Deadly Sanctuary (Kendall O'Dell Mystery series) [Paperback]

Sylvia Nobel (Author)

Book Description

Series: Kendall O'Dell Mystery series | Publication Date: April 28, 1998

This is the first title in Sylvia Nobel's popular mystery series that features spirited, flame-haired reporter, Kendall O'Dell. The author's trademark style is to produce exciting, well-written, edge-of-your-seat, adventures with 'knock your socks off' surprise endings. Her judicious use of language and lack of graphic sex and violence make her novels suitable from teens to seniors.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Deadly Sanctuary is a literary rollercoaster ride of suspense, an outstanding mystery from first to last" -The Midwest Book Review

"Nobel's whodunit is in the vein of Agatha Christie or Jessica Fletcher of Murder She Wrote fame. I got hooked...that's what a good mystery should be." -Grant Smith, Sonoran News

"Sylvia Nobel's tale of mystery will hold your attention from beginning to end. Her style is similar to Tony Hillerman. Try it--you'll like it!" -Amazon book customer -- Book Review

About the Author

Sylvia Nobel is the award-winning author of the Kendall O'Dell mystery series and two romance novels, all set in Arizona. She is an accomplished public speaker and a member of Mystery Writers of America. She lives in Phoenix, AZ with her husband and seven cats.

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Nite Owl Books; Fourth edition edition (April 28, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966110579
• ISBN-13: 978-0966110579
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (129 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #964,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sylvia Nobel is the author of the Kendall O'Dell mystery series. All of her novels are based on actual events and set in Arizona. Sylvia is a member of Mystery Writers of America. Her books are enjoyed by fans of all ages worldwide. She has lived in Arizona most of her life and loves this ruggedly beautiful state where she delights in showcasing its unique beauty in her suspense-packed novels.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tony Hillerman fans will love this one!, April 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Deadly Sanctuary (Kendall O'Dell Mystery series) (Paperback)

Enjoy Southwest lore? Love a mystery? Recently I read a mystery by a comparatively new and very promising author who resides in the Phoenix area, Sylvia Nobel, which combines both features. Deadly Sanctuary is a fast paced mystery which takes place here in Arizona. The heroine, Kendall O'Dell, takes a new job at a small AZ newspaper and stumbles into an evil conspiracy involving the death of two teen-aged girls. Sylvia Nobel's tale of mystery will hold your attention from beginning to end. Her style is similar to Tony Hillerman. Try it--you'll like it!

78 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll never guess the ending of this one!, October 6, 1999

By 

A reader from California ([e-mail]) (Northern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadly Sanctuary (Kendall O'Dell Mystery series) (Paperback)

I'm not usually a big mystery buff, but I thought I'd give this one a try and I'm glad I did. Now I understand what the phrase "compulsive page turner" means -- I just couldn't stop reading! It's such an imaginative plot, with so many twists and turns I can't imagine many readers figuring it out ahead of time. A definite must read.

65 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ok story althouh a bit cliched, horrible writing, needs editing, December 26, 2010

By 

BBC Addict "ESK" (Houston) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Deadly Sanctuary (Kendall O'Dell Mystery series) (Kindle Edition)

First of all, not sure how this book was ever tagged "Christian" as a reviewer mentions. Maybe the word "Sanctuary" kicked off some kind of automatic labeling? This is not a Christian book but also doesn't hold itself out to be one.

Story is a typical big city girl goes to tiny town for one reason or another (man trouble, money trouble, or in this case, both) and stirs up the locals. First, with so many references to the heroine (Kendall) having such limited funds and the newspaper she works for being on the brink of financial disaster, where does Kendall get the money to do things like pay several hundred dollars to a source? The book needs a good editor.

Characters: pretty one dimensional - handsome, rich but obviously slimy guy tries to charm Kendall (guess the author was trying to create conflict?), then there's the typical brooding-cowboy-who-clearly-has-a-secret character; small town sherriff as bad guy, etc. All quite predictable and boring.

What killed the book for me: I may have given the book three stars except for one thing. The author has Kendall's coworker, Ginger, speaking the most excrutiating dialect since she's supposed to be from Texas. Almost every sentence out of Ginger's mouth is the author's attempt at a folksy saying and Ginger says "y'all" every other word. A word to aspiring authors who studied dialogue in a writing class and want to be the next William Faulkner: PLEASE, PLEASE, DON'T TRY TO WRITE DIALECT! Sit on your hands, have someone hide your laptop, call your writing sponsor! Written dialect is extremely difficult to get right, and most of the time all it does is make readers cringe in embarrassment for the author.

This book was written in 1998 - I'd be interested to see if the author has improved since then since other reviewers seem to be big fans of her work. This was a cute mystery that needs better writing - not even close to "gripping" or "kept me up all night" but okay for a free book.

Oh yeah - the Kindle version has issues - had a few sections where a prior page or two repeated themselves, but that's not the author's fault.