How to Murder the Man of Your Dreams [Hardcover]

Dorothy Cannell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1995

Investigating the mysterious death of the local librarian, Ellie Haskell is entranced by the arrival of romance cover model Karisma, whose muscle-bound fund-raiser is upended by second and third murders. 25,000 first printing. $25,000 ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The sleuthing is lightweight in this seventh Ellie Haskell story (following How to Murder Your Mother-in-Law), but Cannell's energetic style, loquacious storytelling and subtle humor are firmly in place. After the death of the local librarian in Chitterdon Fells, the recently married milkman adopts her rambunctious dog and the Library League decides to place a bust of the deceased woman in the library. Ellie, who has just hired an au pair for her twins, agrees to contact romance paperback model Karisma to ask if he will appear in a fundraising event. Karisma consents, but, before he arrives, the portly milkman meets an undignified end, suffering a heart attack while trying to wrestle a piece of steak from his new dog. Then, in an apparent accident, Karisma meets his maker in the library. Ellie doubts that the rash of deaths in her small community is just bad luck and, setting her mind to it, finds no shortage of murder suspects. While readers will relish Cannell's witty intelligence, some may wish that this tale, with no clear murder until near the end and little active detection, placed more emphasis on its mystery elements.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Ellie Haskell, happily married to a former paid escort, finds herself absorbed in her twin toddlers, romance novels, and the idea of a career in interior design. Also distancing her from her handsome hubby are events in Chitterton Fells: the town librarian dies under mysterious circumstances, Ellie's nemesis cousin descends on her, and the Library League invites Ellie's fantasy, Karisma?a hunky paperback cover model?to a fundraiser. While told with tongue firmly and dramatically in cheek, the plot loses some humor to often viciously articulate prose and recherche detail. For series fans (e.g., The Widow's Club, Bantam, 1988).
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 292 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; 1ST edition (September 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553074946
• ISBN-13: 978-0553074949
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,799,400 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Didn't want to put it down!, August 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Murder the Man of Your Dreams (Mass Market Paperback)

This book almost made me late for Mass, something which Ellie Haskell would probably have understood. How could I have possibly torn myself away with a mere 25 pages remaining although time was running out? I didn't and I am unrepentant. Karisma, the male cover model of the title, is a hilarious spoof of Fabio. (Neither is the man of MY dreams, but I am repulsed by any man who looks as if he could snap my bones like twigs.) I loved the snatches of imaginary romance novels. They reminded me of the Barbara Cartlands and Harlequins I read when I was a teen, but these were much funnier. I think the late Georgette Heyer would have enjoyed them, too -- she was so good at skewering the excesses of the genre. The rest of the book is the sort of fun I've come to expect from this series. There are so many twists and odd coincidences that I don't feel bad for coming to the same spectacularly wrong conclusion that Ellie did. Can't leave this review without expressing my appreciation for the author's double nod to Joan Hess when she announced that Zinnia Parrish would be writing a sequel to a book by the late Azalea Twilight [see Hess's *Strangled Prose*]. Oh, and I mustn't forget to rave about the cover! It's a pity that Amazon.com shows you only the front cover because the back cover is even better! It's delightful! It's inspired! I had to laugh! Thank you! Ann E. Nichols

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars disappointing beginning, tiresome middle and unsatisfying end, January 22, 2006

By 

M. Parkis "book gourmand" (Seattle, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Murder the Man of Your Dreams (Mass Market Paperback)

I was charmed by the title and was ready to be satisfied, when I bought this book and took it on vacation. Since I regularly read all sorts of stuff, good, bad, pulp, and critically acclaimed, I didn't worry about it being too fluffy; I just wanted an entertaining story. I ended up in that state one gets into, where one keeps reading and reading, hoping it would improve, hoping the characters would gain more dimension or behave believably or that something would tie in all the seemingly loose ends and improbabilities, until I reached the denouement, whereupon the ridiculously unbelievable ending dissapointed me further and I just wished I could have back all the time I'd wasted reading it.

specific gripes:
Unrealistically bland reactions by characters witnessing surprise deaths of close acquaintances and near neighbors.
Unrealistic characterization of the German nanny, including offensivively trite rendering of her supposed english speaking mistakes.
Aggravating constant lack of logical behavior and self-confidence by a healthy happily married woman with a handsome adoring husband, two healthy happy kids and lots of friends.

A few good parts: I liked the satirical representation of the vain, handsome hunk who "lurves women", and I liked the way the sultry cousin turned out to not be all bad.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars one of the better Ellie Haskell novels, January 1, 2002

By 

audrey (white mtns) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: How to Murder the Man of Your Dreams (Mass Market Paperback)

I've read four books by this author, three of them about Ellie Haskell, resident of Chitterton Fells and member of the Library League. In some ways I thought this was the best of them all -- Mrs. Malloy is hysterical here and the premise revolving around romance fiction is funny as well. But there are also minor problems. The mystery itself is confusing -- lots of people die, but not necessarily of unnatural causes, and the tension never really builds; the depiction of the village's two librarians is lazy and stereotypical; and two of Cannell's best characters, Freddy and Jonas, are not here -- they are away on a camping trip!

Despite the problems this is a fun book. I would recommend it if you are a fan of the author, but not if you are mainly interested in reading a challenging mystery.