Dream House [Mass Market Paperback]

Rochelle Krich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 31, 2004

While developing a story about vandalized homes in one of L.A.’s ritziest enclaves, Crime Sheet columnist Molly Blume discovers a seething conflict brewing between residents who want to remodel their houses and those who wish to restore the integrity of the historic neighborhood. When the warring factions collide, Molly investigates the various crime sites: graffiti, shattered windows, smashed concrete. As her sleuthing continues, the violence escalates–ultimately to arson . . . and the tragic death of an elderly man who has spent the last five months searching for his missing daughter. Was the fire an accident? Where does hostility end and evil begin?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

What's a girl to do when an article she writes provides an opportunity for a killer to strike or so she thinks? Well, if it's Molly Blume, Krich's Orthodox Jewish true-crime reporter and author, making her second smart, exciting appearance (after 2002's Blues in the Night), she'll investigate the crime herself until justice is meted out. When community members in several Los Angeles districts attempt to impose HARP (Historic Architectural Restoration and Preservation) status on their neighborhoods, effectively preventing the rebuilding and renovation of houses that don't comply with historic architectural standards, anger flares and some buildings are vandalized. Molly thinks she has found a pattern in the attacks, and despite pleas from local officials, includes much of her theory and findings in one of her weekly columns. To her chagrin, the next hit results in the death of an elderly man with Alzheimer's whom Molly has befriended in a fire that police classify as arson and that's the clincher that soon puts her on guard as she, too, becomes a target. With sensitivity, passion and an investigative approach that's on the money, the rebellious and independent Molly displays an uncompromising resolve to unearth the truth. Krich provides just enough clues in just the right places to keep readers on their toes, waiting for the resolution while hoping the mystery won't end quite yet.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Molly Blume is the first to admit she is nosy, impatient, and stubborn. But her character serves her well in her chosen profession: true-crime writer. Molly's radar bleeps when the death of a confused elderly man appears to be related to a rash of vandalism that she's been investigating. Good thing she's curious, as the death turns out to be murder, and the connection to the vandalism fades into the background in the face of the man's family squabbles and the strange disappearance of his daughter, Linney. Molly's ties to her Orthodox Jewish family (and to her new boyfriend, Zack, an Orthodox rabbi) seem especially strong juxtaposed against Linney's sad family history, and they add an extra element of reality to Molly's character, showing how she manages to derive pleasure and solace from both her work and her faith. There's an unusual neighborhood feel about this L.A. crime story that gives a strong sense of people living in a real community. Even readers unfamiliar with Molly's previous adventures can enjoy this one. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (August 31, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449007278
• ISBN-13: 978-0449007273
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 0.3 x 4.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,391,250 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good golly! Miss Molly!, November 9, 2003

By 

Eleanor V. Miller (Henderson, NV United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dream House (Hardcover)

Molly Blume doesn't like loose ends. Her career as a crime novelist free lance journalist involves making sense out of horrific bits and pieces taken from police blotters and weaving them into cohesive investigative reports. When the pieces don't fit, she wants to know why. A series of seemingly random acts of malicious vandalism in LA's exclusive Hancock Park catches her attention, and an initial swing through the neighborhood provides her with a first hand introduction to the kind of fiery dissension pro and anti-HARP (Historic Architectural Restoration and Preservation) forces have created in that area, an impression which is reinforced after she attends an acrimonious meeting where both factions are present. Her involvement with the dispute deepens and becomes more personal due to a chance encounter with former professor of architecture, Oscar Linney, whom she finds wandering the street in a mental fog and takes home to the house he once shared with his daughter Margaret and his irascible son-in-law Hank, thus precipitating her directly into the affairs of the troubled Reston family. Here are puzzles galore. It seems Margaret vanished without a trace five months ago, and now the house is up for sale. Inexplicably, a few days later, it burns to the ground with Linney trapped inside. While the police opine a case of HARP-related arson with tragic but accidental consequences, Molly's sense of order insists that there must be a connection between Margaret's disappearance and her father's death. Establishing it puts her right in the line of fire as she turns up enough missing links to eventually form a horrifying picture of greed, graft and corruption, point the police in the right direction to catch a clever and ruthless killer and write - 30 - to her story.

I think Molly Blume is one of the most thoroughly satisfying, utterly delightful new sleuths to come along in ages. "Blues in the Night" hooked me, but "Dream House" sold me. I always expect rock-solid, off-beat plotting and expert craftsmanship from Rochelle Krich, but the mysteries that really ignite the fan impulse in me are novels of character. And Molly is such a wonderfully complex one! She's smart, caring, feisty...and fun! Lagniappe? Ms. Krich does such a superb job of delineating Molly's deep commitment to her Orthodox Jewish faith that her on-again-off-again romance with her rabbi boyfriend adds still another dimension of depth and humor to her adventures. I think James Joyce would be very happy with 21st century Molly...I know I am.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dream House by Rochelle Krich, October 14, 2003

By 

Stephanie (Boca Raton, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dream House (Hardcover)

Avid mystery readers have a list of authors whose work they know they will always find enjoyable. They eagerly await that next book, knowing they can count on the writer to present them with a suspenseful story, intriguing, perhaps even realistic, characters, and a vivid setting. Rochelle Krich is way up there on my list.
I could not wait to get my copy of Dream House, the second in Rochelle Krich's new series starring Molly Blume, freelance crime sheet reporter. I am happy to report that I found it absolutely delightful, a fitting follow-up to the first in series, Blues in the Night.
The story begins with Molly researching vandalized homes in Los Angeles. She learns there is contention between proponents and opponents of the Historic Architectural Restoration and Preservation board. As the warring factions collide, Molly investigates various crime sites. The violence escalates, from graffiti to arson to an elderly man's murder, as he seeks his daughter, missing for five months. And, as the violence increases, so does the danger spread, and Molly becomes a target.
Rochelle Krich builds great tension into this tale. It is the kind of writing that creates conflict for me, since I want to know the outcome, so I read rapidly, but I want to savor the descriptions, as well as the marvelous characters that Krich has created. Molly Blume has a large Orthodox Jewish family, and Krich lovingly and skillfully interweaves parents, sisters and brothers, and the delightful Bubbie G. into the story. Molly's relatives help her solve the mystery, while adding a good measure to the reader's knowledge of how a family lives in modern society within the framework of Orthodox Judaism. Krich has a wonderful way of working Yiddish expressions and biblical references into the story, seemingly effortlessly translating the Yiddish into English within the text. She even provides a glossary of terms, as well as Bubbie G's recipe for Challa bread.
Molly's dating relationship with an Orthodox rabbi who was her high school boyfriend adds interest to the story as well. I am eager to see where that leads!
Dream House is a thoroughly enjoyable book, by an author whose work never fails to inform, entertain, and delight this reader.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SPLENDID VOICE PERFORMANCE, January 27, 2004

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dream House (Molly Blume Series) (Audio Cassette)

Remembered for her splendid performance of "Blues In The Night," actress/voice performer Deanna Hurst gives an equally listenable reading of Ms. Krich's latest.

When does an act of petty vandalism become an evil act? That's the thread of this compelling mystery starring Molly Blume, ace reporter of true crimes. Privileged residents of a luxe Los Angeles neighborhood are more than a little annoyed when pranksters (?) heave a pumpkin through windows and pitch eggs at front doors. Homeowners in this area expect the best, and are already ticked off at the preservation boards that prevent them from remodeling their pricey digs.

Then, more terrifying than annoying, fire breaks out on Fuller Street at the home of Margaret and Hank Reston. The ensuing flames take the life of Margaret's elderly father. To Molly, arson doesn't fit the pattern of thrown eggs and pumpkins. Furthermore, Margaret is missing. Last seen in her garden some five months before she seems to have vanished leaving only a trace of blood.

The police are stymied, and so is Molly. But she doesn't stop.

"Dream House" is a unique crime story sure to entertain and enthrall.

- Gail Cooke