Hotel Paradise: A Novel [Paperback]

Martha Grimes (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 545 pages
• Publisher: G K Hall & Co,US; 1st Large Print Ed edition (December 31, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0783816820
• ISBN-13: 978-0783816821
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,892,351 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Martha Grimes is the bestselling author of twenty-one Richard Jury novels, as well as the novels Dakota and Foul Matter, among others. Her previous two Jury books, The Old Wine Shades and Dust, both appeared on the New York Times bestseller list.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I adore this book., October 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Hotel Paradise (Hardcover)

I must disagree with the reader who skewers this book so dreadfully (regarding a 12 year-old's vocabulary). Perhaps one of the reasons I responded so viscerally to Grimes' book is that I was a 12 year-old exactly like this narrator--bookish and full of Victorian words better written than pronounced. In "Hotel Paradise," Grimes creates a book that completely pulled me in and when it ended, I was saddened because then I had to give up the narrator's world, one I happily entered for a period of hours. I will collect Martha Grimes' books happily now (this was my first one). I most heartily recommend this book to anyone who likes books for the way they are written, and to those who can use their own imaginations when they read--after all, isn't that part of the fun of reading fiction? Grimes is no dime-store novel simpleton. Her words leap off of the page and the phrases in "Hotel Paradise" are almost edible. Buy this book in hardcover and loan it to a friend when you are finished.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book that fiction readers may miss in mystery sect, September 22, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Hotel Paradise (Hardcover)

This is the second of Martha Grimes books which depart from her usual fun English mystery format and I think it is much more successful than the first attempt. This book tells the story of a 12 year old girl living with her Mother in a run-down resort hotel who becomes obsessed with understanding why a girl her age drowned in the lake in front of their property 40 years ago. It is really a great coming of age story about a young girl who has been emotionally abandoned by her family and who needs find a place for herself and understand that sometimes one person in a family may become the family scapegoat for reasons they can't control. You will love the main character. She is spunky and intelligent and brave. This book is usually cataloged in the mystery section but is really just good fiction and shouldn't be overlooked by those people who say "I don't read mysteries".

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect vacation book!, March 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Hotel Paradise (Emma Graham Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have to disagree with the negative reviews printed here. Hotel Paradise is exactly the kind of book I love to read. I took it on vacation and lounged in the sun with it for several days. As soon as it ended, I started it again. Martha Grimes obviously has a great respect for young people and their intuitive view of the adult world. I wasn't bothered at all at the lack of plot action or mystery resolution. The resolution is there for readers to decipher on their own. Can't wait to discuss this book with my Mother Daughter book group.