Easier to Kill (Tamara Hayle Mystery) [Hardcover]

Valerie Wilson Wesley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 24, 1998 | Series: Tamara Hayle Mystery (Book 5)

Popular, well-respected radio talk-show host Mandy Magic seems to have it all and then some. Born Starmanda Jackson and raised in the projects of Newark, Magic has literally talked her way out of poverty. But she is stalked by a past that won't let her go. When a threatening note and repeated acts of vandalism make her fear for her safety and cast doubt on the recent, apparently robbery-related death of her stylist, Magic enlists the aid of Newark P. I. Tamara Hayle. But as Tamara soon discovers, Mandy is a woman of secrets and half-truths with more shady characters in her past and present than she cares to admit. There's Rufus Greene, a former pimp with a mysterious and persistent hold on her and Kenton Daniels, III, the nasty, wastrel son of a prominent Newark family. There is her oldest friend, bad-tempered Pauline Reese, who won't let anyone, least of all Mandy Magic, forget where she came from, and her adopted daughter, Taniqua, whose young, haunted eyes have seen more of life's evil than anyone should. And the more truth Tamara seeks, the more of Magic's lies she uncovers, until she faces a brutal killer hell-bent upon taking a cruel revenge and destroying everyone that stands in the way.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Valerie Wilson Wesley's Easier to Kill, the fifth novel in her increasingly popular Tamara Hayle series, continues to provide new twists to the classic gumshoe first-person narrative. Hayle is a Newark, New Jersey, PI, and also a struggling, young, African American single parent of a teenage boy, Jamal. In this outing, Hayle is summoned by Mandy Magic to take a case that could lead to a substantial contribution to Jamal's college fund. Magic (formerly Starmanda Jackson) has the most popular radio talk show in Essex County and a lifestyle that a struggling PI could only envy. But as Hayle probes the fears of her new client, she begins to see that this talk show host's world is hardly wine and roses. Magic's second "cousin" and stylist, Tyrone Mason, has just been murdered, and now Magic is particularly unnerved by a mysterious note reading simply "Movin' On Up." As Hayle digs deeper, she suspects that these and other events are hinged to Magic's misspent youth and her relationship to such characters as Rufus Greene, a former pimp. Unfortunately, Magic and her adopted daughter, Taniqua, are unwilling to cooperate in their own PI's investigation. What drives the mystery for Hayle (and the reader), then, is a profound curiosity about Mandy Magic's apparently sordid past. What is she hiding, and why would she hire a private detective if she didn't want her secrets revealed?

Wesley, a contributing editor to Essence magazine, has filled a major niche in the world of mystery fiction with her Hayle novels. Rendered with a down-to-earth realism and gritty charm reminiscent of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels, Easier to Kill is a funky slice of life twisted around a mystery with a shockingly disturbing denouement. Other books in the Tamara Hayle series include When Death Comes Stealing, Devil's Gonna Get Him, Where Evil Sleeps, and No Hiding Place. --Patrick O'Kelley

From Publishers Weekly

Wesley again fashions an engrossing plot driven by the problems and multilayered culture of Newark, N.J.'s African American community (No Hiding Place, 1997). Tamara Hayle, former cop and now a PI, is hired by Mandy Magic, a popular black talk-radio hostess, to find out who has vandalized her office and sent her threatening notes. Tamara, operating on her instincts as usual, senses immediately that Mandy is fearful out of proportion to the problem. The murders of Mandy's hairstylist, Tyrone Mason, who was also her cousin, and of her closest friend, Pauline Reese, convince Tamara that the answer lies in a secret past that Mandy refuses to discuss. Drawing the truth out of her client is as difficult professionally and personally for Tamara as discovering who is threatening the woman. Tamara persists, finally figuring it out in an emotionally charged climax. Wesley tends to write long, meandering dialogue, but she's a standout in her ability to weave important social issues into her story, considering in this tale the rise of a black professional class from the old Newark housing projects, the desperation of teenage mothers, the bond of fathers and daughters. Literary Guild and Mystery Guild alternate selections.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 193 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; 1ST edition (August 24, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399144455
• ISBN-13: 978-0399144455
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,030,810 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Watch out world cause Mr.s Hayle just walked in the room!, October 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Easier to Kill (A Tamara Hayle Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

Who did it, how come, what for? I don't know, but Private Investigator Tamara Hayle can definitely find out for you. Tamara Hayle is a P.I. in the novel, Easier to Kill , by Valerie Wilson Wesley, who comes across a childhood neighbor that's in a murderous situation. Tamara is assigned to find who killed New Jersey's radio superstar DJ Magic Mandy's cousin, and who sent a threatening letter a week later after her cousin was murdered. Tamara knows someone is really up to no good, and knows how to get the very best of Mandy, so it probably wasn't a obsessed fan. Things go for a turn of the worst when Many is found dead! Who did it, how come? Well like I said Ms. Hayle can find out for you.

This book as so many twist and turns its bound to leave you on the edge of your seat. You'll read the most scandalous and terrifying escapades, that will have you wondering what will happened next. I thought the book was good, because of all the suspense and mystery thr novel had. This novel wasn't your average mystery that you could tell who did it by the time you get to the middle of the book, but it will leave you with a big surprise of who this cold-hearted killer was. So , if your the one who enjoys a good mystery book you should pick this book up, I'm sure you won't want to put it down!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EASIER TO read, not to guess who., July 12, 2000

By 

Blackworm - See all my reviews

This review is from: Easier to Kill (A Tamara Hayle Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

EASIER TO KILL, was another feather in the cap for Ms. Wesley. Mandy Magic, the subject of the stories, had more secrets than Samsonite had luggage. How she thought that none would show the light of day proved what a egotistical subject she would be. When her veneer did finally crack, it was Tamara to the rescue! I enjoyed every bit of the book, and have even started to pick out who is the killer was. However, all my choices were killed instead, and the true killer was someone I almost forgot was in the story! I'm now ready for THE DEVIL RIDING. Keep up the good work.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Another great Tamara Hayle Mystery, January 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Easier to Kill (A Tamara Hayle Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

Although I was slightly disappointed in the ending, overall this was a great book. I read the entire book in one setting because I could not put it down. I can't wait until the next Tamara Hayle mystery.