Death on the Diagonal [Mass Market Paperback]

Carolyn Banks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1996

"Carolyn Banks has a sense of style and wit."
--The New York Times
BEAD, TEXAS, IS A DEAD END.
Little white houses, the yard-of-the-week competition, new hanging files in the insurance company--that's about it for Bead. Not even the hit-and-run death of the editor of the Bead Weekly rouses this Texas backwater from its torpor.
But nosy newcomer Robin Vaughan, hunting for a place to board her two cherished horses, sniffs trouble in this tumbleweed paradise. While her husband, Jeet, settles in as the new editor of the newspaper, reckless Robin asks incautious questions. Why is a famous equestrienne, a star in the exclusive world of dressage, holed up on a rundown farm? Who's the lurking local clone of Norman Bates in Psycho? Is it senility that makes old Boone DeWitt claim he's oil rich? Who killed nice Townsend Loving and why? Before she knows it, Robin's headed for a dead end of her own. . . .
"Banks's technique . . . is as sharp as any killer's knife blade."
--The Washington Post
"Crisply flip dialogue is her métier."
--Los Angeles Times

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Carolyn Banks has a sense of style and wit."--The New York Times

"Crisply flip dialogue is [Banks's] metier."--Los Angeles Times

"Banks's technique...is as sharp as any killer's knife blade."--The Washington Post

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

From the Inside Flap

"Carolyn Banks has a sense of style and wit."
--The New York Times
BEAD, TEXAS, IS A DEAD END.
Little white houses, the yard-of-the-week competition, new hanging files in the insurance company--that's about it for Bead. Not even the hit-and-run death of the editor of the Bead Weekly rouses this Texas backwater from its torpor.
But nosy newcomer Robin Vaughan, hunting for a place to board her two cherished horses, sniffs trouble in this tumbleweed paradise. While her husband, Jeet, settles in as the new editor of the newspaper, reckless Robin asks incautious questions. Why is a famous equestrienne, a star in the exclusive world of dressage, holed up on a rundown farm? Who's the lurking local clone of Norman Bates in Psycho? Is it senility that makes old Boone DeWitt claim he's oil rich? Who killed nice Townsend Loving and why? Before she knows it, Robin's headed for a dead end of her own. . . .
"Banks's technique . . . is as sharp as any killer's knife blade."
--The Washington Post
"Crisply flip dialogue is her métier."
--Los Angeles Times

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Fawcett (June 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449149684
• ISBN-13: 978-0449149683
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,534,239 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Death on the diagonal, December 26, 2002

By 

ZACHP4444 (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death on the Diagonal (Mass Market Paperback)

I thought the book was pretty good. That's why on the scale from 1-5 I gave it an 4. I thought the book had a great plot with a lot of crazy twists and turns. I thought it was great that it kept you guessing who killed Towns. I also thought that the book did a good job of explaining things so the average person could understand. Instead of just saying she was holding a knife to her throat. They went into detail, they explained that she was holding an X-acto knife to her neck the sharp kind where if the victim made any kind of movement the knife would have plunged deep into the victim's neck. I thought it was great that every character introduced had a purpose one way or another. What I did not like about the story was that it did not go over a character long enough, I have a hard time remembering names and it would have made it a lot easier if they would have told the first and last name of the person. I thought the book should have been a little longer, because the ending is blah. It also doesn't leave a window for another book, but that can be a bad or good thing depending on if you like sagas or not.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not her best, October 9, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Death on the Diagonal (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read all of Carolyn Banks' books featuring Robin Vaughn and this is definetly not her best.There were funny scenes and the beginning started out fine but towards the end it seemed she was really reaching for a story. Don't base your judgement of Banks by this novel,read DEATH BY DRESSAGE, that's the best!

4.0 out of 5 stars Death on the Diagonal by Carolyn Banks, December 27, 2002

By 

ZACHP4444 (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death on the Diagonal (Mass Market Paperback)

I thought the book was pretty good. That's why on the scale from 1-5 I gave it a 4. I thought the book had a great plot with a lot of crazy twists and turns. I thought it was great that it kept you guessing who killed Towns. I also thought that the book did a good job of explaining things so the average person could understand. Instead of just saying she was holding a knife to her throat. They went into detail, they explained that she was holding an X-acto knife to her neck the sharp kind where if the victim made any kind of movement the knife would have plunged deep into the victim's neck. I thought it was great that every character introduced had a purpose one way or another. What I did not like about the story was that it did not go over a character long enough, I have a hard time remembering names and it would have made it a lot easier if they would have told the first and last name of the person. I thought the book should have been a little longer, because the ending is blah. It also doesn't leave a window for another book, but that can be a bad or good thing depending on if you like sagas or not.