Desert Spring: A Claire Gray Mystery [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Michael Craft (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2, 2004

After a long and successful career directing theater in Manhattan, fifty-something Claire Gray accepted an offer to establish the theater department at the new Desert Arts College in Palm Springs. At the end of her first academic year, she's facing both the end of the spring production and the loss of her student and clandestine lover to Hollywood, signed by producer Spencer Wallace. Then Wallace turns up dead in Claire's pool . . .

Available only in Americana 5.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"As usual, the witty repartee will keep readers turning the pages to the surprising conclusion."
-- Publishers Weekly (Publisher's Weekly )

From the Author

The novel "Desert Spring" shares the same plot as my stage play, "Photo Flash," which was drafted about a year prior to the book. Because a play is a more compact literary form than a novel, I wanted to address the restrictions and challenges of that medium first, then "open up" the story in its novelized version. While the novel contains much familiar dialogue from the play, it brings considerably more depth, detail, and texture to the story, primarily through the introspection of Claire Gray, who serves as narrator.

This whodunit is told with a good deal of humor, but it is underlaid by a romantic subplot dealing with Claire’s evolving relationship with the much younger actor, Tanner Griffin. He is on the verge of stardom, which was Claire’s goal, but ironically, their success spells the end of their offbeat romance. This bittersweet reality is an ambiguous emotional thread running throughout the entire story, which stands in contrast to the humor and serves to frame the central murder plot in a way that I found curiously satisfying to write.

I hope you will take similar pleasure in reading "Desert Spring." --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 375 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press; 1 edition (August 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786267518
• ISBN-13: 978-0786267514
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,959,959 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank God For Claire, November 24, 2004

By 

Mark E. Caporali - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Desert Spring: A Claire Gray Mystery (Hardcover)

Now, with the sad demise of the Mark Manning series, we can rejoice that we have Claire Gray. Not only are they well-plotted, they also give us a deadly accurate view of life in Palm Springs. None has been better than Desert Spring. I look forward to many more.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even better than the play!, March 1, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Desert Spring: A Claire Gray Mystery (Hardcover)

Living in southeastern Wisconsin, I was among those fortunate enough to see
Michael Craft's play, "Photo Flash," when it premiered in a local
production last fall. Like the rest of the audience, I found it to be a
delightful, humorous romp and a solid whodunit. When I learned that the
play was actually the basis of Craft's new novel, "Desert Spring," I
couldn't wait to read the book. And I was not disappointed. The story works
even better in book form, with added characters, extended intrigue, and a
much more intimate look at the main character, Claire Gray. If you haven't
yet explored this series, you're missing a wonderful reading experience.
Highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A sophisticated and entertaining amateur sleuth novel., February 19, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Desert Spring: A Claire Gray Mystery (Hardcover)

She was a famous Broadway director, well known and respected, who took a sabbatical to write her own play Traders which won a Tony and was nominated for an Oscar when it was made into a film. At age fifty-four, she was recruited by Glenn Yeats, who founded and is now president of Desert Arts college, two hours noth of LA, to be the chair of the theatre department. One day when she went to get her car tinted, she met twenty-six year old Tanner Griffin and immediately saw his star potential.

While she coached him in acting they become lovers and together they put the college on the map. On the last day of the production of Traders, Claire hosts a cast party and a going away party for Tanner who has signed up to act in a movie in Hollywood. The party is a smashing success but when most of the people call it a night, Hollywood producer and screenwriter Spencer Wallace is found dead in Claire's swimming pool. Tests show he was poisoned and probably was pushed into the pool and circumstantial evidence points to Claire as the suspect although there were many other people at the party who wanted him dead. her own Claire once again starts her own investigation with the stakes being the restoration of her good name and finding out who the perpetrator is who is trying to frame her.

Michael Craft, the author of the fascinating Mark Manning series has another winning, although totally different in tone and content, series to his credit. Claire Gray proves you're never too old for romance or a career change. She knows her strengths and there is no false modesty about her yet the audience will notice that at rare and unexpected times, she has moments of vulnerability which makes the reader like her all the more. DESERT SPRING is a sophisticated and entertaining amateur sleuth novel.

Harriet Klausner