Customer Reviews

By Hook or by Book (Prime Crime Mysteries)

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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.)

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."

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

Unless you are a 'string figure' devotee, you may find this book to be very 'high maintenance'. To be sure, I had no idea there was such a thing as 'string figures' even though as a child, I certainly was entertained by my grandfather's attempts at making a 'cat's cradle'. Poor grandpa! He was a much better plumber.

This book, however, did not prove to be so entertaining, at least not to this reader. In fact, I skipped over most of the last two-thirds of the story, and will have serious doubts about reading any more in this series.(I still do like the author's other series, though.) Several chapters begin with instructions for various of the string figures that are mentioned throughout. If you like to read knitting or crochet patterns, they may appeal to you; otherwise, they might as well be written in a foreign language, which I suppose they are, really.

Many of the same characters appear in this book as in its predecessor: the mystery novel readers of Murder by the Yard, including the cute, petite, red-haired paleo-anthropologist who now works as a reference librarian, Dr. Megan Clark, and her unknown-to-her swain, history professor, Dr. Ryan Stevens. In addition to her apparent fascination with Ph.Ds (nearly every character in the book has one) the author has also kept her annoying habit of alternating voices in alternating chapters. Omniscient alternates with the repetitious, first-person maunderings of Ryan, who is certainly one of the klutzier (and truly stupid-appearing) persons to be found in books these days. Poor guy. I do wish he wouldn't feel the ever-present urge to continually remind us that Megan is indeed, a cute, petite, red-haired paleo-anthropologist.

In spite of the interference of police lieutenant Jerry Carr, Megan eventually solves the mystery of the two murders, as well as the other mystery, which is better left unidentified, so as not to spoil it for other readers.

I had the exact same reaction to this book as sires. I truly wanted to like this book. The premise seemed to be unique and fun but D.R. Meredith got caught in her own string.

This is book is the second in a series, which I had not known when I began reading it, and I definitly felt as tho I was two steps behind. Most authors will re-cap things for the reader and it can certainly be frustrating for avid readers but now I see why it can be necessary.

D.R. Meredith also tried to work a special twist into this series - string figures, which is actually a rather cool idea except that the instructions are very hard to follow (each chapter begins with instructions to a pivital design that is highlighted in that chapter).

What I did enjoy, along with sires, were the quirky and fun characters. The two main characters, Megan Clark and Ryan Stevens, have a unique and heart warming relationship. Megan's book group is also rather fun to read along with as they discuss well known mystery authors and the reader feels as tho they are part of the conversation. Unfortunately, the mystery itself did not really hold up.

If you are a fan of D.R. Meredith's work or are looking for a light and fun mystery then this book will delight you, if you are looking for a real mystery then skip By Hook or By Book. As I did enjoy the characters I will certainly try some of D.R. Meredith's other books.

This is the second in D.R. Meredith's series about a group of mystery readers that has a propensity for getting involved in real murder cases. The action takes place in Texas at a convention of the International String Figure Association. A valuable old manuscript on string figures (Cat's Cradle, etc.) in various cultures is stolen and its owner strangled by means of a string figure called Cheating the Hangman. The amateur sleuth is the young paleopathologist and reference librarian Megan Clark, and her friend Ryan Stevens, a museum curator and professor of American history, is the Watson. The real fun of the book is in the mystery lore, references to authors from Arthur Conan Doyle to Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers to Sue Grafton (Kinsey Millhone's name is even spelled correctly!). I guessed whodunit (though I wasn't quite sure), but the culprit wasn't nearly as obvious as in the first book, "Murder in Volume," which is also a good read for mystery fans.

In the 2nd book in the Murder by the Yard Mystery series, mystery reader and group discussion leader, Megan Clark, decides to host a string figure convention in her hometown of Amarillo, Texas. The International String Figure Association quickly accepts her offer, and Megan swiftly invites some of the more prominent members of the group to the convention. With the help of her longtime, seemingly platonic friend, Ryan Stevens, Megan recruits all of the members of Murder by the Yard to help with the convention. On the first day, one of the attendees, Clyde Brownleigh, announces to the group that he has found the missing manuscript of famous string figure author, Caroline Furness Jayne. He tells the assemblage of string figure enthusiasts that he will be accepting sealed bids for the coveted manuscript, and allows each person to set-up a 15-minute appointment to view the unpublished pages. When he is found murdered after the last viewing, all eyes turn to the final person to see the manuscript. But when she is cleared, and another murder occurs, Megan puts her life on the line to clear her good name, and that of the other members of her mystery reading group.

I enjoy this series, and the chemistry between both Megan and Ryan. I also liked the way the perspective shifted between a third-person narrator, and between first-person as told by Ryan. The book had an interesting premise with the string figure characters, and the choice of murder weapons was fresh and innovative. I like the fact that this series is different from many other cozies on the market today, and look forward to reading many more books in this series.

The first book in the series is called "Murder in Volume". Enjoy!

This is the second in D.R. Meredith's series about a group of mystery readers that has a propensity for getting involved in real murder cases. The action takes place in Texas at a convention of the International String Figure Association. A valuable old manuscript on string figures (Cat's Cradle, etc.) in various cultures is stolen and its owner strangled by means of a string figure called Cheating the Hangman. The amateur sleuth is the young paleopathologist and reference librarian Megan Clark, and her friend Ryan Stevens, a museum curator and professor of American history, is the Watson. The real fun of the book is in the mystery lore, references to authors from Arthur Conan Doyle to Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers to Sue Grafton (Kinsey Millhone's name is even spelled correctly!). I guessed whodunit (though I wasn't quite sure), but the culprit wasn't nearly as obvious as in the first book, "Murder in Volume," which is also a good read for mystery fans.

A was disappointed in this book.I also, miss the John Lloyd Branson series. Meredith has another book coming out Jan.2001 titled " Murder Past Due" I do not know which series it comes from though.