Customer Reviews

Death in a Mood Indigo

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

 

 

I really enjoyed Death in A Mood Indigo, it was an atmospheric and absorbing story. Merry's character, a Sconset police detective is different than the usual hard edged policewomen that I read about. She has a feminine side, makes mistakes, and has a life (at least on weekends) aside from her police work. The other characters in this story, her father, grandfather, boyfriend Peter, the townspeople, victims, suspects and FBI agents are also well written and provide just the right mix for a great book. My only problem was that it was easy to guess who perpetrated the crime. I like to be surprised and I wasn't. I did run right out though, when I finished it, and purchased Death In A Cold Heard Light. I also tried to find her two earlier books that are alluded to in the story, but found that they are out of print-I ordered them anyway and am crossing my fingers that I eventually get them.

The Nantucket setting is fresh and appealing, and the lead character Merry is likeable enough. Some of the professional choices she makes, however, are so unlikely and so obviously wrongheaded that they interrupted the flow of the reading for me -- I kept finding myself thinking "a police detective wouldn't do that!" I enjoy flawed and outspoken characters -- Kinsey Millhone comes to mind -- but a character's actions should be believable. Also, Merry's friends and family seem a little one-dimensional to me (the patient boyfriend, the stern but loving father, etc.); I hope these characters get more fleshed out as this series continues. As for the mystery itself, I figured out "whodunit" early in the book, which is always a bit disappointing. Still, I like Merry and the Nantucket setting and will take a chance on another book in this series. Hopefully, the author will choose to have Merry make more believable professional decisions next time.

This book was fantastic. I couldn't put it down! I finished the book at 2:15 a.m. on a work night. It was well worth the lack of sleep! Francine Mathews gets better with each book. I can't wait for her next one. I would highly recommend this series.

On a dreary Spring day, two lonely and disconsolate children, Nan and Cecil Markham, are playing by themselves on a Nantucket beach when the little girl find a human skeleton buried in the sand. The case is assigned to police detective Meredith Folger, who almost immediately finds herself struggling over jurisdiction. The state police and the FBI are working a serial killer case that they feel is linked to Folger's investigation. ..... The remains turn out to be Dr. Elizabeth Osborne, who disappeared without a trace about eight years ago. Just before Elizabeth vanished, she shared a torrid love affair with the also missing Ian Markham, father of the two children. Merry looks back over the intervening eight years to see if some clues might still exist. The husband appears to be the prime suspect in Elizabeth's murder. However, as Merry gets closer to the truth, the FBI warns Merry to back off as they feel her case links to their serial killer case. Still Merry continues her inquiries regardless of the feelings of the rival departments, hoping that one of them will solve a murder long unavenged. ...... DEATH IN A MOOD INDIGO will leave readers in a positive mood after reading a fabulous who-done-it/police procedural. The story line is exciting and well written, but it is the ending that will blow the audience's mind. Merry Folger in her third outing is already one of the best distaff American police officers in fiction today. This reviewer strongly recommends the three Folger novels as well as the author's two Jane Austen Mystery series (written under the name Stephanie Barron). All five novels are superb. ......Harriet Klausner

I purchased this in a Nantucket bookstore because I wanted to read a mystery with a local setting while on vacation. It rewarded me with well-drawn characters, a good sense of the seasonal changes on Nantucket and an interesting plot. I lowered the rating one star because I thought the killer's motivations were not sufficiently developed--maybe to prolong the suspense of who was the killer. Nevertheless, I would like to read the author's other titles including the Jane Austen mysteries.

Reading is not my favorite pastime. I tend to shy away from reading as much as I can, until I found Death In A Mood Indigo by Francine Mathews. Sitting all alone on a shelf at my work I thought I'd pick it up and read it - I did. Right from the beginning, Mathews enlightened me with excellent vocabulary and in-depth descriptions of the current happenings. Throughout the book, Mathews displays excellent character construction and well thought out scenes with bone-chilling suspense - a logical novel that needs brain power to conjure the twists and turns written on each page. Death In A Mood Indigo is defintely a page turner that will keep you reading and reading and reading and reading...

This series is set on Nantucket Island and the author is skilled at capturing the ambience of island life so much so that you may find yourself thinking about packing your bags. In this outing, a skeleton is found buried on the beach. Detective Merry Folger takes this as a personal affront since it's her territory and dead bodies, even if they are old, shouldn't be turning up on her beaches. The only thing the crime lab can tell Merry is that the skeleton is a woman who was strangled between two and ten years earlier. Not much to go on, but something. This series is as cozy as they come and deserves a wide audience of cozy readers. Suprisingly, non-cozy lovers can enjoy this series because it is also an excellent procedural - especially since Merry doesn't have access to many experts like city cops do, and must solve the crimes on her island with brains and deduction.

Francine Mathews also writes as Stephanie Barron, the author of the Jane Austen mystery series. I've never read one of those books, but they seem to be well liked. Well, I wish I could have liked Death in a Mood Indigo as much as others liked it, but I didn't. I have a stash of these really easy mystery novels on my tbr shelves, and maybe it's time to let them go. I've discovered I like my mysteries a wee bit more challenging.

Normally I don't start reading a series with book #3, but in an effort to get through my mountain of TBR books, this is what I had.

The novel begins on a Nantucket beach when Nan and Cecil Markham, ages 8 and 11 respectively, are off playing. Along comes their dog, Sachmo, with something in his mouth, which turns out to be a bone. The kids find this very cool until they dig up a skull, and realize that the bones the dog has are human. The local police are alerted, and the case is assigned to detective Meredith Folger. Checking against missing persons records, she finds out that the bones belong to a Dr. Elizabeth Osborne, who disappeared without a trace some eight years back. While she's investigating how Dr. Osborne's bones ended up on the beach, a local woman is killed and changes the complexion of the entire case.

The mystery was intriguing and the characters were okay. However, one little clue given by the author tipped me to the murderer and I have to say I was quite disappointed to be found right. When I read a mystery, I want to be pleasantly surprised as to the "who" in the "whodunit" and this was way too easy. I don't know if I'd go out of my way to find another book in this series, but if one drops into my lap I'll probably read it.

Reading is not my favorite pastime. I tend to shy away from reading as much as I can, until I found Death In A Mood Indigo by Francine Mathews. Sitting all alone on a shelf at my work I thought I'd pick it up and read it - I did. Right from the beginning, Mathews enlightened me with excellent vocabulary and in-depth descriptions of the current happenings. Throughout the book, Mathews displays excellent character construction and well thought out scenes with bone-chilling suspense - a logical novel that needs brain power to conjure the twists and turns written on each page. Death In A Mood Indigo is defintely a page turner that will keep you reading and reading and reading and reading...