Customer Reviews

Cold Blood (Paris Murphy Mysteries)

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

 

 

I read a bunch of books over Memorial Day weekend,
including Monsour's second Paris Murphy novel. I'm
not sure why I never read the first, but I will have
to go back and correct that mistake. Wow! _Cold Blood_
was a great book.

A bridesmaid has disappeared while walking home from the
reception in Moose Lake, Minnesota. A few days later,
during a search of the area, Justice Trip, a traveling
salesman who has volunteered to help, stumbles across
a finger, which proves to be that of the missing woman.
He briefly becomes a minor celebrity when it is discovered
he's had similar luck before, finding the necklace of a
missing girl in a rural area of Wisconsin, just before the
girl herself was discovered, alive and well. This time,
things don't look as hopeful for the missing woman.

Paris Murphy, a homicide detective in St. Paul, sees the
news coverage and recognizes Trip as a high school classmate,
one who'd been picked on and mistreated in high school and
someone who'd once asked her to a homecoming dance. She still
feels bad that her old boyfriend and some of his friends had
beaten Trip up as a result. Since there's a St. Paul link to
the disappearance--the woman's estranged husband lives nearby--
Murphy becomes involved in the case and can't shake her suspicion
that Trip might know more about what happened than he's letting
on.

Monsour does a great job of capturing the Minnesota locations
and just a general feel for the people and the atmosphere of both
small town and big city Minnesota. Murphy is a great character,
the daughter of a Lebanese mother and an Irish father, and one of
a large group of children. She has her own personal problems--her
relationship with her separated husband doesn't seem to be improving,
no matter what she tries, and the man she's had an affair with recently
is pushing her too hard to make their relationship something more.
And she can't help but feel some sort of attraction to her boss in
homicide, a former undercover cop who is something of a legend in the
department.

Monsour also does a nice job with the villain in the book. We almost,
not quite, but almost, feel sorry for him. He's someone we can sympathize
with, though the reasons for his actions escape explanation, even at the
end. There are some gruesome passages in the book, so if you aren't up
to some blood and gore in your mysteries, you might want to skip this
one, but all in all, I was very pleasantly surprised. I'm going to check
out _Clean Cut_, the first novel in this series, right away.

When bridesmaid Bunny Pederson vanishes after a friend's wedding, a search is mounted in the community of Moose Lake, Minnesota. Justice Trip, a traveling salesman & "concerned citizen," volunteers to be a member of the search party and finds the woman's finger...just the severed finger not the entire body. Yuck! He is rewarded for his efforts by mega-publicity and lauded as the community hero. Don't ask me why...he only found a finger.

Paris Murphy, a Twin Cities Police Department detective, sees news coverage of the event on TV and remembers Trip from high school. Back then he was a social misfit who had a crush on her. Paris' jock boyfriend & three of his buddies gave the loner, nicknamed "Sweet Justice," a bad beating for his misplaced affections. Ominously, the victim's motto was and is, "What goes around comes around!" All four boys died in a terrible car crash before graduation.

Paris gets the creeps after watching "Sweet" on the small screen and reminisces about her strange former classmate. He still looks weird to her after all these years so she goes out to Moose Lake to investigate. And man (!!) does she find trouble!

This is Detective Murphy's second appearance in a Theresa Monsour police procedural. My introduction to this intelligent, feisty, part Irish, part Lebanese law officer was in "Dark House," the third book in the series. Paris is a more complex character than most female protagonists in this genre. There is more to her than the same old "tough but vulnerable" facade.

Not only am I taken with this three-dimensional take charge lady, I also like her husband, (although the marriage is floundering), her family, colleagues, boss and problematic love life. The dialogue is realistic, the plot is gritty, fast paced, dark and very creepy. Ms. Monsour, an award-winning journalist for a St. Paul newspaper, gives us a vivid look inside the head of a totally wacko individual, a serial killer - and the view is chilling. The writing is quite good! What's not to like??
JANA

He was the one everyone picked on in school. He had no friends everyone in school picked on him. He had the nerve to ask one of the popular girls to a school dance. Her boyfriend and three of his jock pals beat him to a bloody pulp. He swore he would get even one day.

Paris Murphy, the girl he asked out, is now a St. Paul Homicide detective. She sees Justice Trip on television searching for a woman who has gone missing after walking out of a wedding reception. Justice is the one who found the missing woman?s pinkie as he joins in the search party but something about his demeanor doesn?t set right with Paris. He plays the hero giving out false information to a reporter making her wonder if he had anything to do with the killing. When the body is found in a park, Justice is also there. As Paris researches the crime, she comes upon some interesting facts that make her think that Justice is a serial killer. Now all she has to do is find some evidence to back up her supposition.

Told from the point of view of the heroine and the antagonist reader knows at all times what is going on in their heads and can predict what their next move will be. This is only Theresa Monsour?s second book but with her complex characterizations and tight and complex storylines, it is easy to see that she is going to be one of the new stars in the crime thriller galaxy. COLD BLOOD is a powerful tour-de force, a police procedural that takes the reader into the investigation from start to finish.

Harriet Klausner

If you're a fan of authors like Connelly or Crais, steer clear! In fact, Ms. Monsour is not even in the class of Sandford or Pearson. "Cold Blood" is more like a cheasy romance novel with a dumb crime element that doesn't even allow the reader to guess whodunit.

Not one character is likable, including (especially) the protagonist, who is a selfish, adultering woman who is also an incredibly lousy cop. Paris' estranged husband and boyfriend are both louts. More sympathy is generated for the evil villain, whose poor childhood at least gives him an excuse.

The biggest problem is how the novel insults the reader's intelligence. Justice finds the missing woman's finger and not one cop suspects him? Justice offs two people and needs to blow town ASAP but stows the bodies in his truck and shows up to his class reunion, where he knows cops will be hanging out?

Thankfully I did not read the first book in the series, and I will read no others. There are way too many choices out there if you're looking for a creepy crime book. I suggest starting with John Connolly and avoiding this trash.

I am very hard to please. I have recently switched genres and almost read thrillers/mysteries exclusively. It is hard to find these type of books written by a woman where the lead character is female. Theresa Monsour's second book, Cold Blood continues the story of police detective Paris Murphy. Paris has flaws, which I love. This book was well written, thrilling and creepy. I especially like the fact that Paris's non-work life is so detailed. Ms. Monsour really delves into Paris's private life with her ex-husband, boyfriend and other co-workers. It really works too. I highly recommend this book and her first one, Clean Cut. You will not be disappointed. Finally, a smart, witty, sexy female detective.

I bought this bk. since I saw it had 4 stars for the overall rating..... Well, I was not as impressed as the other readers.

1st off the writing is choppy or something. To many small details. I don't know how many times I read "Chewed & swallowed." It was ridiculous! I didn't care for the main character (Paris) at all & was hoping the bad guy would run her over too. Mighta been better if there was at least some mystery.

Anyway, there are far better suspense novels out there to read. If you really want to read it, I suggest going to a library.

you can guess the end in the first chapter. i like more of a challenge in my reads.

The story started off okay, but as it went on it got boring. Once again, another author who puts in too many small details. Paris came across as a weak, unable to make up her mind and a so-so police officer. It seems to me throughout the the book all she did was whine and feel sorry for herself and fall for every man within a few feet of her. I found the character of Paris to be a tramp and whiner, not a cop doing her job.

This book initially had promise but then eroded into an annoyingly cliched cop/serial killer novel. I was irritated by the cliches. The female protaganist isimprobably named Paris Murphy. She is, of course, beautiful and big busted, and unhappy in love.She is tough and likes killing things--does anyone in Minnesota do anything other than hunt? She is also stupid, visitng the suspect's home alone, unable to do a simple tire track comparison with her lover and nursing her equally attractive but stupid boss back to health.

The killer himself is somehwat sympathetic and a bit of a weenie when it comes to killing. He starts with vehicles and graduates to knives. The author spends a great deal of time explaining him and unfortuantely, the reader never gets a real sense of the victims.

The most frustrating aspect of this book is that there are sections that are quite readable. The author can write, however, the aggravating factors outweigh the intriguing ones.

A frightening book from a talented author, this one follows Det. Paris Murphy following her instincts on a man who continues to help police with a series of murders, and she starts to suspect he may be the killer. I highly recommend this author and look forward to reading more of her books.