Grave Endings (Molly Blume Series) [Abridged, Audiobook, CD] [Audio CD]

Rochelle Krich (Author), Deanna Hurst (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 2004 | Series: Molly Blume Series (Book 3)

Stabbings, even fatal ones, are not uncommon in Los Angeles. But the stabbing death of Aggie Lasher - a vibrant young woman dedicated to helping others and, it seemed, deeply loved by everyone who knew her - was especially tragic. For almost six years crime writer Molly Blume has been obsessed by the mystery of her best friend’s murder: If she had been with Aggie, would the killer have chosen another victim? Will the killer ever be caught? When Molly’s LAPD pal Detective Andy Connors shows her a locket found on the body of a dead man, suddenly the case seems solved. Molly had given that locket to Aggie. Still coiled inside it is the red-thread good-luck charm that Molly had brought back years ago from Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem, a thread with the reputed mystical power to protect its wearer. The presumed murderer - a good-looking aspiring actor named Randy Creeley - was found dead of an overdose in his shabby Hollywood apartment. But Molly is plagued by unanswered questions. And though she should be focused on her wedding, only weeks away, she is driven to find out more - about Creeley; about his nervous sister, Trina; about his missing girlfriend, Doreen. About Aggie, who, it turns out, didn’t tell her best friend everything. The more Molly discovers, the more she wonders: Was Aggie’s life snuffed out so an addict could shoot up? Or has Creeley been framed? What if Aggie was deliberately murdered by someone else, someone who is ready to kill again to ensure that his motives stay buried with Aggie and Randy Creeley? Molly’s search for the truth sends her scurrying for answers in an L.A. tourists seldom see. But closure is elusive, and seeking it can exact a stiff price - sometimes even a life. Rochelle Krich’s third Molly Blume mystery is irresistible: an inexorably compelling chiller.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Krich's third entertaining thriller starring spunky L.A. true-crime writer Molly Blume (after 2003's Dream House), Molly at last gets on the trail of the killer who murdered her best friend, Aggie Lasher, six years earlier. Molly is blissfully preparing for her upcoming marriage to Zack, an ultra-cool rabbi (who doesn't mind if Molly wears jeans under her skirt), when Andy Connors, her friend at the LAPD, asks her to identify a locket found on the body of aspiring actor Roland Greeley, an apparent drug overdose victim. Molly identifies the locket as the one she bought 10 years before at Rachel's Tomb in Israel and gave to Aggie. The locket contains a sacred red thread "whose mystical power wards off the evil eye lurking behind envy and arrests its malignant reach." Was Greeley guilty of Aggie's murder? The more Molly digs into his past, the more she doubts the recovering addict killed Aggie, a dedicated social worker at Rachel's Tent, a haven for at-risk and abused women. Krich never misses a beat as her heroine unravels the dark tangle of the senseless crime, affirming Rachel's legacy and the blessing behind the red thread: the healing power of truth. Krich once again expertly mixes Orthodox Jewish faith with crisp whodunit plotting.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Crime reporter Molly Blume is busy planning her wedding to Rabbi Zack when Detective Andy Connors appears with a locket that belonged to her best friend, Aggie Lasher. Someone fatally stabbed Aggie six years earlier, and the crime remains unsolved. The locket turned up with the body of Randy Creely, an aspiring actor and drug addict who overdosed. The police assume that Creely was the murderer. Molly, who has been obsessed with her friend's death, is not sure that the actor committed the crime and begins investigating. Her family and her fiance would prefer that she concentrate on the wedding, but she has other ideas. Her curiosity exposes corruption in prominent families and puts her in danger. As always, Krich mixes a good mystery with L.A. lore and a glimpse at Orthodox Jewish traditions. Her fans will enjoy Molly's latest case even as they await a new adventure in Krich's other series, starring West L.A. detective Jessica Drake. Barbara Bibel
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on CD; Abridged edition (September 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593559445
• ISBN-13: 978-1593559441
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 4.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,411,973 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Our modern day Raymond Chandler, November 9, 2004

By 

La Canada Mom (Los Angeles CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Grave Endings: A Novel of Suspense (Molly Blume) (Hardcover)

I agree with all the glowing things the other reviewers have written about Grave Endings. Krich hooked me in the first chapter and had me staying up way past my bedtime to finish this book. Her details about Los Angeles and Orthodox Jewish tradition are fascinating to read. This is a very well written, moving book. I loved it! Highly recommend.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, October 20, 2006

By 

K. Sozaeva "Obsessive bibliophile" (Athens, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Grave Endings: A Novel of Suspense (Molly Blume) (Mass Market Paperback)

This was the first book by Rochelle Krich I have read - I picked it up in the library on an impulse. Not only was it a good mystery, but it also provided a fascinating look into the world of Orthodox Judaism.

Molly Blume is a few weeks away from marrying "her rabbi" when she learns that a man recently found dead in his apartment (Randy Creeley) from an apparent drug overdose had in his possession a locket that she had given to her best friend Aggie - who was murdered 6 years before. The police believe that Randy was responsible for her murder. Molly sets out to find the truth, while juggling preparations for her wedding and jobs both writing crime columns for local newspapers as well as true crime novels under a pseudonym. She soon uncovers disturbing inconsistencies. Was Randy murdered? Did Randy kill Aggie, or was someone else responsible? As she investigates further, someone starts to stalk her . . . There are a lot of twists and turns to get to the final denoument.

This novel wasn't an edge-of-your-seat thriller, although it had its moments, but it was certainly a very enjoyable mystery. I also very much enjoyed all the tidbits thrown in about Molly Blume and her family's life and lifestyle as Orthodox Jews. Molly's struggles to compromise her independent nature to her desire to live by her religion's ideals - as well as to make accomodations as the future wife of a rabbi - made for fascinating character development. This is not the first in the series, as became fairly obvious early in the book, and I am definitely going to seek out the rest of them.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars entertaining listening, December 2, 2004

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Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Grave Endings (Molly Blume Series) (Audio Cassette)

Molly Blume's back and talented singer/actress Deanna Hurst is her voice. A veteran of a plethora of radio and TV commercials Hurst's voice captures both the joy and determination that readers and listeners have come to associate with Molly, an LA true crime writer.

Love has been in the air for Molly, and now she's happily planning her wedding to Rabbi Zack. You know what happens to the best laid plans of.....Andy Connors, a detective, appears with a locket that Molly had given to her late best friend, Aggie Lasher. No one really deserves to die, wouldn't you say? Least of all Aggie, a compassionate social worker. Not only did she die but she was brutally murdered, a killing which has gone unsolved for over five years.

Her locket was found on the body of a wanna' be actor. However, Molly isn't at all convinced that he's the one who killed her friend. Orange blossoms and rice almost vanish from her mind as she proceeds to investigate and unearths more than she was looking for.

A quick paced reading and easy listen.

- Gail Cooke