Customer Reviews

Who Killed What's-Her-Name?

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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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!

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.