Death of a Romance Writer & Other Stories (Five Star First Edition Mystery) [Hardcover]

Joan Hess (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Award-wining mystery author Joan Hess' sharp, quirky sense of humor shines through in this collection of four previously published mystery stories and one short mystery novel. The short stories include "Death of a Romance Writer," "Too Much to Bare," and "Death in Bloom" and "The Maggody Files: Time Will Tell," which feature characters from Hess' popular "Maggody" mystery series. Originally published almost 20 years ago under the pseudonym Joan Hadley, The Night-Blooming Cereus (1986) introduced readers to retired florist and reluctant sleuth Theo Bloomer, who is sent by his domineering sister to retrieve his niece from an Israeli kibbutz only to find himself involved in a murder investigation when one of the kibbutz members is found dead. A striking sense of place and some nicely drawn characters, including the unassuming yet quite charming Theo, are certain to win over a fresh batch of mystery readers to this comical cozy mystery. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Five Star (ME) (March 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786239336
• ISBN-13: 978-0786239337
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,357,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ok, I haven't read the whole book, April 10, 2002

By 

Gift Card Recipient "Whatsername" (TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death of a Romance Writer & Other Stories (Five Star First Edition Mystery) (Hardcover)

But, Death of a Romance Writer is wonderful. I'm giving the book 5 stars because that story alone merits the rating. I won't give away the plot, but it involves a romance novel character who is tired of the boring, restrictive roles she keeps having to act out, and what she does about it. The way the story is written is, well, nothing short of brilliant.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Glad she got better after this book!!, May 21, 2008

By 

D. Dean - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death of a Romance Writer & Other Stories (Five Star First Edition Mystery) (Hardcover)

I didn't recognize the writer. She was dull as molasses dripping off a vinyl topped table from the 50's. D.U.L.L. And I am an avid fan of the Claire Malloy mysteries. I absolutely hated the stories from this book. They were too obvious, knew who did it after reading the first page of each story. Hated it! Okay so do you get the idea that I don't recommend (sp) this book to anyone? But then again I don't appreciate her other series of books either. Just love Claire. Go figure!!!