Customer Reviews

Bound for Murder (Premier Mystery)

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

 

 

When her rich husband Seamus Meechum walked out on their marriage because he needed his freedom, his sister Glory kicked Carmella Bertrand out of the family mansion. Instead of moping, she finds an apartment in New Orleans' French Quarter and opens Memory Mine, a scrapbooking shop not far from her new abode.

Carmella helps Wren Wright decorate for the latter's pre-wedding gala. Wren is engaged to Jamie Redmond, the owner of a profitable bookstore and creator with his partner Blaine of a software program called Neutron that detects bugs and bombs in newly written software code. When Carmella takes a breather she finds Jamie dead. While Wren tries to cope with her finance's murder, Dunbar Des Lauriers pushes hard to buy Jamie's stock in the bookstore. Glory, who holds the mortgage to Jamie's and Wren's home, threatens to call it in if Wren doesn't sell to her. Blaine claims to have sole rights to Neutron and Carmella finds proof that Jamie was engaged to another woman a year ago without telling Wren. Overwhelmed, Wren asks Carmella to find her fiancé's killer; her inability to refuse places her in danger from a killer without mercy.

Laura Childs is a creative storyteller who grabs reader attention from the time Jaime is murdered and doesn't release it grip until the murderer is found and Carmella is safe. There are numerable suspects with viable motives and readers will have a lot of fun guessing who the real killer is. There are a lot of creative arts and croft tips at the end of the book, a bonus that readers can make use of for the winter holidays. BOUND FOR MURDER raises the bar on amateur sleuth quality.

Harriet Klausner

This third book in Childs' scrapbooking mystery series was a real disappointment to me. The dialogue was totally sappy, whereas in the previous novels in this series, the characters spoke in a realistic manner. Here, they seemed almost flawless, and more than a little saccharine.

The mystery was pretty easy to figure out and the storyline seemed thin. Aside from Carmela's friendship with Ava, this book did almost nothing to develop the relationships Carmela has with the other characters. The ending (of the book, not the resolution of the mystery) came completely out of left field given the extremely minor interaction between Carmela and another character. I'll hang in there for her next book in this series, but this one really let me down.

Carmela Bertrand is helping her friend Wren with her pre-wedding party when she discovers that the groom has been murdered. The victim was the owner of a bookstore and he was also developing a valuable computer program. One man tries to pressure Wren into selling the bookstore and another one tries to take over the rights to the computer program. Carmela wonders if either man had enough of a motive for murder. Interwoven with the mystery is the tiresome story of Carmela's off-again, on-again romance with her neer-do-well, estranged husband, Shamus. There are some loose ends in the story and Carmela takes some ridiculous chances such as entering a cemetery along at night, although she admits she knows better. The best parts are about New Orleans, scrapbooking, and some of Carmela's interactions with her friends.

No way is this a five star book! Character introduction and development is poor, story line is convoluted, character reaction to events is unnatural and unrealistic, and the dialogue is just plain awful. Don't waste your money on this one.

It's hard to sympathize too much with a main character who not only is "pretty verging on stunning," but who has her own business, great friends, and a cute dog, to boot. The only flies in Carmela's ointment seem to be the dead bodies that constantly crop (no pun intended) up. The old "bad twin" card was played here, as was the wandering-around-the-graveyard-in-the-dark trick. A little too predictable, a little too light on realistic character development, and a little too cutesy. And would someone please get this woman an editor? "Courier" and Ives is just an embarrassment, as is the misspelling of "zydeco" in a book based in N'Awlins. Don't forget "commaraderie" (is that being on good terms with your punctuation?) and "mother load" (a truckful of maternal-types?).

All the same, Laura Childs can write -- no doubt about that. I think she just needs to take a little more time plotting and writing to take this series to the next level.

It was fun to read about pre-Katrina New Orleans. I kept thinking about what has happened to the city since Katrina. The bookstore references were great and the scrapbook store was fun. I did look up the boxes they mentioned making on the internet. The book was easy to read and a quick read. without giving away the murder, the murderer could have been more character based.

The story line was very good, kept you guessing. The book itself had a lot of words that were spelled incorrectly.

Carmela has done it again get herself into trouble while helping a good friend with her murdered fiance'. The 3rd book had some slow spots, but picked up and you did not want to put it down. We learn more about Carmela and how she feels about Shamus and what happens to them. I will be looking for the 4th book to read.

Laura Childs never disappoints.

If you are a Laura Childs fan, you can never go wrong with one of her books and this is no exception - fun from the start to the end.

If you are not a Laura Childs fan, become one. Her mysteries are fun, exciting, and they take you on a light journey so-to-speak. If you love scrapbooking and love mysteries, get Bound for Murder, sit yourself down for a fun read.

Carmella Bertrand runs Memory Mine, a scrapbook shop in New Orleans. She's helping Wren Wright decorate for her pre-wedding gala. Wren is Gabby's cousin. Gabby works for Carmella.

Jamie Redmond owns a bookstore and is a co-creator with Blaine of Neutron, a software program that detects bugs and bombs in software code. Jamie and Wren are to be married soon. Unfortunately Carmella finds Jamie murdered during the pre-wedding gala.

Dunbar DesLauriers begins hounding Wren to sell Jamie's book stock to him for a "fair price." Then Glory, Carmella's sister-in-law who threw Carmella out of the family home after her Carmella's husband left, shows up threatening to call in the mortgage on Jamie's home which is now Wren's if she doesn't sell to Dunbar. Blaine begins claiming he now has sole right to Neutron.

Wren asks Carmella for help. She gives her business advice about the bookstore as well as helps her look into things. Carmella discovers skeletons in Jamie's past. Could these be why he was killed?

I love this series. It's a recent find for me. I can't wait to read more of them! Carmella and the gang at her shop are so much fun. I like the descriptions about the various scrapbook projects even though I never seem to have time for such things.

I like how the author makes it seem so natural for Carmella to investigate even though she isn't one. And she does a great job of it. I love the New Orleans setting as well.

This is a great cozy mystery series. I highly recommend his book and series.