Customer Reviews

Fall Into Death: A Booked For Travel Mystery

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

 

 

California travel guide Lynne Montgomery hits the road again in the third Booked for Travel mystery, "Fall into Death". This episode finds Lynne and her twenty-something daughter Jenna visiting New England just in time for the fall "Leaf-Peeper" season. Lynne's 82-year-old mother Priscilla has recently purchased an old boarding house in New Hampshire, which she is planning to turn into a Bed and Breakfast. Also, Lynne wants to visit some sites in the New England area to develop a future tour itenerary for her travel business.

What should have been a pleasant sight-seeing vacation and visit with her mother quickly becomes complicated by Lynne's discovery of two skeletons in the basement of Priscilla's Bed and Breakfast Inn. It takes the New Hampshire State Police some time to figure out the identities of the two skeletons. After the victims are identified, Lynne and Jenna try to do a little research on their own to determine how the bodies wound up buried in the concrete basement of the boarding house.

The descriptions of the New England scenery and attractions were great, and made me want to see the beautiful fall colors for myself. Ms. Toll really packs in a lot of infomration about the historical destinations in New Hampshire and Vermont. However, the development of the plot really moved slowly. I was somewhat disappointed in the outcome of the mystery. In my opinion, the other books in this series were much more satisfying mysteries.

A plucky, but ancient, grandmother's foray into the bed-and-breakfast business provides an excuse for her tour guide daughter and California-raised granddaughter to come and see the brilliant colors of a New England autumn. While they're there, they visit local museums, cider mills, quarries and the homes of New England's many famous authors. "Fall into Death" packs more information about sights in New England than half a dozen tourist guides.

When the murderer of the two young hippies, whose skeletons are unearthed during the B&B's renovation, makes an appearance, we're almost as taken aback as the characters. After all, as someone says, unearthing ancient bones is not exactly a nine-one-one emergency. That's probably as well: These characters are far too busy having fun to have time to deal with many such distractions.

Lynne Montgomery is on a working vacation. Along with her daughter Jenna, she's visiting her mother and checking out locations for a fall foliage tour next year. Her mother is renovating the house she just bought looking to turn it into a bed and breakfast. But on their first morning there, the workman discovers human bones cemented in the basement. Who was buried there? When? And most importantly, why? Meanwhile, Lynne thinks her mom may be in over her head with the financing and running of a bed and breakfast.

This series is always part adventure (very little clue following here) and part travel log. This book seems to err on the side of travel log, especially at the end. It really could have been written tighter. And I was disappointed in that a couple sub-plots were wrapped up almost as after thoughts. On the other hand, the series has a very inviting writing style, and it's easy to tag along on the adventure. I was especially glad to see a different side of Lynne. She was more relaxed here, and watching her interact with family instead of clients provided a different side of her.

This series is a good vacation read. Some light murder and mayhem mixed in with some interesting information about the area the book is set.

The best thing about this latest entry in the 'Booked for Travel' mystery series is the travelogue of New England destinations in autumn. The mystery was less compelling and the plot took longer to develop than in earlier books, and I was disturbed by the dynamic between travel agent Lynne and her spunky 82-year-old mother trying to open a New Hampshire bed and breakfast. Frankly, I found Lynne to be much snottier in this book than in previous entries, particularly toward her mother -- she spends more time being irritated by and avoiding her than trying to be helpful. And the same irritation is clearly passed on to her daughter Jenna, who is a bit of an annoying character. Toll is a good writer, but I thought this was the weakest effort in this series.

I finished "Fall Into Death" today and frankly wonder if reviewer lisagm and I read the same book. My impression was that the author described Lynne's mother as a petulant, self-absorbed woman who was peevish and unmindful of others' feelings. I thought Lynne was remarkably patient (not at all snotty) with her mother's petulance. Jenna was portrayed as a caring, thoughtful daughter, and her and Lynne's relationship came across as sweet and loving. It's interesting, I think, that my and lisagm's interpretation is so different. If you're inclined to read this book, please do so and form your own opinions. I live in New Hampshire and can testify that the author perfectly described the scenery and tourist attractions throughout New England.

After reading many of the reviews I was expecting much more. This was a simple Nancy Drew style book with a travelogue spin. If this is what you are seeking, I recommend it. If you are looking for a good mystery, skip this book.

I have enjoyed all three of Emily Toll's travel mysteries. However this one could have used much tighter editing. It would have been a much better book with about 35 less pages on travel and about 10 more pages of real mystery. Mom's sudden change in the end was a little unbelievable. It was a bit detious at times, but there was LOTS of local color.I look forward to the next book

This is an author who gets better with each book. I particularly like the intergenerational relationships in this book. I definitely will keep reading them.