Customer Reviews

The Family Vault

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

 

 

The Family Vault is the first in MacLeod's Sarah Kelling/Max Bittersohn mystery series, in which we are introduced to Sarah and her convoluted family. The book begins as the heroine prepares the family vault mentioned in the title prior to her uncle's funeral only to find it already occupied by the skeleton of a showgirl, Ruby Redd. All is made (mostly) clear by the end of the book, leaving plenty of hooks for subsequent mysteries. "The Family Vault" is a bit stiff compared to her later books, but a fun fast read nevertheless.

This is a well-weaved, humorous mystery about the bad things that occur to the quirky Kelling clan, their friends and associates. I was crestfallen about the turn of events half-way through the book, but can't say why for fear of revealing too much of the story. Nonetheless, it was very fun to read, with many suspenseful moments. I especially enjoyed all the eccentricities of the characters in the book, in addition to the Boston setting.

The late Charlotte MacLeod taught the rest of the mystery community how to write humor with straight characters. The Kelling clan will keep you glued to your seat as we find Sarah Kelling, for the first time, trying her best to weave her way through intricate puzzles, while preserving her place within the family circle.
MacLeod was a master of plot with few dull moments and her pace never lags. Sarah loses her husband and finds her mate, but those are other books in this fun-filled series.
Grab them up when you can and keep them close by for a good fix for what ails you. A word master at her very best.
Nash Black, author of Writing as a Small Business and Sins of the Fathers.

As a avid mystery reader I found this book to be very exciting. I couldn't put the book down! It was never really dull or boring and had a very ingenius plot. Out of all the Charolette MacLeod books I have read, I found this one to be the best. It starts off when the Kellings go to bury an uncle only to discover that someone had already been buried in the family vault. It was fun to read and was very thrilling at times.

This is my first reading of this author and I am definitely not disappointed. In fact I am so enthralled with Sarah Kelling that I have ordered a few of the books from this series that my local library does not have. The time setting of the late 1970s is also interesting. It's easy to forget how life was with no cell phones, internet or computers being used by the general public. The mystery line was good--kept me guessing. I'm greatly looking forward to reading the rest of this series.

While it's a little too "TV movie" in spots, there's more than enough wit and grace to make up for that. The plotting pulls the reader along until you find you've covered an awful lot of ground, foul play, and family history without realizing it. And there are a couple of twists at the end that are truly surprising! Nothing seems forced to make the plot work and there are plenty of plausible red herrings to confuse things along the way. A truly great read and highly recommended.

This is a very offbeat Peter Shandy adventure, but not at the usual college. A trip back in time in Wales that was most enjoyable. Worth making an effort to find if you enjoy the Shandy series, humor, or interesting use of language.