Deadly Appearances: A Joanne Kilbourn Mystery [Paperback]

GAIL BOWEN (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 267 pages
• Publisher: MCCLELLAND STEWART LTD; 1st M& S Pb edition (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0771014856
• ISBN-13: 978-0771014857
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,756,706 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An otherwise great novel with one major flaw..., July 2, 2001

By 

Jonathan Burgoine "bookseller" (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deadly Appearances: A Joanne Kilbourn Mystery (Paperback)

Before I begin, I should point out that I have read and loved the entire Jo Anne Kilbourn mystery series, and that this first book is the only one I have any solid troubles with.

Jo Anne Kilbourn is a wonderful character, a woman who can't seem to not get involved when a man she worked with in Canadian Politics is murdered by poison in front of a crowd, herself included. Digging into the past of the politician, however, she unearths that all might not be how it seemed, and soon wonders how many people she can trust that she has trusted her entire adult life.

A character with a solid family, Jo Anne is a bright and interesting widower, and a smart amateur sleuth to boot. On that basis alone, this was a pleasure to read.

The pleasure ends with the villain. I don't want to give the book away, but who the villain is and and the villain's motive for murder set my teeth on edge. .... It's tiring, insulting, and done far too often in fiction.

That said, the rest of the book propelled me forward in the Jo Anne Kilbourn series, and I have loved the rest dearly, right up to "Burying Ariel."

Check it out, just get ready to flinch, in a bad way, at the villain.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solving the mystery of a fictional Canadian politician., February 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Deadly Appearances: A Joanne Kilbourn Mystery (Paperback)

It was a fantastic read. I was guessing to the very end. Descriptions of the settings where the plot takes place are extremely realistic. Set in the Canadian prairies.