Grizzly: A Mystery [Hardcover]

Christine Andreae (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1994

In the sequel to Trail of Murder, English professor and poet Lee Squires returns to Montana for a simple temporary job, cooking at her friends' dude ranch, but things begin to get complicated when she discovers a severely mutilated corpse.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

English prof Lee Squires, fresh from her crime-solving escapades in Trail of Murder, heads west to help save the ranch-in this case, the J-E (Journey's End), a Montana dude ranch she visited as a child. Lee has been summoned to serve as fill-in cook while ranch owners Dave and Trudi Fife woo four Japanese executives who might buy into their cash-poor spread. The charmed businessmen ("Like City Slickers... We are Billy Crystal!") might be less ecstatic if they knew about the decaying, multilated corpse Lee has found in the woods. Adding to the ensuing complications is the presence of Lee's bunkmate-freelance journalist Monica Leeds, who, determined to squeeze a story out of the ranch, acts like she's hot on the trail of a Pulitzer. Although Lee is an engaging, credibly drawn protagonist, the real star here is the Western landscape. With its quirky mix of inhabitants, the setting functions as the novel's central "character," giving this mystery a driving complexity.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Lee Squires, fortyish professor of early Renaissance poetry and an amateur sleuth (Trail of Murder, St. Martin, 1992), serves as temporary cook on a Montana dude rance owned by brothers Mac, an environmental activist, and Dave, who is in the cattle business. First, Lee's discovery of a body in a nearby ravine gives her the jitters; then, a pushy woman reporter dies, apparently the victim of a grizzly bear. Literary references here evoke scenery or relate to character but bow to the principal theme: preservation of the grizzly bear. Good character interaction, great sense of place, and steady suspense. For larger collections.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 231 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (December 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312114338
• ISBN-13: 978-0312114336
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,754,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Well-dressed grizzly hunters, July 20, 2002

By 

Carol Grosser (San Antonio, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Grizzly: A Mystery (Paperback)

This book is certainly NOT one you can't put down, in fact, you can hardly get through it! Is it the totally uninteresting characters? Is it the fact of a complete description of the dress of each character as a fashion statement supposed to enhance one's understanding of the character? It it the attempt to be a nature mystery when it feels more like a romance, or a trade magazine for the fashion industry? Is it the continuous descriptions of everything that leads nowhere? I am half-way through and considering giving it up as a lost cause for it to even get anywhere.

4.0 out of 5 stars Really enjoyed It!, August 12, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Grizzly (Paperback)

This was a very well written book. I can't understand why the negative reviews. In fact, my husband even read it and also enjoyed the book. We will definately check out others by this author.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Subpar., July 8, 2002

By 

Bass Barreltone (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Grizzly (Paperback)

I read this only about a month ago, and I can't really remember more than two characters or anything of the plot save the utterly silly way in which the killer strikes. I kept waiting for the story to go somewhere. I'm a fan of big furry creatures, and I hoped to find some action actually involving one; there are no bears (human or ursine) in this book.

Still, Andreae is not a bad writer. Looking back on the book, I realize that it was reasonably well-structured. I think the problem lies in her lack of ability to create or sustain tension. Only one scene (the first discovery of the body) conveys any real drama. I could tell that certain scenes were intended to be dark and brooding-- but they weren't, and they needed to be. Many mystery writers, when unable to create dramatic tension, substitute sexual tension; Andreae occasionally makes the reader suspect the book might head in this direction, but it never does. The one time some physical interest kicks in, we suddenly learn that the protagonist considers herself celibate. A little romance might have helped matters considerably; the protagonist describes the killer as attractive, but nothing develops between them. If these two had had an affair of some kind, the killer's unveiling might have had a bit more kick.

I was amused by all the cooking tips the main character offered; it was almost like reading Jean Craighead George's "My Side of the Mountain," or Brian Jacques' "Redwall" series, in which, every time a meal is mentioned, the reader is treated to a page or two of all-natural recipes. Perhaps this is the only reason Andreae throws in some hilariously (and somewhat offensively) stereotypical Japanese tourists-- to provide her protagonist some motivation to cook some really weird-sounding food.

Anyway, if you have absolutely nothing better to do, you might as well read this. But DON'T pay [very much money] for the privilege.