Customer Reviews

Deadly Advice (An Advice Column Mystery)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I won't bother summarizing the plot since it's been done so thoroughly by others, but I will say that although people refer to this book as a "cozy," it is anything but. Sure, there's the amateur sleuth, a bevy of sidekicks, and touches of humor but this book is considerably less "gentle" than most cozy mysteries. In fact, that's why I like it better. So if you're getting tired of the small-town, small-minds type of cozy, pick this one up. You *won't* be disappointed!

Dr. Rebecca Butterman is a clinical psychologist and author of an online advice column. When her next door neighbor, Madeline, commits suicide, she is surprised she didn't see any of the signs. Isabel, Madeline's mom, asks Rebecca to give her opinion about some things she finds in Madeline's apartment. Isabel doesn't believe it was suicide. The cops are convinced it was. Rebecca really doesn't want to become involved, but she does.

Rebecca ends up tracing some of Madeline's forays into the dating scene when her editor assigns a column on dating. Add to that a messy divorce and the nosy neighbors and you have Rebecca's mixed up life. As she tries to untangle the information about Madeline, she also has to come to terms with her own life.

Did Madeline commit suicide? If not, who killed her and why? Can Rebecca answer these questions without putting herself in danger?

I loved this into into a new cozy mystery series. What a great idea to have an online advice columnist and psychologist be an amateur sleuth. I love it. Rebecca is not a know-it-all by any means. I felt I could really relate to her. She's just a down-to-earth woman with a lot going on who ends up trying to help out. I thought the plot twists and turns at the end were great. I stumbled right along with Rebecca as she found the killer.

I can't wait for the next one! I highly recommend this book.

Dr. Rebecca Butterman is used to helping people - she's a clinical psychologist and the author of an on-line advice column, so when Madeline, her next door neighbor is found dead from an apparent suicide, Rebecca wonders if she could have done something to help her. When Madeline's mother insists it couldn't be suicide, Rebecca agrees to look into the death. Rebecca soon realizes that Madeline was not all she seemed to be and as she investigates the on-line dating world for a writing assignment, she realizes the two are linked. The more she looks into both cases, the more she puts herself into danger, danger she may not escape from.

"Deadly Advice" is a well written and well plotted mystery. Rebecca is a nicely done, complex heroine, recently divorced and just starting to get her life back together. She is not perfect and her own personal therapy sessions help develop her character. While her advice column is interesting to read about, as were her attempts at on-line dating, what I liked best about the book were the details about her home life - her cooking, her taking in Madeline's cat, and her neighbors and the condo meetings they had. Rebecca's neighbors - especially Mts. Dunbarton, Peter Morgan, and Babette Fnster - are all well done. The mystery itself is well written and well plotted with plenty of red herrings and readers will have a hard time figuring out who the killer is. While author Roberta Isleib flirts with the almost standard mystery plot device of a romance between Rebecca and Detective Jack Meigs, she adds a welcome wrinkle to that formula. And, while the book seems on the surface to be a cozy mystery, it's a bit too gritty to fit that definition.

"Deadly Advice" is well done.

Author Roberta Isleib is a psychologist as is her heroine Rebecca Butterman in the mystery novel Deadly Advice. Dr. Butterman is also an advice columnist. This is the first in the Advice Column mystery series. The storyline has Rebecca in a quandary over her neighbor Madeline's suicide. As a psychologist, Rebecca feels guilty (even though she wasn't well acquainted with Madeline) because she didn't see the suicide coming. When Madeline's seeming frail mother tells Rebecca she doesn't believe her daughter committed suicide, Rebecca finds herself drawn into an investigation.

Everywhere she looks, Rebecca finds contradictory evidence. Her neighbors don't agree on who had been seen coming and going from Madeline's condo. The police declare the death a suicide and tell her not to be involved with a closed case. Yet Rebecca learns that they are still actively investigating the case. Madeline's brothers try to talk Rebecca out of searching for more clues. Family secrets cloud the issues. Rebecca finds a secret blog that shows another, darker side of Madeline and reveals her involvement in questionable singles' activities. It seems she loved to kiss and tell.

Add all this to an assignment from her editors to look into the singles' dating scene, and Rebecca finds herself in some interesting and somewhat dangerous places. Just getting over a divorce, Rebecca knows that this is the last thing she wants to do, but she can use the assignment as a guise to further her investigation of Madeline's life and death. The ensuing events involve both comedy and peril, and situations where Rebecca finds she doesn't know whose motives to trust.

At first, I found the story slow-moving, but I continued to read because I wanted to know how what came next. I concluded that the story wasn't slow but rather intricately crafted--a mystery that remained a mystery until the end. The plot had subtle twists and turns that hold one's interest.

Isleib portrays her main character as a skilled and compassionate professional who is, like all of us, human and flawed, dealing with the baggage of a recent divorce and a not-so-great childhood, and actually in therapy herself. Rebecca is a believable character, not a perfect cardboard caricature nor a bumbling incompetent. According to Isleib, this was a conscious aim: "...I have the chance to dream up psychologist characters who can help solve mysteries without stumbling too hard over their own personal issues, crossing ethical boundaries, or imploding with self-importance." When asked how her own profession influenced her writing, Isleib said "Believe it or not, the work of the detective in a mystery has quite a bit in common with long-term psychotherapy. You start with a problem, then follow the threads, looking for clues, and gradually fill in the big picture." (from author's website)

What is a natural progression for Isleib translates into a quite enjoyable read for mystery lovers.

by Susan Ideus
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

When thirty-eight-year-old Dr. Rebecca Butterman catches her husband cheating on her, she vows to make some drastic changes in her life. First, to divorce the no-good hubby. Second, to avoid the male persuasion for awhile, and throw herself headfirst into her career as a clinical psychologist. Third, to be the best advice columnist she can possibly be. And, last, but not least, to settle in to a comfortable new townhouse in Guilford, Connecticut, where she can start her life over, and steer clear of nosy neighbors. Managing to accomplish the first two tasks on her list, Rebecca begins working on her third. Of course, being the voice of Dr. Aster, the advice guru for online magazine Bloom! proves harder than Rebecca ever suspected. People write in for advice that is peppy and fun, and Rebecca can't help but feel that her answers won't provide lasting help. But Rebecca's worries regarding her Dr. Aster problems go out the window when she learns that her next-door neighbor, Madeline Stanton, has been lying dead in her townhouse for two days. Reported as an apparent suicide, Rebecca can't seem to shake the feeling that foul play is somehow involved. After all, as a psychologist, she expects that she would have noticed the signs if Madeline was contemplating taking her own life. On the other hand, Rebecca spent so much time working, and doing everything in her power to avoid her neighbors that maybe she just missed something. However, unsettled by her neighbor's sudden death, Rebecca begins looking into the secret world of Madeline Stanton. A world that involved an estranged father, family feuds, and an underworld of seedy sex lives. Researching Madeline online, Rebecca uncovers a blog written by Madeline herself, containing descriptions of the various men she met, and different romantic escapades she experienced on a quite-frequent basis. Everything seems like innocent fun between consenting adults, until Rebecca stumbles upon a secret page that indicates Madeline's more sleazy adventures in the world of dating. Madeline looked like such an innocent character, and Rebecca is shocked to learn about her secret life. Of course, her discovery is also a surprise, as she realizes that, by reading Madeline's blog entries, it's quite evident that the girl was anything but depressed, leading her to believe that, rather than taking her own life, Madeline was murdered. When Rebecca's editor at Bloom! demands that she pen a column regarding the modern singles scene, Rebecca is reluctant to take the assignment. However, when she realizes that, by doing so, she'll be able to follow Madeline's footsteps, and get an in-depth look into the life of her ex-neighbor, Rebecca is quite excited to have the opportunity to do so. However, as she begins gliding through speed dating events, one-on-one meetings with balding entrepreneurs who seem about as exciting as a hangnail, and creepy characters who make her skin crawl, Rebecca begins to wonder whether her impromptu investigation was such a good idea after all. Unfortunately, now that she's involved herself, she's determined to see this case to the end, even if it costs her her life.

As an aspiring clinical psychologist, avid advice column reader, and self-professed foodie, I cannot tell you how thrilled I was to find that Roberta Isleib combined three of my favorite topics, and stuck them all into one tightly-packed, intrepid novel. Isleib's characters are fresh and exciting. Her knowledge of the inner-workings of the mind, and one-on-one therapy sessions are intriguing, and certainly add another dimension to the mystery genre; while her descriptions of putting together some mouth-watering dishes - such as pesto pizza - will definitely appeal to readers of culinary mysteries. While the content found within DEADLY ADVICE - sexual voyeurism and narcissism - can oft-times be downright creepy, and unsettling; Isleib paints the topic in a non-vulgar light, providing the reader with information regarding the subject, without making you feel overwhelmed. Dr. Rebecca Butterman is an interesting character, whose ability to help patients and acquaintances on a daily basis; while, at the same time, admit that she, herself, has problems by seeing a psychologist of her own makes her appeal more human, certainly adding a relatable side to her personality. Isleib's depiction of Rebecca's neighbors, from the uncannily nosy Edith Dunbarton, to the always anxious Babette Finster, perfectly displays her ability to weave wonderful character development into her tale, and to make the readers involved by bringing out emotion in them, towards the characters. It is also nice to see that Rebecca makes mistakes in her judgements and assumptions at times, as it gives you the chance to see that even those who are educated don't always have the right answer. Highly recommended for anyone who loves cozies - especially if you're interested in psychology. Traversing the mind of Dr. Rebecca Butterman is the perfect end to a killer day!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

Roberta Isleib is the author of several mysteries that focus on golf. With Deadly Advice she enters new territory. Her heroine is a psychologist (like Ms. Isleib) who writes an advice column.

Dr. Rebecca Butterman is a clinical psychologist and writes an advice column under the name of Dr. Aster. She's recently divorced (she found her husband in a compromising position with a redhead, in her own home) and the column is helping her current financial situation.

Rebecca returns to her Guilford condo to find that her neighbor, Madeline, committed suicide. She's feeling a bit guilty that she hadn't been a better neighbor. When Madeline's mother suggests that Rebecca keep the deceased woman's cat until she can find a home for him, it is the beginning of a journey the psychologist didn't expect to take. Madeline's mother doesn't believe her daughter committed suicide and Rebecca chalks it all up to some heavy denial.

But when Rebecca stumbles on Madeline's blog, a chronicle of her dating habits, she knows Madeline was not depressed enough to commit suicide. Rebecca's advice column editor wants a column on the singles scene and Rebecca follows Madeline's life of speed dating and Internet blogging. No one is who they say they are and advice can be deadly.

I enjoy Isleib's golf mysteries, but I love Dr. Rebecca Butterman. The characters are rich and complex, the plot is current and the twists will keep you turning the pages. I hope we'll see more of Rebecca Butterman.

Armchair Interviews says: Check out Isleib's golf mysteries. Read one and you'll be compelled to read them all.

I must admit, as a teen, I'm usually not into books with a main character over 30. And I'm also not used to all the talk of marriage and cheating and such and such, however, the one thing I did enjoy was the amazing twist at the end which saved this novel for me. It was a good ending, and an unexpected one. However, it doesn't quite save this novel from getting over 3 stars. Maybe this book is just not my cup of tea, I like murder mysteries, I just don't like all the excess stuff that was added to this novel...I believe that it's because this novel is aimed at older and more mature audiences. So read if you can relate, or if you're just into mature fiction.

I thoroughly enjoyed this not so typical addition to my cozy mystery collection. The plot is engaging and well-written. The flow of the book kept me reading (I couldn't put it down) and there were enough unexpected twists to keep things interesting. The psychological aspects of the novel fit in with the storyline in most places, though the psychology jargon would occasionally weigh the story down. Rebecca is a wonderful mix of intelligent and sympathetic, a combination not found often enough. Overall this is a smart and suspenseful novel, a worthy read for any mystery lover.

This Connecticut cozy is a promising beginning to what I hope will be a long series starring advice columnist Dr. Rebecca Butterman and a cast of interesting, sympathetic characters. I thought the mystery was wrapping up in the last few pages when a couple of unexpected but believable revelations completely changed my view of the two main characters--setting up relationship possibilities that should make Dr. Butterman's second appearance even more compelling than her first.

Her neighbor's apparent suicide haunts Dr. Rebecca Butterman, who feels that since she is a counselor, she should have seen the signs. Perhaps this is, in part, why she agreed to investigate when the victim's mother did not believe her daughter took her own life. Despite opposition and danger, Rebecca persists, uncovering some ugly truths in the process. While the truth can set you free, the good doctor has to worry if death and freedom will prove to be synonyms.

**** This is an excellent mystery, with engaging characters and is clearly well researched. Rebecca is a good narrator with a sympathetic voice and on target insights. There is subtle humor, balancing out the suspense, and the finale is one that you probably will not see coming. ****