Customer Reviews

Heart-Shaped Box (A Claire Montrose Mystery)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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!

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

Class of '79. The cheerleader, the wannabe, the brainiac, the murderer. Murderer? In this third installment of April Henry's Claire Montrose series, Claire and her dashing boyfriend, Dante, embark on a weekend trip to Claire's 20 year high-school class reunion. Upon arriving, Claire is flattered to receive a handcrafted heart-shaped box lined with her old yearbook photo from an anonymous admirer--well, flattered until popular ex-cheerleader Cindy Sanchez is found lying dead in the parking lot with a similar heart-shaped box in her hand.

Ms. Henry expertly guides us through clever twists and turns as Claire's lingering adolescent insecurities give way to an emerging self-confidence and savvy which just may keep her alive.

Anyone who has ever pondered attending a school reunion will enjoy this classy mystery lightly seasoned with '70's nostalgia and Ms. Henry's trademark humor.

....

Heart-Shaped Box is a delightful addition to April Henry's existing series. I'm especially delighted with the red herrings and the way she doesn't tie everything up into a neat little box (of whatever shape!)at the end. I can see loose ends coming back as future stories and can't wait to read them. This book is a keeper

This is the first book I've read by April Henry, and I liked it so much that I will buy her first two mysteries now. The character of Claire Montrose is very appealing, and her boyfriend, Dante, is interesting too. Setting the action of the book at a high school reunion weekend is inspired. The interactions of all the high school personalities, 10 years later, is both funny and pretty much right on the mark. Anyone who has been to a reunion will get a kick out of this aspect of this book. The mystery is good too. I, for one, did not figure out who the killer was until the end. There were several good suspects, and I kept going back and forth between them, not sure who was the most likely culprit. Overall, a great read, and I am looking forward to reading more of April Henry's work.

The school reunion might have gone wrong for Claire, but it sure was a treat to this reader. The mystery was excellent. I loved the way she went back and forth with tidbits on each graduate. Its just the way we do with our annual and old pictures. It was so real with wondering if you are too fat-too thin--or too wrinkled to go to the 20th. Great book.

[...]Claire Montrose is just an average woman like you and me who happens to stumble upon a mystery and decides to investigate. She is not a cop, no police training, etc. This particular mystery takes place at her high school reunion, which was fun as well reading about seeing everyone again and how their personalities from high school now mesh with what they have become. I am having my 15 year reunion soon so this was particularly fun for me. I love that the book was so fast paced. Right from the beginning you enter the story without a lot of unnecessary reading. It engrossed me and kept me enthralled and there were some very funny parts as well. If she writes more books like this I will buy them and I am now looking for others as well. (But please, Ms. Henry, save the single parents!) Now if we can just get an adult version of the Nancy Drew books!

This is a classic good novel for mystery novels, a good "whodunnit" type of book. You are kept hanging until the very end as to who is murdering the girls (women now) at a high school reunion who are found with a heart-shaped box. Typical good fashion in the Agatha Christie genre, where the murderer is found out at the end, and it is often not who you might suspect.
This was my first read of April's novels, and I decided I would give it a review.
Why four stars instead of five? Well, the license plates are fine, but I have read through the other books, and while certainly license plates or some other form of paraphernalia often tends to be a serial detective's shtick (such as Sherlock Holmes phrase to Dr. Watson, "It's all elementary, Doctor"), in this case, I believe the license plates are starting to grow old. The shtick isn't sticking for this particular character, and new growth is needed. Just my opinion, but there it is.
I would also warn those that are of a religious nature that the character Logan and his mother are caught in a time-warp, depicted as one-dimensional closed-minded fundamentalists that have a lack of intelligence (Logan is feeble-minded). Unfortunately, I rather expect this from April, but I need to inform those who would read this book. Perhaps an inclusion in her books as to an intelligent, articulate person of a religious persuasion could be adapted? I rather doubt that she will heed the advice, but read and judge for yourself.

Otherwise, it is a good read.

I ordered and read all of her books - they are quick reads, enjoyable, and very entertaining.