Customer Reviews

Fountain of Death (Gregor Demarkian Series)

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Jane Haddam has the nack of making you think when reading the Gregor Demarkian mysteries. I love the information on Armenia and Armenian-Americans; the local of Cavanaugh Street in Philadelphia is well drawn and made so intriguing that I would love to find and eat at the Ararat Cafe. And the mysteries are so well done; I never feel cheated by a twist or switch that isn't part of the logic of the crime. I read all of her stuff - even the books (too few) she has written under her pen name of Orania Papazoglou that are takeoffs on romance writing. Those in particular demonstrate her creative skills at humor; all of her characters - no matter the genre- are well developed and believable.

This was my first Jane Haddam mystery and at this point, it's debatable if I will seek to read another one. The first 40 percent of the novel was introduction of the various characters and getting the plot off the ground, so it was a definite slow starter. There were subplots (i.e., Dessa Carter's father with Alheimzer's, Magda Hale's aging body that she has neglected) that had absolutely nothing to do with the mainstream plot. Since this novel took place in New Haven,CT, the author struggled trying to involve the regular Gregor Demarkian series' characters back in Philadelphia (i.e., Bennis Hannaford, Father Tibor, Donna Moradanyan).