1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Humorous Mystery with Surprising Depth, May 8, 2009
This review is from: Boston Scream Pie (Paperback)
As one family deals with an unexpected death, a nearby family contends with the horrifying dreams of a young teen. Caitlin Neuman's parents and twin sister died in a horrific car accident years earlier. Now the teen's frightening dreams of a car accident on a snowy highway bring back the pain of the tragic loss.
However, these current dreams seem different somehow. Is she reliving the fatal accident she had escaped, or is her mind showing her a very different scenario? Can this just be a series of bad dreams or does the dream possibly lead to an accident she can still prevent?
Now living with her Grandma Olivia, Caitlin turns to the one person she believes can help her decipher the confusing dreams. She turns to her housekeeper's husband, retired Baltimore detective Paco LeSoto.
In the meantime, Delylah, the not so grieving widow of a heart attack victim has quickly remarried. After all, the four-time widow knows from experience the local Parents without Partners provides the perfect place to pick her next husband.
As Paco and his wife Molly undertake the mystery behind Caitlin's dreams, they find more than they expected - a tie to Delylah's new husband, a tragic case of mistaken identity years ago, and a family unit so fractured it may not survive.
Paco and Molly are quite a team. Molly's propensity to fracture the English language confuses some and amuses others. Said with a smile, Paco affectionately calls her idiosyncrasies "Mollyprops." As shrewd as she is short, round, and kind-hearted, Molly makes a formidable sidekick as Paco sorts through numerous clues, less than cooperative bystanders and a growing list of suspects. In the end, Paco and Molly are able to set Caitlin's mind at rest.
Husband and wife writing team, Rosemary and Larry Mild, have created protagonists who are thorough in their detection while soothing in manner. Paco and Molly are both more than capable to solve the mystery as they work together much as we presume do the Milds.
Boston Scream Pie has a much greater depth than the title would suggest. Although humor has its place in this novel, the storyline is serious. It is easy for the reader to be caught up in the anger, jealousy, and hatred of a newly formed family quickly falling apart before they can begin to bond.
The increasing darkness of the story is softened by the loveable Molly. This third book in the series brings a welcome and delicious offering of murder and mayhem to the table, along with several of Molly's mouth-watering recipes.
New readers will quickly want to seek out the first two books, Hot Grudge Sunday and Locks and Cream Cheese, and fans will certainly want to keep an eye out for the next installment. Enjoy this mouth-watering feast of a mystery series.
Boston Scream Pie
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Funny Mystery - You've Got to Love Molly!, July 30, 2009
This review is from: Boston Scream Pie (Paperback)
I have to admit, the title alone was enough to sell me on the book, though the cover leaves a bit to be desired. This was another one of those stories where I had a difficult time following the story initially because the scenes switched back and forth between characters that seemed to be totally unrelated. However, the Milds slowly bring everyone together in what I thought was a pretty slick plot line--one that I will also not divulge because it really is key to the story.
Boston Scream Pie is one of those mysteries where you can piece together information and figure out who the culprit is, but there are so many mini-mysteries that you never really can have the full story figured out. Actually, one of the main mysteries is really uncovered with little fanfare, but there is so much to the story (and the reader likely has that part figured out, anyway) that I didn't mind this to be the case. Honestly, what makes this book (and probably the series, though I have only read this title) is the characters. The Milds do a great job portraying all of the family members and possible suspects of the various murders and it becomes interesting to debate who has the most likely motive. Truth be told, Molly and her "Mollyrprops" (or malapropisms) really steal the show. In the beginning, it was amusing to see her misuse and mangle various words and phrases, but by the end it was hysterical, as the "slips of tongue" really grew to have double entendres or were just plain amusing in their tone. One of my favorites was "defacation of character" as opposed to defamation of character.
Overall, Boston Scream Pie was an easy, light read that provided a lot of laughs. The relative simplicity of the mystery may disappoint some diehard mystery lovers, but the plot and outcome were all carefully drawn with a resolution that I am sure will satisfy most readers. I should also note that there is a bit of sexual content as well, though nothing very graphic or gratuitous--I felt that it was pertinent to the storyline.
(Additional Note: My actual rating is 4-1/2 stars but I round up for sites like Amazon.)
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5.0 out of 5 stars
A riveting mystery that is engaging, entertaining, and will leave a reader new to the series eager to seek out the previous two, June 7, 2009
This review is from: Boston Scream Pie (Paperback)
If you enjoy cliff-hanging, crisis-to-crisis mysteries filled with suspense, then you are going to enjoy "Boston Scream Pie" by Rosemary and Larry Mild. Caitlin Neuman is a seventeen-year-old high school student; she suffers from nightmares stemming from the bloody car accident on a snowy Maryland road that killed her parents and twin sister, leaving her the sole survivor. Caitlin feels that these are no ordinary nightmares. She enlists the aid of retired Baltimore detective Paso LeSoto to make inquiries, which leads to the discovery of a series of unsolved deaths, mistaken identities, and tell-tale indications that look like murder has been done. Deftly written and highly recommended, "Boston Scream Pie" plays fair with the reader from first page to last, the result is a riveting mystery that is engaging, entertaining, and will leave a reader new to the series eager to seek out the previous two Paco and Molly mysteries, "Hot Grudge Sunday" and "Locks And Cream Cheese".
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
