Customer Reviews

Loco Motive LP: A Bed-and-Breakfast Mystery (Bed-And-Breakfast Mysteries)

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

 

 

I have read all the B&B series and while i did like this one I am starting not to like Judith. At the start of the series she's a fun, talkative, motherly figure/ In this book she comes across as rude, nosy and kinda mean to her cousin. The actual story is hard to follow, too many characters the plot makes no real sense and the final wrap up of the crime left me wanting more both in explanation and actual motive. I enjoyed the book and will read more but so far the series seems to be on the way down.

Just as I thought that this was going to be one of the best of this series in several years, the book ended. Now I am not stupid and usually can figure things out, even if they aren't completely spelled out but I still am not sure who got killed and why. I agree that there were a lot of characters (and some of them even seemed to have at least 2 different identities) BUT there were also multiple victims, one victim who was one of two different people, mini-crimes and at least 2 murders. One bad guy was apprehended, and his motive seemed to be strong but what happened to Montana Trooper Purvis who just happened to arrest one suspect in North Dakota? Neither of them were ever heard from again. And after being such am important (little) character, Emily and her family just walked off the train? Judith and Renie were told to report to a (I think) North Dakota police station and they run out to the parking lot and drive off in a new Porsche? Just too many threads that I couldn't find wrapped up. And none of the twisted relationships were ever straightened out. It was as if Ms. Daheim finally reached into the middle, plucked out a reasonable suspect, identified him and BAM! Book over.

I agree also with the reviewer who disliked this Judith. While I appreciated the more realistic approach to the story--less cutsie names, less bizarro behavior from Gert and her sister Deb, less of the Rankers holier-than-thou rants, what is up with the continued nastiness from Judith? I too have a replacement joint and I kept waiting for some revelation that the implant was failing and the resulting pain caused her weakness, sense of being lost, or her just plain cruelty to Renie, but no, nothing.

I did love all of the descriptions of the train ride. I have always loved trains and would love to take the train cross country but definitely not with the new nasty cousins!

What in the world has happened to Judith?! Mary Daheim and her B&B mysteries used to be one of my favorite series. I always loved the way Judith and her cousin, Renie would joke and tease each other. They were lively, energetic and always looking for trouble. But I have been so disappointed in this series not only with this book, but the last one as well. Mary Daheim makes Judith seem so old, mean, nasty and crabby. I know she had a hip replacement, but so did my Mom, who is a LOT older then Judith. And my Mom would run circles around Judith the way she limits herself to pretty much everything physical. Sounds like 'Judith' should be sitting in the 'tool shed' instead of Gertrude.
I'm not sure if I'll get the next book in this series. But I do know I won't be waiting in anticipation like I had in the past. So sad.

Am I the only reader who tought that Judith was one of the most irritating protagonists in the modern mystery world? I don't think I've read any of the books in this series before so I don't know whether this one is atypical, but from the very beginning she was such a doormat (and ironically, she bristled when her competent, controlling daughter-in-law called her that) that I wanted to grab her by her ears, shake her, and hand her a calendar so that she can see which decade she was living in. The way she allowed her mother to constantly belittle her husband (goodness, was that supposed to be funny?), the manipulation she put up with from her airhead cousin, not to mention that whole crazy business with the daredevil guest (were we really supposed to believe a character called Wee Willie Weevil, for heaven's sake?)....I can't believe that someone who was such a wimp in dealing with everyone in her life could possibly be strong enough to run a hotel, with all that that entails. I couldn't make it all the way through the book, so I can't say whether other people's comments regarding a confusing plot and too many characters were accurate. If the other characters were as caricature-ish as the ones in the first few chapters, I'm glad I didn't waste any more time than I actually did.

I have read every Mary Daheim Bed and Breakfast but this one had too many characters and sub plots. This series is going downhill.

I've really enjoyed reading the Bed and Breakfast series, but this book was a disappointment. There are far too many characters to keep track of, and the story doesn't make sense. The resolution and recap at the end just left me confused and glad that the book was over. I'll keep reading the series, but this one was not nearly as good as its predecessors. If not for liking the series, I'd probably give it only 2 stars.

Wee Willie Weevil, daredevil and martial arts movie icon, is staying at Judith's B&B. He insisted on performing a dangerous jump from the B&B roof and got a ride in an ambulance.

Judith agrees to accompany her cousin Renie on a cross-country train trip since Renie hates flying. Both of their husbands have to be in Boston, so the men fly and the women take the train. They have first-class accommodations on the Empire Builder. What kind of coincidence is it that the injured Wee Willie and his entourage are on the same train?

There's a minor collision. While waiting for a new engine in a small Montana town, the cousins' sleeper attendant goes missing. When Wee Willie dies and Judith is blamed, the cousins set out to uncover the truth and clear Judith.

This is a series I really like. I'm from Washington State, so the fact it's set in Seattle helps. Mostly it's the characters that I like. Judith and Renie are fun characters who get into a lot of sticky situations. Sometimes they could have been avoided, but most of the time they couldn't. The additional characters in this book were fun and kept me guessing right `til the end who did it. I highly recommend this book and the series.

It started out promising. Although the future murder victim was a bit improbable, I was willing to suspend disbelief. The first few chapters were fine and I really like the cousins. However, the plot gets really REALLY convoluted once they are all on the train. I had an almost impossible time keeping track of who was who. I ended up backtracking and even writing down names-relationships! I am also uncertain why something in the victim's history had to be suppressed 5 years back. A book intended as light reading should NOT be so convoluted.

Also, the mis-identity of the main victim seemed an unnecessary complication. And the whole lawsuit against Judith's B&B seemed totally spurious and bogus. No way would relatives of some idiot jumping off a roof against the protests and warnings of the proprietor win a lawsuit! Not even an OJ jury would find in favor of THAT! Judith should have realized that. I also didn't like that a particular sympathetic character was also offed. The ending was not terribly satisfying. I would have liked a confrontation between cousins and evildoer, but it happened "offstage."

I also have a bone to pick with the author in that she makes Judith's hip replacement a crippling ongoing ordeal that too-frequently dislodges and has left her quite shaky on her feet. I suffered horribly from the same ailment and postponed hip replacement surgery for over a year because I believed what Daheim has been describing for several books now, enduring instead agonizing and crippling pain that left me seriously considering buying a Scootaround wheelchair. I was really afraid I'd endure what Judith did.

Two hip replacements later, and a month's healing time, and I am wearing high heels again. I wish I hadn't lost that year! Daheim or Judith must have had a really crappy surgeon!

Mary Daheim's Bed and Breakfast series have been
entertaining, humorous and with great characters.
Hard to put these books down.
jz

I have liked all the B&B books up til this one. I found it actually boring. There were too many characters and I had a hard time keeping track of them. The character name of Wee Willie Weevil? Where did that come from? Anyway, I find that Judith is slowing down to a point where I wonder if the next installment should have her moving into assisted living, and her spark with Joe seems to be waning. Overall, I think maybe the author just missed her mark on this one.