By Hook or by Book (Prime Crime Mysteries) [Paperback]

D. R. Meredith (Author)

Book Description

Series: Prime Crime Mysteries | Publication Date: May 1, 2000

Reference librarian Megan Clark persuades the Murder by the Yard book group to accompany her to do research on string figures. But when a valuable, unpublished manuscript about the hobby disappears--and its owner is found dead--the group gets strung along by a killer.

"A fresh, snappy voice of crime fiction." --New York Newsday

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Like its predecessor, Murder in Volume (2000), this second novel starring Megan Clark, a paleopathologist turned sleuth, tells a clever and intriguing tale. Megan, a highly trained scientist and lover of mystery fiction, works as a reference librarian in Amarillo, Texas. In the first book, she joins a reading group and stumbles onto a murder. Now, when the owner of a valuable manuscript is killed, she once again needs the help of her fellow reading-group mystery-lovers to figure out whodunit. These are serious novels with a light touch, tailor-made for those interested in inside information about the mystery genre. The characters discuss well-known authors (Christie, Grafton) and feel their way through a real-life mystery by taking hints from fictional sleuths. And it's a fairly solid mystery, too; some readers may get to the payoff slightly ahead of Megan and friends, but getting there is the fun part. Stick with this series even in its mass-market format; eventually, Meredith will get her shot at hardcovers. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 259 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (May 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425174654
• ISBN-13: 978-0425174654
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,473,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I Don't Think String Figures Are Going to Replace Recipes, May 18, 2000

By 

Sires "I enjoy mysteries, historical and proc... (Chesapeake, OH, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: By Hook or by Book (Prime Crime Mysteries) (Paperback)

I wanted to like this book a lot. I mean I wanted to be able to rave about it as the most wonderful mystery of the year. (D. R. Meredith has written mysteries in her other two series that are on my keeper shelf.) But I can't.

It's a very workmanlike job. The hero and heroine are both attractive, interesting people but you may be somewhat puzzled about their relationship if you haven't read the first book in this series. And I don't think the instructions for making string figures are quite the right hook for a mystery. I used to own the wonderful Dover reprint of String Figures and How to Make Them which plays such a prominent role in this story, and I could probably still do some of the easier and intermediate ones. But I evidently don't have the ability to translate the instructions for string figures that start each chapture into a visual image. At least when the author includes recipes I can salivate over them. I skipped the string figure instructions.

The part of this book that works best are the quirky characters and the intereaction between the main characters. The part that works least is the mystery. I really didn't care about the murder victims and many of the suspects weren't strongly drawn. I kept hurrying through the detecting bits to get back to the funny parts.

Read it if you are a D. R. Meredith fan, read it if you like quirky fun people, read it if you like string figures but cross your fingers and hope that there are going to be more and better books in this series.

(The author does an amusing plug for one of her own books and I agree, let's get the "Murder By" series back in print.)

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A real-life string figure enthusiast says "Yes!", October 12, 2000

By 

Gwyneth Calvetti (West Salem, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: By Hook or by Book (Prime Crime Mysteries) (Paperback)

Being a real, living, card carrying member of the International String Figure Association, the premise for this mystery is a natural hook for me. Maybe the characters are somewhat one-dimensional, but that dimension is a hoot. As several of the characters point out in the book, only a true enthusiast of the art form would see the value of a lost manuscript by Caroline Furness Jayne as worthy of crime. These characters display all the necessary obsessions to make the plot work.

The plot may not have been highly intricate--certainly not nearly as intricate as the Inuit figure "Polar Bear Caught in a Fisherman's Net," which I have yet to master. Nonetheless, it was engaging enough to string me along, and though I'd had my guesses about the identity of the murderer, that really isn't the point. This book is a fine example of the adage, "It's not the destination, but the journey that matters."

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good read, May 4, 2000

By 

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

This review is from: By Hook or by Book (Prime Crime Mysteries) (Paperback)

In Amarillo, Texas, there is not much call to autopsy a mummy. Thus, Ph.D. Dr. Megan Clarke earns her living as a reference librarian rather than as a physical anthropologist specializing in paleopathology. Megan also belongs to the local reading group, Murder by the Yard. The member's meet to discuss mystery books but usually become involved in homicide investigations when one of Megan's ideas goes awry.

Megan's excitement in discovering string figures leads her to hosting the annual conference of the International String Figures Association. She inveigles her reading group to assist her with the logistics supporting the conference. At the conference, someone sets up a private auction where individuals can bid on a long lost manuscript of Caroline Furness Jayne, the person recognized by hobbyists and the ISFA as the definitive writer on string figures. However, an unknown culprit kills antique collector Clyde Brownleigh, the greedy and unpleasant who found the missing document. Megan and her literary cronies begin to investigate the murder.

Mystery fans who enjoy a combination cozy and amateur sleuth tale will gain much pleasure from the entertaining BY HOOK OR BY BOOK. The likable heroine is a fresh character enjoying life. The reading group serves as her support element, yet are fully developed so they come across as individuals with specific eccentricities. Their little subplots add a cozy-like depth to the tale. They also provide insight into Megan and this part of Texas without slowing down her amateur sleuth investigation. The difficult mix of blending the minor subplots of the secondary cast into the main story line showcases the talent of D.R Meredith.

Harriet Klausner