Customer Reviews

Clubbed To Death: A Dead-End Job Mystery

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Helen Hawthorne is moving up in the world. She has a new job making over twelve dollars and hour, a credit card, and a cell phone. The only downside is she hates working at Florida's Superior Club where only the ultra wealthy can get in. As a service rep, she feels not much more than a drone listening to the complaints of the members who expect her to satisfy their demands instantly. To make matters more unbearable, Helen's ex husband Rob has sailed into the docking area with his billionaire wife, Marcella known as the Black Widow.

When they meet Helen gets angry with him and pushes him. The next day the Black Widow reports her husband and jewelry are missing. Since there are witnesses to the shoving incident, the police arrest Helen. Marcella has her attorney get the charges dropped but in return the Black Widow wants Helen to find what frightened Rob into running away. While investigating, Helen stumbles across two murdered bodies. The amateur sleuth decides the Superior Club and its members have some dark secrets that make her uncomfortable working there, but first she feels she must find Rob who fled after stealing jewelry; unaware that her snooping makes her a likely next victim.

Elaine Viets Dead End Job mysteries are always fun and this one like its predecessors is too as the clues are always out there for the reader to identify the killer, if they can recognize these are clues. CLUBBED TO DEATH is one of the best in this delightful long running series due to a fascinating colorful support cast who range from eccentric to deranged. Fans will empathize with the heroine who is caught between her ethics and her sustenance economics even as she makes inquires that place her in danger.

Harriet Klausner

This was a good book- I have been waiting for it for a long time love all in this series- the payoff isn't what i was hoping for but isn't that what a good book should be?? if you are a fan of this series you won't be disappointed!

I OWN EVERY ONE OF ELAINES BOOKS AND LIKE THEM ALL.. JUST WAITING FOR NEXT IDEA TO BE PUT INTO PRINT....

I have read all of the Dead-End job mysteries. First and foremost, the series must be read in order otherwise the subplots and characters will be totally lost. In each book, Viets explains more about Helen and builds on the lives of the supporting players.

Therefore when, in a previous book, Helen's 'secret life' had been discovered I was terrified that it would take all the fun out of the series. The books have been built around the dead-end jobs that are only necessary because Helen has to stay off the grid. I shouldn't have worried.

Viets is able to include Helen's ex into the story lines without over-powering Helen's "rebel with a cause" attitude. Throughout the book, Helen continues to be strong--don't you just hate mystery book heroines who whine all the time? And Viets' books are filled with fascinating characters with great back stories--the Black Widow, the apartment manager, the gullible senior citizen, and even the apartment always rented to low lifes.

And, as usual, the who-dun-it in this story is pretty easy to figure out early on in the book. It doesn't matter. Like most American cozies, it is less the answer at the end of the road than the journey getting there.

This, like the others in the series is worth the trip.

Clubbed to Death is the first "Dead-end Job" mystery I've read. I enjoyed the beginning of the book. The chemistry in the customer care office was believable. I appreciated Viets's parody of South Florida's upper class culture. Towards the middle, however, I stopped wanting to read the book. I even returned it to the library. It was getting very farfetched, and that's not how I like my mysteries. I lost a lot of respect for Helen Hawthorne's character- the fake ID, the snooping, etc. Her neighbors in the apartment complex got annoying. All of a sudden, there's a teensy tiny plot about the air-headed Elsie getting swindled out of her ring. And then Helen's boyfriend, Phil, puts his PI skills into play. And, in between all this sleuthing, there is a engagement proposal. Waaay too much going on!!!

Just when I thought it would end, and end well, there were a few chapters to go. Ugh! I didn't really need to know about the neighbors in 2C. Apparently, Margery has had problems with every tenant in that apartment. A seemingly nice couple terminates their lease, but do they terminate their good behavior, too? Honestly, this other teensy plot wasn't needed. Oh, let's not forget Margery, who was one of the "good guys" in Helen's life... turns out to be best friends with Marcella, the "Black Widow". Marcella is a vile old woman with a "love em, leave em" mentality. (And when I say "leave 'em", I mean without their lives!!!!)

Sooo, three stars because the parody of rich culture was solid. Three stars for the office culture. Two stars lost for too many subplots being thrown in. An average read!

I've read all of the Dead End Jobs series so far and am astonished at this author's creativity. This particular book is no exception. I enjoyed all of it and appreciated how Elaine worked in Helen's ex to the possibility of his demise. Margery, Helen's landlady, played a role but much more subdued in my opinion, as were the tenants in apt. 2C. Nothing was over done.

The Black Widow and her part in Rob's life had it's place and then it was over. What's going to be next in Helen's life regarding her ex?

All the office workers at that hell hole of a country club were as pleasant as they could be under the circumstances. The most important issue is that the characters were realistic and,unfortunately, so were the clients. This was the one job that finally paid a trickle more than her last jobs. In Florida...that's definitely realistic. So glad that Helen's morals won out and she left that job...but not before all the loose ends were tied up.

I would absolutely recommend this book and this series to any cozy mystery lover. Once again thanks to a creative and original author.
Ellen

I love these cute mystery series. I cant remember which one this is in the series this one is but they are fun and addictive! But you must begine with first in series.

When Helen is accused of her ex-husband's murder, she decides she must play detective and find him because she doesn't believe he's really dead. Along the way, she finds other bodies and almost gets killed herself. A light read for those days you just want to read and relax.

This review was written for Connie's Book Reviews and More on Facebook.

I just found this author and , I am so glad! Fun read. Socially conscious too - Win-Win situation .I hope she continues this series.

Our heroine, Helen Hawthorne, is forced to engage in a little super sluething. Not that she minds. The ghost (ex-husband) of her past has caught up with her, but is soon reported missing. Guess who is the suspect? This time Helen must really try to save her own neck. The author, as usual, has created pages of zany characters, hijinks, and of course, mystery. I'm wondering what is really in store for Phil and Helen? We'll have to wait and see. Another good book.