library.

Book three in the "Advice Column" mystery series. This time, Dr. Rebecca Butterman's close friend, Annabelle, is beaten and left for dead. The police rule it as a botched robbery, but Rebecca's sleuthing instincts tell her that there is more to the story. So, she once again takes an investigation into her own hands.
I think this is my favorite book in the series. The mystery kept me guessing until the end and I enjoyed the development of Rebecca's relationship with other characters. Isleib's knowledge of psychology really gives a unique insight to her characters relationships. I hope there's another book in the works soon!

The third and perhaps final installment in Roberta Isleib's Advice Column mystery series, Asking for Murder (Berkley Prime Crime, 2008), is a very fine testament to the pleasures of familiarity one gains from returning to a solid series. It's always a treat when one of your new favorite authors hits one out of the park. And here, I'm happy to report, Isleib's penned another winner.

Inherent in the etymology of familiarity is the idea of family--and certainly Dr. Rebecca Butterman and the other characters of coastal Connecticut that populate these novels have come to represent a kind of "literary family." Luckily, even readers who enter the series with this book will find uncommon familiarity since Ms. Isleib does an effortless job of evoking characters, settings and ambiance for the uninitiated. But what makes such family/familiarity pleasurable in Asking for Murder?

Isleib has described and immersed us in an environment so real that we only need sketches of description--a busy highway, the hunger pains of a busy professional, a rainy day, the wall decor in a psychologist's office--to bring us into the story. These sketches are the touchstones of another world that help us imagine what it would be like to live/work/play/eat/love there. We jump from touchstone to touchstone, like boulders in a wide river, over the arc of the narrative. And in the context of the novel we are free to imagine the spaces between the rocks upon which the story is built.

We have such a good understanding of our protagonist, Rebecca Butterman that we can begin to anticipate (but not necessarily predict, and this is a fine distinction) how she will react in given circumstances. The art of this fiction, though, is that Rebecca is not merely a pawn run through the maze of a story. She is fundamentally changed by her experience. In Asking for Murder she must learn about a novel type of psychological therapy (sandplay or sand tray therapy, influenced by Carl Jung's emphasis on the subconscious). The reader learns along with Rebecca how this fascinating therapy works. And, Rebecca is always working out her emotional experience through the exercise of writing her advice column.

The supporting cast of characters are integral to the story. Rebecca's psychologist friend, Annabelle Hart, is found badly beaten at the beginning of the story and this is the driving mystery throughout the book: Who would beat Dr. Hart within an inch of her life? As Rebecca attempts to answer that question, she must confront not only Annabelle's family and friends but also her league of patients. No one is free of suspicion. Meanwhile the first (and only) dead body doesn't turn up until more than halfway through. How interesting!

The premise of the story is believable. Because both Dr. Butterman and Dr. Hart are clinical psychologists, we can easily believe that they would frequently be in contact with all manner of "strange" individuals--even ones in their own families. Beyond the premise, there are enough day-to-day happenings in Rebecca's life that we can easily imagine her as we might our friends or ourselves... sleeping, cooking, eating, meeting people, playing with pets, following up on responsibilities, etc.
There are important questions in Rebecca's life that remain unanswered. Since these involve her personal relationships and have little bearing on the solution to the central mystery of this book, the reader is not disappointed that they remain unanswered. Rather, this reader is anxious to find out what happens between Rebecca and Detective Meigs. And what develops between Rebecca and her estranged father? How does her sister, Janice ultimately react? Will Rebecca ever resolve her ambivalent feelings about Mark?

I was more than a little sad to close the final chapter in this book knowing there was not another one waiting. I recently read an online interview with Ms. Isleib wherein she mentioned there were no immediate plans for any more books in this series and that she was at work on a stand-alone novel. It would be a darn shame for mystery lovers if this is Dr. Rebecca Butterman's swan song, but given its fine writing and satisfying resolution, Asking for Murder would not be a disastrous coda to a very confident and well-written mystery series.

What a great mystery -- well worth reading, well plotted, hard to put down. I liked the main character, advice columnist/psychologist Rebecca Butterman, very much. Her in-depth understanding and genuine compassion for friends, patients, and the people she meets makes you wish she was your friend and not just a character in a book. This was the first book I've read in the Advice Column Mysteries series, and I look forward to reading others.

Roberta Isleib does an excellent job of drawing you in. You like her characters, flaws and all. And you don't spot 'who dun it' within the first half of the book. All three books in this series about Dr. Rebecca Butterman are great reads and darn good re-reads. Personally, I look forward to Ms. Isleib giving us more (much more) of Dr. Butterman.