Deep Waters (Callie Anson Mysteries, No. 3) [Hardcover]

Kate Charles (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 10, 2009

In a culture obsessed with celebrity, baby Muffinas death is big news. Crib death? Or something more sinister? Everyone wants to know, including the police.
Whatever the truth, the bereaved parentsacelebrity couple Jodee and Chazzalive in curate Callie Ansonas London parish, and Callie becomes involved with funeral arrangements, despite the disapproval of her vicar and his wife.
Detective Inspector Neville Stewart is recalled from his honeymoon to investigate the caseawith disastrous personal results. And journalist Lilith Nooneas professional future is on the line, as she is sucked more and more deeply into her own flirtation with celebrity culture.
Meanwhile, for police family liaison officer Mark Lombardi, the death of baby Muffin is eclipsed by another death, much closer to home, and he finds himself in an impossible position, torn between his loyalty to his family and his growing love for Callie.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Callie Anson, curate of All Saints' Church in London, and her beau, Mark Lombardi, a family liaison officer, get caught up in a high-profile investigation in Charles's engrossing third ecclesiastical mystery (after 2007's Secret Sins). When the baby daughter of a celebrity couple from a reality TV show, Jodee and Chazz, dies in her cot, the subsequent autopsy raises enough questions to bring Det. Insp. Neville Stewart back from his honeymoon, much to his bride's fury. Since Jodee and Chazz live in Callie's parish, Callie becomes involved in arranging the funeral. Mark does his bit to help the bereaved family, but finds himself distracted by his own troubles after his brother-in-law dies of an apparent heart attack. A realistic conflict arises between Mark's devotion to his family and his love for Callie. A tabloid journalist's drive for status heightens the drama. Charles combines credible characters and a puzzling mystery with a tantalizing look at the world of reality TV. (Mar.)
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From Booklist

Angering his bride, Detective Inspector Neville Stewart cuts his honeymoon short after celebrity television reality couple Jodee and Chazz Betts’ infant daughter is found dead in her crib. Is it crib death, neglect, or murder? Meanwhile, Anglican curate Callie Anson must move in with the vicar and his wife (who is not very fond of her) when her home is damaged in a storm, and the two are annoyed when Jodee and Chazz request Callie to officiate at their daughter’s funeral. Callie’s boyfriend, Mark Lombardi, is the police liaison for the case, but then a family tragedy disrupts his life and begins to cause a rift between him and Callie. The well-drawn main characters, professional and amateur detectives, work through their relationship issues while solving two crimes. Details of celebrity life, police work, and the Anglican Church add to this third in the series, which will appeal to those who enjoy Julia Spencer-Fleming’s Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne mysteries. --Sue O'Brien

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 322 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press; First Edition edition (March 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590586026
• ISBN-13: 978-1590586020
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #556,790 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars terrific combination police procedural and faith-based amateur sleuth inquiry, March 10, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deep Waters (Callie Anson Mysteries, No. 3) (Hardcover)

The London media led by Daily Globe reporter Lilith Noone feeds the public's fascination with celebrities when Muffin, the baby daughter of reality TV show hosts Jodee and Chazz, dies in her cot. Lilith has the inside track to England's most famous grieving couple. Since the infant passed away in her district, All Saints Church curate Callie Anson assists with the funeral arrangement.

Meanwhile the autopsy of the crib death victim raises some anomies that have the police wondering if this was a tragic sudden infant death case or something more sinister. There are enough questions to have the brass bring back Detective Inspector Neville Stewart on his honeymoon with his pregnant bride Triona. At the same time that a frustrated Neville and an angry Triona return to London, Callie's boyfriend family liaison officer Mark Lombardi is helping his extended family cope with the heart attack death of his brother-in-law so he is unable to provide much help to Jodee and Chazz or be there for Callie.

The key to this terrific combination police procedural and faith-based amateur sleuth inquiry is the strong cast; few novels will match how deep the secondary and tertiary characters are developed within an exciting story line. Fans will appreciate the depth to the Lombardi brood, Lilith, Jodee, Chazz and Triona while Mark and Callie have issues as does Neville. All this with a strong whodunit and an insightful look at behind the scenes of reality TV make the third Anson mystery (see SECRET SINS and EVIL INTENT) a winner.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Protagonist is somewhat dull..., March 27, 2009

By 

Sandra "mystery lover" (Philadelphia, PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deep Waters (Callie Anson Mysteries, No. 3) (Hardcover)

Although Kate Charles is an excellent writer and creates an interesting plot, I find I much prefer her earlier series, featuring David Middleton-Brown as the detective.

Callie Anson is a rather bland character for the protagonist, although many of the supporting characters make up for her.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid mystery with convincing characters, March 24, 2009

By 

S. McGee (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Deep Waters (Callie Anson Mysteries, No. 3) (Hardcover)

I'm a bit worried that Kate Charles is flagging a bit. This is her second eccclesiastical mystery series, and the third book in that series, each of which features Anglican curate Callie Anson and her beau, police officer Mark Lombardi. The problem? Anyone who has read the two previous books (particularly the debut, which is excellent) knows all about Callie, Mark and the peripheral characters. So the challenge for Charles is to keep the characters fresh by putting them in new or particularly intriguing situations.

In this novel, she certainly tries hard. Both Callie and Mark are caught up in the mysterious death of Muffin, the baby daughter of a celebrity TV couple. (Think Big Brother reality show celebs...) That's a big enough story in its own right, but the 'subplot' revolves around the mysterious death of Mark's own brother-in-law and the tensions that creates for both he and Callie and their relationship. Either of these mysteries is a meaty one; both of them -- especially when combined by the even more melodramatic relationship of Mark's fellow police officer, Neville, and his new wife, Triona -- are too much to do justice to in a book this length. Both are well resolved -- the plot twists are good, and the two deaths are neatly if somewhat tenuously linked in the theme of popular culture. Still, the result isn't quite as gripping as I've come to expect from this capable writer. If you haven't read her other books, I'd start with anything from her first series (A Drink of Deadly Wine or the first in this series Evil Intent, which has a very gripping and tightly-focused plot.

Rated 3.5 stars; rounded up rather than down because of the author's previous work.