Customer Reviews

Keeping House

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just finished reading Keeping House by Denise Tucker,our First Friday Book Signing Star. Started it last evening when I got home, picked it up again this morning and couldn't put it down until the final chapter! Terrific!
As an avid reader especially of mysteries, this story is beautifully and skillfully constructed ...I guessed one of the guilty persons but was totally surprised by the other. Another of the chapters revealed a sneak I suspected but I dont want to spoil your read.
Was great fun to learn so much about and be able to walk through the White House. As a speed reader, I sometimes blur over the descriptive details but I didnt miss a one this time....even enjoyed and appreciated all the stuff about the University of Virginia.....as the mother of four Virginia Tech graduates that was hard to say but maybe her next book will include that university also.
Richard Phillips did an excellent job with the painting for the cover...loved the clues included there...Sheba and the lurking killer...and the light in just the exactly right window.
Cant wait for the next eight books to come out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I enjoy mysteries of a variety of types and this one was fun to read. There are clues along the way that engage the reader into the mystery which I like. It was not readily apparent who "the bad guys" were, but the story did provide some clues (and false ones) along the way. It was great that the characters were a large variety of ages and backgrounds and they all had something to offer to solving the threat.

As mentioned before in a previous review, I also skip long paragraphes of details, but I found the details about the White House and other places interesting and fitting well into the story. I definately would suggest this book to a friend as a fun read for a weekend. Looking forward to the next book and what situations the characters will be involved in.

Descriptive details throughout the book give the reader a fuller sense of involvement with the wonderful characters and their environment, particularly with regard to life in the White House. When I finished the book, I realized that not only did I get an enjoyable mystery, but the routines of White House life had been opened up to me.

The characterization is quite varied and the mystery engaging. You'll likely figure out some of "who's doing what", but there's likely to be a surprise or two as you go along.

The book was great and I look forward to new releases in the series.

I really enjoyed reading this. Ms Tucker's characters are very real. Great characters and a good plot that grabs me and pulls me into the book -those are the qualities in authors I look for. "Keeping House" is such a book. Now I want more.

I'm attracted to this book, but don't understand why a paperback would cost $20. What gives? Pages that turn themselves.....?

Keeping House, the first in a series of mysteries by Denise Tucker, takes place in The White House. The Dean of the Law School at the University of Virginia becomes the first woman vice-president of the U.S. The story is brim full of intriguing characters who each play a part in solving a series of murders. Denise has combined her love of mystery and English roses into a great "who-done-it?" that kept me guessing until the end. Her attention to detail shows her solid eye toward researching a setting.
--Karen Pool, author of Designing Your Life Vision

Madame President comes to life and what a life it is. The story kept me alternatively interested, a little fearful, smiling and saying "no way but maybe." The characters are believable and yet leave just the right amount to the imagination. The settings in Greensboro, Charlottsville and DC are true to those who know them and are vivid pictures to others. Keeping House is an exciting story with a good amount of realism, scary at times.
I am a long fan of the Elliot Roosevelt mystery series and I believe that the Madame President series will give readers the same if not more enjoyment. Just for the record, I am betting that Madame President is really a Democrat who will prevail over all henious terror plans and rid the earth of evil!
This is a great read.

Set in four cities, this mystery will start you off and keep you running from the git go. Descriptions and details show Tucker's intimate knowledge of each of the locations and history down to china patterns, rooms of the White House, flora and fauna. Her characters are brilliant, quirky and loveable, be they human or feline, old or young. Problems begin immediately on the campaign trail, but more obstacles and even death get in the way of the election. Our unexpected survivor is Madame President,a law school Dean. The widowed Martha is intelligent and able to respond effectively to savvy politicians, cabinet members, historical upper crust, the secret service, and White House staff. She is a free thinker and acts decisively. Her children and Aunt Sophie "the First Lady" are spunky, natural and good natured. You will both snort with laughter and be worried with suspense as Gary, her social secretary tries to hone in on the real villain in the inner circle. The youngest character is five year old Abigail with her cat, Sheba. As the book ends we read "I mean really, I ask you, how much trouble can one little girl be?" Madame President has numerous secret weapons at her disposal; the discovery of these will thrill and satisfy the true mystery lover. Book 2 is headed to France. Jill L. Locke, PhD. Children's specialist and Children's book reviewer for Kirkus whose adult favorite reads are mysteries.

It could of happened last year for real, it does happen this year in the first of the "House Mysteries". The first female President of the United States! In this well crafted book, Denise Tucker has woven a tale that will keep you guessing. The cleverly drawn characters, from the precocious 5-year old Abigale, to "Mad Max" designer of women's gowns, are all so memorable that one cannot wait for the next volume. Well done.

This is a fun read and completely absorbing! This mystery set in the
White House takes you on a virtual tour of the House with a chapter set in each room. A theme running through the book is the underestimation of women, from the President herself to 5-year-old Abby (a key figure!) to the Blue Hairs government investigative team. The only disappointment is that the publisher seems to have left out the floor plan for the second floor and mislabeled the third floor floor plan as the second. I love having a map to look at to follow events in the story. I can hardly wait for Book 2!