Customer Reviews

Executive Lunch (A Sedona O'Hala Mystery)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Maria E. Schneider has a winner in "Executive Lunch," and hopefully this is just the first of a series of novels featuring the heroine Sedona O'Hala. In "Executive Lunch," Sedona is a "lab rat" at Strandfrost, a big technology company that is experiencing a baffling series of embezzlements and thefts of expensive equipment. Promoted to a management position and ordered to work with Steve Huntington, a mysterious new board member for Strandfrost, Sedona does her best to solve the mystery. There are plenty of potential culprits, including company insiders as well as some very dangerous criminals, and Sedona has her hands full trying to solve the case and stay alive.

Sedona O'Hala is a marvelous character. She's smart, fearless, and funny, and she's like a bloodhound once she's on the trail of the bad guys. She's a great character to build a series around, and I'm looking forward to seeing her in future novels where, hopefully, we'll learn more about her background and her family. Sedona's oldest brother Sean is an important character in "Executive Lunch," and her parents make a brief appearance, but there's plenty more to learn about Sedona's family. There's plenty of room for romance too. In "Executive Lunch," there's enough sexual tension between Sedona and Strandfrost board member Steve Huntington to heat things up and hint of future relationships, but it's clear that any man will have his hands full with the saucy Sedona.

Having read one of Ms. Schneider's previous works, "Sage: Tales from a Magical Kingdom," I thought she might be strictly a fantasy writer, so I was very pleasantly surprised to learn that she knows how to write a cracking good whodunit. She does a splendid job of developing the story, dropping little clues along the way as she rachets up the suspense to a dramatic climax. There are enough red herrings to keep the reader guessing about the identity of the criminals, although in hindsight, there were enough clues that a very observant reader might figure it out.

As a bonus, the book includes excerpts from Ms. Schneider's first two novels, "Catch an Honest Thief" and "Sage: Tales from a Magical Kingdom."

The formatting on my Kindle was perfect.

The bottom line: Five stars and two thumbs up for "Executive Lunch."

Have you ever worked in an office where the layout "...ensured that everyone was equally deprived of a window office with the exception of the managers"? Then you'll feel right at home at Strandfrost, the realistically exaggerated corporation at the center of Maria E. Schneider's delightful new mystery, Executive Lunch (A Sedona O'Hala Mystery). Schneider brings the reader face to face, and sometimes fist to nose, with a cast of diverse and interesting characters. The action starts inside the corporate corridors and soon spins excitingly into other equally bizarre venues. Even while you're chuckling, you'll realize you care what happens to the heroine, self described "lab rat" Sedona O'Hala. Whether it's fast moving action or dealing with a brother who threatens to rat Sedona out to their parents, Schneider writes skillfully and retains her sense of humor. This is Schneider at her best - funny, insightful, and exciting.

If you're in the mood for a light, fun mystery, then this is the book for you! EXECUTIVE LUNCH offers a likable (even lovable) character and well-paced story that will have you laughing out loud at times.
A genuine five-star read you'll be sorry to see come to an end. Hopefully, we'll see Sedona again very, very soon.

I enjoyed reading this cozy mystery. It was a light-hearted, fast read with elements of action, mystery, and witty, dry humor. The story moved at a very good pace; I never felt it drag on at any time. Sedona is likeable and funny, and a believable, fairly well-defined, down-to-earth main character. A lot of characters were introduced throughout the story, and while not all were necessary to the "whodunit," part of the story, some of their interactions were highly entertaining and will have you laughing out loud -- especially Sedona's family dinner and the "scene" that takes place in the limousine. If this is the start of a series, I will enjoy reading more "Sedona adventures" and, hopefully, seeing her and you-know-who (don't want to give spoilers) in a romantic relationship.

This delightfully lighthearted mystery started with a kick and kept on running! I enjoyed it very much.
Sedona is a great character, and her attempt to help Marilyn try to regain control of her life is an interesting side story, and I thought a fairly realistic view of how getting out of an abusive situation is not as easy as one might think. Sedona comes to realize that it is more a matter of self-esteem rather than just walking away.
Her adventures in ladder-climbing politics and the 'good-old-boy' system, will leave you laughing out loud.
I am looking forward to reading the next Sedona O'Hala adventure Executive Retention (A Sedona O'Hala Mystery)

I LOVE Sedona O'Hala! She had me laughing out loud on nearly every page. Others here have done a good job of recapping the story, so I'll just say that if you enjoy humorous mysteries with a really fun, quirky and endearing protagonist, check this one out now.

I like that Sedona O'Halla's life is portrayed in progress. You get to see how she gets sucked into solving crimes, even though that isn't her initial intent. This book is very much a start to a story that will continue through the series. Sedona starts to discover her ability to take care of herself and solve crimes, she becomes more independent from her family, her career gets bumped up, and there whispers of a love interest to be explored. I like that she isn't instantly good at everything, and that she doesn't magically solve the crime on her own. It makes me want to read the next one to see how much more she grows and where things go with the other characters.
I liked the interactions with her family and her best friend. Those sections were humorous, but also gave a sense of Sedona's character. The only drawback to the book was editing. If a few typos are going to get your panties in a bunch and make you decide something is poorly written this isn't the book for you.

Some might remember a movie called "The Hot Rock" starring Robert Redford during his prime. This was based on a book from Donald Westlake's "comic caper" series featuring John Dortmunder. Dormunder and his crew always had the perfect plan. They executed it almost flawlessly. Yet always came up empty handed in the end.

Sedona O'Hala seems like the mirror image of Westlake's Dortmunder, at least if series opener "Executive Lunch" is representative of what we can expect. It starts with O'Hala stumbling into what may or may not be a mugging-in-progress in her office hallway. Somehow she saves the day, fighting off multiple attackers. Management seems to think this makes her the perfect person to help them uncover who's been behind some financial shenanigans at the office. Reluctantly she goes along. Her plans are, at best, vague. She fumbles and bumbles along. Yet in the end she gets her man.

But there are some qualities O'Hala and Dortmunder have in common. Both have you chuckling on every page and you're hoping in the end they'll succeed. At least if success means making it through relatively unscathed.

Great book! I really enjoyed getting to read something from an up and coming author. The book is cute and funny and I can't wait to read the next one in the series! If you like Evanovich, you will enjoy this one too.

A well-paced whodunit with a healthy dash of humor. The characters and story were so engaging that I didn't want to put the book down. This is a book I will read again.

I'm looking forward to the next Sedona O'Hala mystery!