Heart-Shaped Box (A Claire Montrose Mystery) [Paperback]

April Henry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 2002

Claire Montrose wasn't part of her high school's in-crowd. Too smart, too tall, too skinny, and too young-looking, she didn't have a lot of fun back then. But that won't stop Claire from attending her twentieth class reunion. After all, those former disadvantages now work very well for her, plus she's got a hip boyfriend named Dante.

But someone else can't let bygones be bygones. Checking into her hotel, Claire receives a mysterious heart-shaped box with her yearbook picture inside. Then another heart-shaped box is found -- in the limp hand of former head cheerleader Cindy Sanchez, strangled in the parking lot. Claire's got to put all her smarts to the test and find a calculating killer before she, too, becomes a memory.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"YOU ARE INVITED TO THE MINOR HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1979 REUNION... BE THERE OR BE SQUARE." When Claire Montrose first reads the invitation, she reacts with a grimace (who wouldn't?). But while some things have changed since 1979, Claire, the curious, self-conscious heroine of April Henry's previous Circles of Confusion and Square in the Face, is still tall, thin, smart, and young-looking for her years. Deciding to flaunt the traits that kept her low on the high school social pecking order 20 years ago--and also show off her gorgeous Manhattan art curator boyfriend, Dante--Claire sends in her acceptance.

But the reunion weekend's first mystery crops up when Claire and Dante check in at Ye Olde Pioneer Village. Someone has left Claire a little heart-shaped box with a picture of her teenage self inside. And the first few drinks of the reunion icebreaker party have barely been downed when Cindy Sanchez, former head cheerleader and Minor High good-time girl, is found strangled in the parking lot, with another heart-shaped box in her hand.

As usual when she's faced with a puzzle, Claire's brain goes into overdrive. The chief of police (another old classmate) arrests a hotel employee who's found with Cindy's ATM card. Suspicion also falls on Claire's old friend Logan West, who's spent most of the intervening years in a mental hospital. But Claire doesn't think either man is guilty. Plenty of men might have found an excuse to slip out for a few minutes of auld lang syne with Cindy: Wade, her ex-boyfriend from senior year; Jim, Claire's own high-school flame; Richard, the class geek, now a high-tech millionaire; even Cindy's jealous, possibly estranged husband, Kevin. But none of them will admit to it. As the now-subdued weekend continues, Claire tries to narrow down her short list of could-have-done-its, knowing that she and the five other remaining women who received boxes may be in the killer's sights.

Though the clues--both real and false--are numerous and contradictory enough to seem a bit confusing, the murderer may not come as a big surprise to anyone who's read a few mysteries. Yet Heart-Shaped Box goes down as smoothly as chocolate. Just as Claire, with her kind heart, her little insecurities, and her one-glance perceptiveness and humor, appears to be gaining confidence and relaxing into her tentative relationship with Dante, so April Henry is relaxing into this ever-more-appealing series. --Barrie Trinkle --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Amateur sleuth Claire Montrose continues to beguile but is underutilized in her third appearance, following Square in the Face (2000) and the Agatha- and Anthony-Award-nominated Circles of Confusion (1999). At the 20th reunion for the Minor (Ore.) High School Class of '79, held at Ye Olde Pioneer Village Theme Park, some things haven't changed. Cindy is still a tease and a flirt, even if she does have a husband in tow. Sawyer was a dreamboat teacher; now he's a dreamboat politician and the guest of honor. Wade was strange then, but he's stranger now and was even institutionalized for a spell. Dick was a geek. Now he owns a high-speed modem company worth a fortune. He's still a geek. Claire was thin and shy and poor and smart. She's less poor now and the presence of Dante, her handsome boyfriend, ought to make her feel more confident. But reunions have a way of resurrecting old insecurities. Several women at the western-themed opening night receive mysterious presents: small, handcarved boxes. Cindy gets one before she dies in the theme park parking lot. The nondescript Kyle, a cop and a member of the returning class, does most of the sleuthing. Alert readers will ignore the slew of overly obvious suspects and quickly arrive at the true identity of the killer. The selection of cute vanity plates (Claire's previous job was vetting plate applications for hidden obscenities) at the end of each chapter are worth a thin smile at best. (Feb. 2)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Avon (February 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061030813
• ISBN-13: 978-0061030819
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,746,914 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I write mysteries and thrillers. I live in Portland, Oregon with my family.

When I was 12, I sent a short story about a six-foot tall frog who loved peanut butter to Roald Dahl, the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He took it to lunch and showed it to the editor of an international children's magazine - and she asked to publish the story! (For no money, which might have been a warning about how hard it is to make a living writing.)

My dream of writing went dormant until I was in my 30s, working at a corporate job, and started writing books on the side. Those first few years are now thankfully a blur. Now I'm very lucky to make a living doing what I love. I have written ten novels for adults and teens, with more on the way. My books have gotten starred reviews, been picked for Booksense, translated into four languages, been named to state reading lists, and short-listed for the Oregon Book Award. And Face of Betrayal, which I co-wrote with Lis Wiehl, was on the New York Times bestseller list for four weeks in 2009.

I also review YA literature and mysteries and thrillers for the Oregonian, and have written articles for both The Writer and Writers Digest.

Heart of Ice (co-written with Lis Wiehl) came out in early April. And a teen thriller, The Night She Disappeared, will be published in January 2012.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightfully Mysterious, February 14, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Heart-Shaped Box (Hardcover)

Can't help but like the heroine, Claire Montrose -- so real and down to earth -- the kind of person I'd love to have for a friend right now. I adore all of her insecurities, and am delighted by her ability to see the humor in even the most mundane of situations.

I had the murderer pinpointed early on, but with several twists and turns in the story line, kept thinking that I had been wrong.

Totally enjoyable, I had a hard time putting the book down. Thanks to Claire (or rather April Henry), my uneventful weekend turned out to be most enjoyable.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars April Henry Scores Again!, February 13, 2001

By 

Jennifer Joan German (Lynn Haven, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Heart-Shaped Box (Hardcover)

The first Clare Montrose book left me wanting another and 'Square in the Face' delivered - as has 'Heart-Shaped Box!' Clare is an interesting, sympathetic character not prone towards doing the awfully dangerous,irritating things some amateur sleuths do. 'Box' is set at Clare's 20 year class reunion and we see all the people we went to high school with in the cast of characters.Unfortunately, one and then another are found dead - and the clue that seems to tie the deaths together is a heart-shaped box, just like one Clare and some other women anonymously received before the reunion. The Clare Montrose books are somewhat cozy (which I like) but mainly written from a very 'real world' standpoint. If you enjoy character-driven mysteries, you'll enjoy this and the other Clare Montrose mysteries. The vanity license plates at the end of each chapter are an added treat!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A humorous who-done-it, January 24, 2001

By 

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

This review is from: The Heart-Shaped Box (Hardcover)

After receiving the invitation to attend the Minor, Oregon class of '79 twentieth reunion, a hesitant Claire Montrose thinks back to the nondescript seventies. She fit perfectly in a decade that offered nothing except closure to the sixties, as she was far from popular. However, those liabilities in high school like being too tall or too smart are assets for a thirty-seven year old person. She decides to go to show off herself and her even more gorgeous boyfriend Dante.

At the reunion, Claire learns a prime law of physics. In spite of Dante and receiving a heart shaped box with her picture inside it, Claire's high school insecurities return threatening to engulf her. Before she can hide in a chem lab, someone murders another attendee who received the same type of box as April. Other coeds also were given the identical gift. Attendee police officer Kyle Kraushaar investigates the homicide while former vanity plate checker Claire does likewise.

THE HEART SHAPED BOX, the third entry in the Montrose amateur sleuth series, is a humorous who-done-it. The story line is fun and amusing, especially the vanity tags at the end of each chapter and Claire's outlook on life. The investigation follows mostly Kyle around, and in all honesty, the audience will feel we know Claire; he's no Claire. There are a plethora of suspects, but readers will easily hone in on the killer's identity. Still, Claire clearly remains a wonderfully insecure lead character making this novel enjoyable though not quite at the level of its predecessors.

Harriet Klausner