Half-Price Homicide: A Dead-End Job Mystery [Hardcover]

Elaine Viets (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dead-End Job Mystery | Publication Date: May 4, 2010

The national bestselling author presents a high society murder mystery...

At Snapdragon, a high-end designer consignment shop, Helen is at the beck and call of snobby- yet frugal-customers. That alone is a deadly combination, especially with Chrissy, a drool-worthy fashionista who walks in with a purse to sell, and ends up screaming at her husband and another customer.

Helen is used to dealing with snobby women, controlling husbands, and fashionable politicians. But she's about to have to handle a brand new type of unsatisfied customer-a murderer. Chrissy is found dead in Snapdragon's dressing room, with the hand-painted scarf Helen was just holding tied around her neck. And Helen goes from being low on society's totem pole to high on the police's suspect list.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. A posh Fort Lauderdale, Fla., resale shop provides the snazzy scene of the crime in Viets's superior ninth mystery starring Helen Hawthorne, the queen of dead-end jobs and magnet for murder (after 2009's Killer Cuts). Helen and Vera Salinda, the owner of Snapdragon's Second Thoughts, are shocked when Chrissy Martlet, a wealthy developer's sexy trophy wife, is found fatally bonked on the head with a Limoges pineapple, then hung with a Gucci scarf after trying to sell Vera some of her designer goods. Identifying Chrissy's killer as well as the culprit who bashes in the head of a model friend with a beer bottle tests Helen's sleuthing abilities to the limit. A teasing plot twist serves up a reminder that even if her greedy ex-husband, Rob, might finally stop pestering her and better jobs appear, there are still mountains to climb before Helen can rest easy with Phil, her PI honey. Viets doesn't waste a word in this tight, fast-paced installment as she deftly balances comedy and tragedy. (May)
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About the Author

Elaine Viets has actually worked those dead-end jobs in her mystery novels, just like her character, Helen Hawthorne. Over the years, Elaine has been a dress store clerk, phone book proofreader, babysitter, telemarketer, bookseller, and weed puller at fifty cents a bucket.  She is also the author of the Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper series and numerous short stories. Elaine has won an Anthony Award and an Agatha Award. She lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with her husband, author and actor Don Crinklaw.  Please visit her blog: The Lipstick Chronicles.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: NAL Hardcover (May 4, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451229894
• ISBN-13: 978-0451229892
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #398,319 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I write my novels with the help of Harry, a striped cat who sleeps by my computer and lashes the keyboard with his tail. He whips me into a writing frenzy.
Harry collaborates on two series, the Dead-end Job mysteries and the Josie Marcus Mystery Shopper series. He's doing a good job -- I just signed a contract with NAL/Signet for two more books in each series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Good Helen Mystery, But....., June 2, 2010

By 

Tina - See all my reviews

This review is from: Half-Price Homicide: A Dead-End Job Mystery (Hardcover)

I love all the books in this series. This was another great mystery.

POSSIBLE SPOILER:
The only thing that left me going "huh?" was the part with the ex-husband. That storyline just seemed a bit odd. It really surprised me. I was hoping for Helen to finally face Rob in court and to see her get a victory. I was totally on her side throughout the series, but now she made a dumb decision and it really took away her credibility. I think it took away the "cozy" element of the series, which disappointed me. I can see how the author could turn this into a plot twist in the future, but it seems like a new chapter is beginning for Phil and Helen and it would have been nice to put her past behind her.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as it should have been, July 4, 2010

By 

J. S. Buckley "jsbuck" (Lutz, Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Half-Price Homicide: A Dead-End Job Mystery (Kindle Edition)

I've read all the other books in the series and loved them. This wasn't as good for several reasons. First, the ex-husband subplot was not worthy of the Helen's character and tarnishes her as a heroine. Not that Helen is a perfect heroine but this was not worthy of her - it sunk to a low that will make future novels hard to read. Second, there were plot holes here and there. This wouldn't have been an issue until they started piling up. Third, there were details that were never resolved (Kathy, Jordan, Mark, Larry, Margery, Peggy, Vera) which made the end of the novel unsatisfying and blunt. Finally, while not everything gets wrapped up neatly with a bow, the ended came up very short. Since the pattern so far with the series is to tie up loose ends, not doing so for this novel made it a huge disappointment and shortchanged the fans of the series. I still recommend the book since it is a very entertaining romp with great characters and dialogue but this is not of the caliber of the other novels.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating, May 8, 2010

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Half-Price Homicide: A Dead-End Job Mystery (Hardcover)

When the judge awarded Rob half his wife's earnings for life, Helen Hawthorne refuses to pay this outrageous alimony. She leaves her affluent home in St. Louis and goes on the run until she reaches Fort Lauderdale where she works at a series of dead end jobs. Helen also meets her fiancé private investigator Phil at the apartment complex they both live in. Phil wants to marry her, but before they can Helen must return to St. Louis to fix her legal and financial liabilities.

Meanwhile she works at Snapdragon, a high class consignment shop. One of the repeat customers Chrissy comes in with a purse to sell, but her husband follows her to the shop. They end up in a shouting match; broken up by the store owner. Chrissy enters a dressing room to try on a dress. When the proprietor enters to see how it looks on her, Chrissy is dead. Helen knows the woman was murdered as there is blood on a décor pineapple. When she returns from St. Louis, she is shocked that her employer has lost so many customers and considers closing the shop. With Phil's help, Helen investigates the homicide hoping to find the killer and keep the store open.

The Dead-End Job mysteries (see Killer Cuts) are always fun to read due to the heroine but Half-Price Homicide is especially a delight as long story arcs are completed and new ones begin; making this a must for series fans. Meanwhile Rob tries to blackmail his ex wife, but she refuses knowing she will return to St. Louis to end the legal travesty. Her time in Missouri is interesting while her sleuthing in Florida is clever as both subplots blend together smoothly in a fascinating major move forward for Helen.

Harriet Klausner