Customer Reviews

An Eye for Murder (Prime Crime Mysteries)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My title for my review says it all. I started this book and could not put it down until I had finished it. The story and the main character grabbed me from the first, and I found myself racing through the story to not only see the end, but see if my guesses were right. Well, on some I was right, on others, not! Still, I really enjoyed this book and applaud Ms. Hellmann from taking me away from this holiday cooking and shopping madness. I look forward to her next one.

Documentary filmmaker Ellie Foreman's interest is piqued when she learns that an elderly stranger, Ben Sinclair, has died in a Chicago boarding house leaving a scrap of paper with her name on it among his possessions. Ellie's attempts to understand the deceased's interest in her, beginning with a meeting with the dead man's landlady, lead her into a much larger mystery: Sinclair's death is somehow connected with Nazi-era intrigue and Chicago politics, an illicit love affair, and more than one murder. While tracing Sinclair's steps on her own time, Ellie is hired to produce a campaign film for a senatorial candidate, the scion of a long-dead Chicago steel magnate, who may have skeletons of her own to conceal. Ellie's work on the campaign dovetails neatly into her private investigations, and she finds herself in increasingly hot water the closer she gets to the truth Sinclair had been trying to unravel before his death.

Libby Hellmann's An Eye for Murder is the first in a series of mysteries featuring filmmaker Ellie Foreman. It's a good read with a rather complex plot that, however, can become confusing if one isn't paying strict attention. In Ellie Hellmann has created a likable protagonist with an interesting circle of friends and family: Ellie, the divorced mother of a twelve-year-old daughter, has a fiscally irresponsible ex-husband, an unusually but charmingly devoted gardener, a cigar-smoking character of a father, and, as we see blooming in this first book in the series, a love interest in the person of fifty-something David Linden. Hellmann saddles Ellie with some unfortunate vices: she has a history of kleptomania, and it is hinted that she makes occasional use of drugs (not to mention alcohol and tobacco). In future installments these imperfections may serve to round out her character, but in the present book they seemed tacked on rather than organic. I will be interested to read future books in the series to see how Ellie develops, and how her ostensibly safe career as a documentarian involves her in new difficulties.

Reviewed by Debra Hamel, author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece

Hellmann's heroine is tough and honest woman. You can't help but like Ellie and her family and friends (her father is grand). However, the plot here is so over the top--Nazis, Chicago politics, etc, etc...that I got a bit lost. The resolution was too neat. The story needed a more steady pace. You can tell it is a first novel. As a native Chicagoan, I did like the the wonderful use of the city. I may read another Ellie Foreman novel to see how Hellmann has grown as a writer.

As my title suggests I found this to be more of a political thriller/murder mystery than a wartime/Nazi thriller, but it is a smashing read nonetheless. Hellman's discussions of place in the Chicago area and, get this, downstate Illinois, are accurate and refreshing.

She does introduce characters and secondary plotlines which which remain underdeveloped. But as the previous review says, don't start this book unless you have time to finish it.

This well written story has great characters and really brings Chicago alive. There are a couple of major themes, one centers around events that happened right after WWII, the other is contemporary. The dialogue is well done and the characters are sympathetic. My only comment would be that at the end things seemed rushed. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Ellie Foreman is the kind of woman you'd want for your best friend...especially if you need to solve a friend's murder and you think there might be a link to Nazi Germany. This book offers thrills, suspense, and a hometown girl's tour of gritty and beautiful Chicago. Highly recommended.

I just finished AN EYE FOR MURDER by Libby Fischer Hellmann. Wow! Its been awhile since I read a book that I could not put down until I finished. I was hooked from the Prologue. I found myself liking the characters. If Libby is anything like the people she creates, I know I'd really like to get to know her, too! The story takes place in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Having lived in various Chicago communities and family still there, I felt right at home! The story propells the reader from the end of WWII to today and back again. Now I'm sorry the story is over!
Anyway, if you haven't read this book, I highly recommend you put it on your TBR stack!

Ellie, the divorced mother of a twelve-year-old daughter, has a irresponsible ex-husband, an unusually but charmingly devoted gardener, a cigar-smoking character of a father, and, as we see blooming in this first book in the series, a love interest in the person of fifty-something David Linden. Hellmann saddles Ellie with some unfortunate vices: she has a slight history of kleptomania, particularly during periods of stress in her life. It is also hinted that she makes occasional use of drugs (not to mention alcohol).

This is a book every fan of mystery writing must read. No, I take that back, everyone that likes to read a well written and well thought through story must read this book. This book is definitely a five star buy.

I have to admit that this is one of the best books I've ever read.

Ben Sinclair has died in a Chicago boarding house leaving a piece of paper with Ellie Foreman's name on it. Ellie is a documentary filmmaker and she starts to investigate why Ben Sinclair had an interest in her. Ellie meets his landlady and finds out some intriguing details. She starts to trace Sinclair's steps - - maybe there was an illicit love affair, or he might have been involved in Chicago politics.

Ellie is determined to investigate more but she is working full time producing a campaign film for a Senatorial Candidate whom, she discovers, may have some secrets she would rather have hidden.

This is the first book I have read of Libby Fischer Hellmann and I look forward to more of her works.

I have become a real fan of her books. This one being set in Chicago was a plus for me. I loved it!