Who Killed What's-Her-Name? [Paperback]

Elizabeth Daniels Squire (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 2008

In a story set near Asheville, North Carolina, absentminded sleuth Peaches Dann is writing a book about memory tricks. Meanwhile, her aunt is found dead in her father s pond wearing a dress exactly like the one Peaches has on at the time. Can Peaches find the killer before he strikes again?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Peaches Dann, a 55-year-old widow with a notably poor memory, makes her debut as an amateur sleuth when she finds her aunt, Nancy Means, floating face down in a pond at her father's house. Harwood "Pop" Smith, a tactless, wheelchair-bound gent with occasional paranoid delusions, decides to solve the crime and grills family and friends after his sister's funeral: none has a decent alibi, and at least one had reason to fear and dislike the victim. Peaches is disturbed by the fact that Nancy died wearing a dress much like one she herself owns, and her uneasiness intensifies when she discovers a deadly trap set for her inside Pop's house. Meanwhile, Albert, Nancy's antiques-dealing son, is concerned that two valuable objects, a miniature portrait and a Confederate soldier's belt buckle, seem to be missing from Pop's home. With the help of Ted (her significant other) and endless mnemonic devices (many of which she records in tediously cute passages of a book she is writing), Peaches successfully tracks the killer, but she never does hit on the trick it takes to make Squire's ( Kill the Messenger ) tale any more than ordinary.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 239 pages
• Publisher: Five Star Publications, Inc. (June 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589850688
• ISBN-13: 978-1589850682
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,631,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as Good as I had Hoped, September 5, 2002

By 

Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Who Killed What's Her Name? (Peaches Dan Mysteries) (Paperback)

Peaches Dann is used to her father's paranoid outbursts, so she only goes out to check the pond to humor him. Much to her dismay, she finds that her father was right this time. Her Aunt Nancy's body is lying face down in the water. But who could have wanted to kill her aunt? Or was Peaches the intended victim, since she and the victim have similar dresses. Then another murder takes place, in a trap most likely meant for Peaches. What does it all mean? Peaches will have to use every memory trick she's learned over the years to figure this one out.

With a title like this book has, I went in expecting a cozy mystery and was not disappointed in that regard. The book could have been better overall, however. The plot moves along at a slow pace and I really struggled to get into it. While there are several likeable characters, I also found myself irritated by many of them. The references to Peaches' poor memory (which I didn't think was nearly as bad as it was made out to be) and excerpts from her "book" on memory techniques were also overdone.

Peaches is certainly a pleasant character. I'll probably give the author another try to see if she developed as a mystery writer. Not my favorite book read this year, but I've certainly read worse.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ya Gotta Love a Great Cozy, July 24, 2001

By 

C. J. Schultz "thinkholism" (Weaverville, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Who Killed What's Her Name? (Peaches Dan Mysteries) (Paperback)

I was saddened to read the above review about the late Elizabeth Squire's work. The person obviously doesn't like cozies. With her permission, I was happy to include a counter review that was posted on Dorothy L recently. This book begins the absent minded sleuth Peaches Dann series, which includes 6 other books, all of which were reviewed most favorably by numerous literary critics and fans. Why else would there be so many! I hope future readers will not be diswayed by the above review and keep the legacy of Peaches Dann and her author alive for many years to come. Just remember ... these are cozies! Enjoy the ride!

3 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars who wrote piece-of-[stuff]?, July 11, 2001

By 

B. Trimble (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Who Killed What's Her Name? (Peaches Dan Mysteries) (Paperback)

This book is at the emotional level of a third grader. There is no concept of suspense, realistic events, or realistic characters. The plot moves like molasses and Peaches Dann speaks to us as if she has no faults (besides her cutesy memory problem). There is no emotion in this story whatsoever. Someone killed my aunt, and is trying to kill me? I'm not going to show any emotion or hide out. I'm going to be stupid and hang around investigating! My latest amazement comes from the fact that it ships in 24 hours from amazon - while reading it, I was somewhat amazed that it was ever published. To sum up, the bright spots of the book were a cat and uhh, the other cat.