Customer Reviews

A Fatal Slip (A Clay and Crime Mystery)

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

 

 

Before I talk about how much I enjoyed this book I must say that this is the third in the series, so it's probably a good idea to start reading them from the beginning. The small town of Maple Ridge has many zany and kooky characters and they are always being suspects, somehow having motive to do the killing in each mystery, with the bones they keep on picking with each other.

So far this had been my favorite book in the series; the character of Carolyn Emerson, a potter who owns her own shop; Fire at Will, always seems to stay close to trouble and even more than ever she is fun, sassy and likable, making this a perfect cozy mystery. In fact I read this book in almost one sitting, barely getting of the couch as my boyfriend decided to spend the day cleaning and rearranging his closets, it was a lot of fun and it was a real treat to spend a few nice hours lost deep in a charming, cozy mystery. The book had some nice food and everyone was drinking coffee so I recommend having some on hand or it gets the tummy growling.

When Carolyn's husband is accused of having something to do with the death of a nasty building inspector who quarreled with him at their freshly purchased place, she takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of the murder in order to clear his name and save her business. As usual her friends and colleagues add a nice touch with their little investigations going on as the story starts to touch more people than she could have believed. This time the suspect was on her list, I simply hate it when a mystery has a solution that almost had nothing to do with the whole book, well in this case it somehow all made sense and I was eagerly awaiting the intelligent conclusion.

I love mysteries, the constant humming in my brain "Who did it? Who?" only increased as the story progressed and I was anticipating the answer till the very end. I must admit that at one point even her own husband came under my suspicions, the story was that well created. I can't wait for the next book, hopefully it comers out soon; Carolyn is developing into a really fun character whom I like to visit through the world of books and her life and friends and her story are a cozy backdrop to each mystery.


- Kasia S.

Change comes early for the shopkeepers along the bank of Whispering Brook in A Fatal Slip, the third in Glazer's series of pottery-oriented cozies. Carolyn and her dynamic Firing Squad successfully bring about another change for one of the locals. Glazer continues to capture an ambience of a New England town full of crusty individualists with her delightfully eccentric characters. To say more could spoil YOUR reading of this fun book. There is a little more change in the lives of the main characters of the series than had been evident in the first two installments. I'll keep reading, and I hope you will, too.

Melissa Glazer brings us the next "adventure" in the clay pot series. When the building housing Fire at Will is up for sale, Carolyn is eager to buy. With a renovation in the works...in comes the building inspector...mayhem is on the way....Carolyn, with the help from the Firing Squad, solve the mystery. Glazer writes a very nice bloodless mystery that is a quick read. I couldn't put it down until the mystery was solved.

I bought this for my wife, an avid reader, who is interested in pottery. I am a mystery fan (Ellis Peters, Saylor, Christie, Tremayne, Chandler, etc), and was hoping this book would help interest her in the genre. As she read it, she kept laughing, and I felt encouraged. But it turned out the book wasn't funny; she was laughing at the book.

So, I read it after her, and also found myself giggling. The lead character is an unlikable non-sleuth who mostly travels between meals and coffee, allowing tertiary characters to do any investigating and report their findings.

Maybe I am not a cozy mystery aficionado, and that led to my annoyance with this book. But as first timer with this series, I found it lazy, boring, and barely readable.

If you are looking for someone who can give your unique business a cute and quirky name, then you should definitely contact the author of this book. She's very good at that. "Fire at Will" is a pottery shop, "In the Grounds" is a coffie shop, and "Rose Colored Glasses" is, guess what, a glass and bottle shop. The author is defintely good a dreaming up names for businesses. Unfortunately, that doesn't necessarily make for a good book. The "sleuth" in this book, who has the personality of a pat of butter, is unlikeable and uninteresting and treats people badly, especially her husband and her best friend. Dialogue and ideas are poorly presented and the author seems to have a limited vocabulary as she uses the same descriptive words repetitively. It is amazing to me that this series has survived as long as it has - these are deadly dull and boring books.

I didn't get the book as soon as it said I would but when I contacted the bookseller, I received the book three days later. I feel they delt with me in a very timely manner.