Customer Reviews

Down Home Murder

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

 

 

A great beginning to a series. I especially liked the married couple detectives- and their relationship to each other. I also enjoyed the way that their interactions with each other and with relatives echoed the themes of the mystery itself- this interweaving of themes enriches the story and makes it richer and more interesting than the typical mystery. But, the book is not too heavy- there is good-hearted humor in the descriptions and characterizations, and the murder is handled well- with seriousness but not too much gore.

Laura and Richard Fleming are called home to Byerly, North Carolina because Laura's grandfather, Paw, who raised her after her parents death, had a serious accident. Paw is semiconscious in the hospital and tells Laura that he didn't fall, he was pushed. A young local woman also went missing about the same time. Soon after, Paw dies and Laura is determined to bring his killer to justice. Laura has always felt like an outsider in her family and the possibility that one of them murdered her much loved grandfather can either bring the family together or blow them apart completely.

I wish that I had read this mystery first, it explains alot of the family dynamics for the later books. It is also a first rate mystery and I highly recommend it.

I wasn't sure about this mystery, but it turned out be a great read! The characters are fun and interesting and really quite humorous!

Laura and her husband, Richard, live in Boston, but are in her hometown in North Carolina because her grandfather had an "accident." He tells Laura that he was hit before he dies and so she investigates. While the plot is a little slow at times, it is enjoyable. I even managed to figure out "whodonit" - something I seldom do!

I will definitely be picking up another book in this series and recommend you do as well!

As a person from the South, I enjoyed the Southern colloquialisms in this book! I'm not much of a mystery reader, but I enjoyed this one. Good beach reading...

Having belatedly picked up the Laura Fleming mysteries, I am very pleased with the first installment. Being a southerner myself, Kelner's depiction of the South is dead on, & I enjoyed immersing myself in Laura's world. Family is most important in the South & in this book, as the mystery revolves around buried family secrets. This book is truly a page turner, & I enjoyed every minute of it. Laura is a very likeable heroine, & her observations of the South are comical but have deeper meaning. I'm looking forward to reading the second novel in this series.

This was the first book of Kelner's I have read, and I doubt if I'll be searching out others. Too much was given away from the very start, so that it was clear from almost the beginning who was to be the murderer, and easy to spot how the plot would be worked out. I love 'cozy' mysteries but this was just too insubstantial and the characters to lightweight for me.

Talk about molassas. This book takes forever to read, because it is boring. There are way too many aunts and uncles to keep track of, and in the end, I didn't care who the killer was. Paw clings to life in the hospital for over half the book, while we wait for the anticipated murder to finalize. The back cover promises a deep dark family secret will emerge, but it came with a whimper.

Sorry, I wanted to like this book. But it just didn't do much for me.