Customer Reviews

The Dead Cat Bounce: A Home Repair is Homicide Mystery

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The eye-catching title is really a reference to stock market jargon, which fits neatly into the story as the past career choice of the main character,Jacobia Tiptree, and which was extremely lucrative as evidenced by the vast amounts of money she shells out to fix up her antique house in Eastport,Maine. I live in one just like it, so I know of what she speaks.

The mystery of who killed Threnody McIlwaine was filled with numerous red herrings, yet I had it narrowed down to 2 suspects about 2/3 of the way through. I liked the Eastport, Maine setting as the northern coast of Maine is one New England area I've yet to visit, and Ms. Graves' details made the area sound very inviting.

Referencing cozy mysteries I've read lately, I felt this book a bit overlong in comparison, that the story could have been wrapped up sooner if some of the renovation details had been sacrificed and the story tightened up. Another common theme is the abusive ex/likeable new significant other and in this instance, as in previous books by other authors, I found nothing to like about the ex and a lot to like about Wade Sorenson. However, the similarities won't stop me from reading the other 2 books in this series (Triple Witch and Wicked Fix) and, in fact, they are in my to-be-read pile.

An author I hadn't heard of before. I bought this based on a rec.arts.mystery recommendation, and I loved it. Lovely prose (reminds me of Margaret Maron's Knott mysteries in the lyricism of its description of Eastport), tight plot, and overall one of the most impressive authors I've discovered in the last few years. Highly recommended.

I love reading mystery stories when I'm ready for a light and easy read. I have read quite a few of them and I am thrilled to add Sarah Graves to my "must read" list. Many "light" fiction books feel like you have just eaten cotton candy -- nothing to show for it and still unsatisfied. This book was just the opposite! The characters were well developed, the plot was enjoyable and the writing was very good. I am looking forward to reading the other books in the series and sharing my find with other fans of the mystery genre.

What a delightful book to read (either on the beach or in front of a warm fire with a cup of tea) when you just want to have some fun!

Being a former Mainer (albeit a Northerner, and not a downeaster), I'm always hesitant to read books with a Maine setting. Too few authors get it right. This author does get it right. The main characters (Jake, Ellie, Sam, Wayne, and George) are fun to get to know.

What keeps this from being a four or five star book is the thorough unlikeableness of the victim and the suspects, apart from the sleuth's best friend, Ellie. The more I got to know about them, the less I liked any of them. There wasn't enough contrast between the suspects -- basically I wouldn't have minded if any of them had done it. In many mysteries of this genre, there's a suspect that you just don't want to be the killer. This book lacked that aspect, and it bothered me. I wanted some shades of gray that just weren't there.

I read these over the summer, while vacationing near Boothbay Harbor---three engrossingly-interesting paperback mysteries set in Eastport, Maine, about as far Down East as a body can go...The Dead Cat Bounce, Triple Witch and Wicked Fix feature the indomitable Jacobia Tiptree, an escapee from the NYC financial scene (the first two titles derive from Wall Street slang for troublesome stock market situations), divorced from a high-maintenance neurosurgeon, who, having purchased an antique home in the easternmost city in the USA, spends all of her time and money fixing it up, raising her bright son, bonding with new friends, and solving the little problem of the bodies which keep turning up...in her mudroom, in the tidepools, in a boat's bait-box, hanging from the cemetery gate...

I really like these books! Not condescending regarding the Maine born-and-bred characters, but not over-romanticizing them, either. Graves catches the nuances of this small town on the sea's edge: the unrelenting hard work, the poverty, the long-gone fabled wealthy glory days of Eastport, the incredible natural beauty, the Edward-Hopper-like landscapes and the wealth of historical homes and buildings. She also manages to capture the feeling of being "from away" in a closed, tight-knit society where everyone knows everyone else's business and family skeletons...Jacobia's voice is a friendly, funny one, easy to like, and the supporting characters are all well-drawn and distinctive. Nor does she pull any punches in regards to the yuck-factor of murder: some of the descriptions are not for the squeamish. These ain't no tea-and-crumpets, civilized little murder mysteries...I can't wait to read more.

Former stock broker extraordinaire Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree has traded her life of high pressure trades for the peaceful quite of Eastport, Maine, a quiet town on an island almost as far east as you can go. She's bought an antique home in need of great repair and fills her days trying to fix all the problems, from squeaky doors to leaking plumbing and rotten floors.

One day, Jake goes to her storeroom and finds a man dead, lying on the floor. As if it weren't shocking enough to have a stranger dying in her house, her best friend, Ellie White, immediately confesses to the murder.

The victim turns out to be Threnody McIlwaine, a local boy turned corporate raider billionaire. Even given his worldwide fame, Ellie did have a motive. Threnody had just tricked her family out of a fortune, leaving them bankrupt. With the prosecutors ready to act on the case to keep the media happy, Jake realizes that Ellie is going to be railroaded into a long prison term.

There's just one problem, however. Ellie is too quiet to commit murder. Convinced her friend is innocent, Jake sets out to figure out who really killed the man. Even in a town as small as Eastport, the list of suspects is rather long. It will take all of Jake's abilities to sort through the clues to find the truth.

This is the debut of what has become a highly successful mystery series, and it's easy to see why. Jake is a likeable and capable heroine. This is someone who could easily become a friend in real life, and spending time with her is fun. While Ellie isn't in much of the book, she is a likeable character as well. I look forward to getting to know her better in future books in the series. The other towns people we get to know were nice assets to the plot and created a feeling of community I loved.

The only strike against the book is the plot. It seems to meander a bit at the beginning, taking it's own sweet time getting started. Once it does, however, it tells an exciting story with some nice twists that kept me confused until the very end. The title of the book refers to some stock market jargon. Not only is this a reference to Jake's previous job, but it also has an impact on the case.

Even when the plot is slow, the writing style keeps you pulled into the story with its vivid descriptions and laid-back story telling. It fits a story taking place in a small, cozy town and I wouldn't change it for anything.

The setting itself is great. The small town is warm and inviting, even in the middle of the bad storm they face over the course of the book.

Even in the debut, it's easy to see why this series has won the hearts of so many readers. I look forward to visiting Jake Tiptree and Eastport, Maine, again real soon.

As a Mainer and lover of mystery stories, this book was enjoyable on both accounts. Good for foggy, cool summer days on the deck! Ms. Graves doesn't lower her standards with BAD accents and the dry-demented humor that people always try to label New Englanders with. It is a wicked good read!

This is a mystery of the first order and one that Mainers or those who have spent considerable time there will really love. It has the Maine character perfectly described along with the weather, the fog, and their inimitable style of understement-while understanding the vaguaries of the human condition of independence-totally captured. It would have made a good script for the 1940's "I Love A Mystery" radio program.

You won't be bored because the author is so good at sidetracking you with clues that do not pan out.

A very good read.. I had to control myself and space out the time when I read it because I did not want to finish too fast, but wanted to reflect on the clues.

I bought and read this book based on a positive review I had read on the internet and am glad that I did so. The main character, Jacobia, grew on me as I read further into the book, although I have to admit I did not care for her at first, thinking her to be a bit judgmental and a little whiny. I learned to appreciate her and I hope that in the following books, we can see more of her background including her financial work with some questionable characters; now that would make some interesting storytelling. I agree with a previous reviewer in that I found nothing to like about her ex-husband, and everything to like about her boyfried; in fact, I found them almost too one-dimensional (evil ex-husband & perfect boyfriend), but not so much as in many of the cookie-cutter mysteries on the market today. I will definitely be picking up the next books in the series to read in the near future.

...had I not, I probably wouldn't have continued with this series. Dead Cat Bounce just seemed to meander. The characters were flat and the plot was pretty dull. Sarah Graves definitely picks it up in her next book.