Confidence Woman: A Claire Reynier Mystery [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Judith Van Gieson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2002

New Mexico rare book expert Claire Reynier is the victim of identity fraud-and the chief suspect in the con woman's murder-in this new mystery from a writer whose work has been praised as "crisp, taut, and utterly compelling" (Entertainment Weekly).

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Claire Reynier, the 50-something Albuquerque librarian last seen in Judith Van Gieson's Vanishing Point, returns to cope with a case of a stolen book (a first edition of Melville's The Confidence-Man worth thousands) and a stolen identity (her own) in Confidence Woman. Evelyn Martin was a friend from college whom Claire agreed to help get back on her feet, but when Evelyn turns up dead with Claire's credit cards, Claire becomes a suspect in her murder.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The third book in Van Gieson's Claire Reynier series finds Claire in a difficult situation. Evelyn Martin, an old college friend, asks to stay at Claire's house while looking for a place to live. Later, Claire finds that someone is using her identity. When the police find Evelyn's body in a house in an upscale Santa Fe neighborhood along with credit cards belonging to Claire and three other women from their college sorority, Claire becomes a suspected murderer. As if that weren't enough, a rare signed first edition of Herman Melville's The Confidence-Man is missing from Claire's house. Claire uses her skills as a rare-book librarian to prove her innocence and solve the crime. This series grows stronger with each new case. This time Van Gieson combines solid character development with a fascinating plot, ambient New Mexico atmosphere, and a surprise ending. This series deserves a larger audience. Barbara Bibel
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 315 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press (June 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786242175
• ISBN-13: 978-0786242177
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,955,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars That's the way I like it, August 21, 2002

By 

Kirpane Katia (france) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Confidence Woman (Paperback)

I feel I owe Judith Van Gieson a special thank you for giving her readers consistently excellent novels. Ever since the Neil Hamel, and now with the Claire Reynier series, I've enjoyed her well defined, genuine characters, no nonsense plotlines as well as her remarkable ambience-rendering of the Southwest. The author sense of time and places proves once again right here. As a woman in her fifties, Claire Reynier has already had a share of ups and downs. She has settled for the best as a rare book expert at the Univesity of New Mexico and a life of her own spent between books, Tai-chi, a potential lover and a cat. When she becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a former classmate, she has to dig into a long-forgotten past and go through some sobering discoveries. With her sharp reflexion about what people really are about behind the scene, precise but thoughtful writing, Judith Van Gieson brings a definite plus to the mystery genre.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Sense of Place, Not So Good Sense of Plot, July 15, 2002

By 

Martha E. Crites (Seattle, Wa United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Confidence Woman (Paperback)

Claire Reynier is a fifty-something rare book expert who is thinking about aging. She compares and competes with her old college friends--who looks better, has a better husband, better job, better divorce etc. A former sorority sister cons Claire and others from the old college group, then turns up murdered. Claire is a suspect. She then investigates all the old friends to clear herself. Author, Judith Van Gieson, does a great job with atmosphere and her writing is very readable. She has some big plot and plausibility problems though.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I LIKED IT!, August 22, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Confidence Woman (Paperback)

I GRABBED THIS BOOK ON IMPULSE AND WASN'T SURE AT FIRST IF I WAS GOING TO READ PAST THE FIRST COUPLE OF CHAPTERS OR NOT, BUT I STUCK WITH IT AND REALLY GOT INTO IT. I ENJOYED CLAIRE, BUT WOULD HAVE LIKED TO SEE SOME CLOSER FAMILY AND SOCIAL INTERACTION.