Customer Reviews

Ghost of a Chance (Wheeler Cozy Mystery)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just finished this book and, like the first book, Million Dollar Baby, I inhaled it! I haven't had this much fun since I read the Nancy Drew Mysteries so many years ago. Meade has a gift you don't see much of. She engages you in every aspect of the romance, mystery, and the lives of everyone in Ridgebury, CT. I found myself speaking out loud throughout the entire book. As far as I'm concerned, Meade can't produce these books fast enough for me. I'm sold, hook, line and sinker with the life of Marjorie McClelland!! I would love it if Marjorie McClelland spent a summer on Long Island and just happened upon a body here!!! I can't wait to see the characters continue to develop, and I find myself anxiously awaiting Meade's next "case". Great Book!!

As a reader who thoroughly enjoyed Meade's first offerring, Million Dollar Baby, I was eagerly anticipating this latest novel. As many others I wanted not only another great historical mystery, but further expansion the relationships of the three main characters.
Well, I got it...in spades!
The development of Marjorie, Creighton, and Jameson takes these lighthearted combatants in love to human levels that make what was in MDB a flirty, romantic comedy, is now an intense emotional drama. Don't worry the humor and fun is still there but Meade makes her characters real in a modern sense yet retaining all the charm of the classic golden age movie stars.
Meade has set the stage with this novel to take what may have been a fun series with limited plot possiblities and enriched it with a depth of character that bodes well for the future of her series. Combine that with a first-class mystery, plenty of fun, and Marjorie and Creighton's barbed repartee, and you've got a very entertaining second offering from a promising new author. Ms. Meade I am a fan.

In 1935 Ridgebury, Connecticut is holding its annual carnival sponsored by the First Presbyterian Church and one of the big attractions is the Ferris Wheel. When the seat holding the last person on the ride opens the man flops to the ground. At first they think he died of a heart attack but mystery writer and amateur sleuth Miss Marjorie McCelland finds a dart near the wheel. She and her friend, British aristocrat Creighton Ashcroft bring it to the medical examiner. Tests show the man died of curare poisoning and the dart contained blood that matched that of the victim.

Marjorie's fiancée, police detective Robert Jameson informs her that the victim's name is Alfred Nussbaun and his wife Josie identifies the body. She doesn't seem upset and it isn't too long before they find out he was a bigamist with a wife and two children in Boston. They also learn that Josie is also married to someone else and is running a scam to part Alfred from his money with her husband's approval. Suspects abound with motives aplenty but the identity of the killer will shock everyone even a clever mystery writer.

Amy Patricia Meade has written a very charming amateur sleuth and police procedural mystery. The author has a way of creating characters that make them seem like the neighbor next door and even the killer will elicit reader sympathy. The triangle that develops between Creighton, Marjorie and Robert is very well developed and adds an extra dimension to the plot. Romance readers will definitely like this Depression Era regional mystery partly due to state of forensic science and the relationship between Creighton and Marjorie.

Harriet Klausner

ugh... soupy, formulaic. A standard romance novel dressed up like a mystery. I certainly expected more given the other reviews.

After million dollar baby I could have written the outline, and especially outcomes, of this one in minutes.

This really is a great suspense novel. Lighthearted, but to be taken seriously. The first three books keep you on the edge to the end. The fourth book was too easy to figure out who did it, for me anyway. Marjorie McClelland has class and style and gets herself into some very interesting dilemmas. The two men persuing her for her affections find Marjorie difficult to say no to. I have all four books of the series so far and am waiting for the next book due out in November 2011.

Only a short time has passed since amateur sleuths Marjorie and Creighton closed their first "case" - a mystery surrounding a long-buried murder that was uncovered at Creighton's newly-purchased home. Marjorie is hard at work turning their crime-solving caper into a true-crime novel while furthering a romantic relationship with Robert, the handsome local detective who wishes she was just a bit more conventional. Meanwhile, Creighton is still hopelessly in love with Marjorie and determined to win her affections, even though she views him as nothing more than a friend (and an often annoying one at that). At the annual carnival, a prime opportunity for Marjorie and Creighton to spend time together drops in their laps when a man begins a Ferris wheel ride very much alive and ends it quite dead. Before Creighton and Marjorie realize it, they find themselves caught up in a case involving bigamy, hidden identities, and industrial espionage. To top it off, much to Marjorie's chagrin, Creighton may just be ready to move on when the case brings him into contact with an old flame. Marjorie finds herself investigating her own feelings as much as the murder, and the clock is ticking on her chance of finding the killer and making a very important decision about her future before it's too late.

The first Marjorie mystery, Million Dollar Baby, was a delightful surprise all around, though a tad on the longish side. Ghost of a Chance takes everything that worked in the first book and improves on it. The characters are quirkier and more richly developed, the story is plotted with greater tightness and precision, and the pacing is more focused and keeps events flowing at a brisk pace. Meade peppers the storyline of Ghost of a Chance with enough red herrings to keep you guessing, giving the mystery several rich layers that are a great deal of fun to watch unfold on the page. I also love the 1930s setting. Meade mixes the small-town feel of a mystery show such as Murder, She Wrote and endows it with enough period charm to bring the Depression-era US to vivid life. But more than setting details, Meade anchors her characters in the time period. Meade crafts her characters with a cinematic touch, and for classic movie lovers it's impossible not to imagine Marjorie's adventures unfolding in black and white like the classic screwball comedies of the time period.

I didn't think it would be possible to enjoy Creighton and Marjorie's developing relationship more than I did during their introduction in Million Dollar Baby, but I'm happy to say Meade has outdone herself. More than ever, I can so easily visualize Myrna Loy and William Powell, of the Thin Man movie fame, bringing Creighton and Marjorie to life on the silver screen. Like their Old Hollywood counterparts Nick and Nora, it is so much fun watching Creighton and Marjorie needle and poke at each other, because you know their "fights" are rooted in affection and mutual attraction. Meade's biggest strength is her characters - they are funny and memorable, very real and quirky people that you can't help but fall in love with. With a stronger, more tightly plotted mystery, engaging characters, rapid-fire dialogue and loads of humor, Ghost of a Chance is a winner. I can't wait to see what adventures Marjorie and Creighton encounter next!

After reading "Million Dollar Baby" by Amy Patricia Meade, I thought it just can't get any better than this. Now after reading her second novel, "Ghost of Chance", it has!!!!! I just hope that there will be a third book in the very near future. Bravo to you, Ms Meade!!!!