Customer Reviews

Maid of Murder (Five Star First Edition Mystery)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A delightful cozy mystery filled with humor and set in a small college town where, similar to Cheers, everybody knows your name.

Our charming heroine, India Hayes, is a librarian at a college and an aspiring artist, who pays her rent on a small apartment rather than live with her parents. Mom is an ordained minister and Dad, now in a wheelchair because of an accident are former tree huggers who still like to be very politically active when a cause comes up. India, in a weak moment, agrees to be a bridesmaid at her former best friend Olivia's wedding. Said friend was a neighbor of India's family when the girls were young and India's brother Mark had a huge crush on Olivia which turned into an obsession and Mark had a breakdown because of it. He is now working at the same college as India as a Mathematics professor. India is upset because she feels that she is betraying her brother by being in this wedding but, Olivia had been her best friend so she is really between a rock and a hard place.

Sadly, Olivia turns up in a fountain at the college near Mark's office. She is taken to the hospital but passes away from her injuries. All evidence points to Mark as he is the one who pulled her out of the fountain and is a basket case because she had come to the college to talk to him. India works very hard to prove her brother's innocence with interference from her landlady, who is very Irish and has leprechauns all over the place, the very social
mother-of-the bride, a very annoying, but beautiful Maid of Honor, her parents and a police detective who had once dated her older sister. This great cast of characters are a help and a hindrance to India as she plows forward into uncharted territory to help her brother.

This book is so charming. The story and characters are believable even though a little quirky, and goes a long way to prove the adage "No good deed ever goes unpunished." I read it in one sitting and can hardly wait to see what India's next adventure will be. This is a debut novel and I wish the author much luck.

Mary Lignor, reviewer for [...]

I am a somewhat avid reader who often gets lost in books. I started reading this novel and instantly fell in love with its charm and believable characters and detailed setting that really gives you a feeling for both life in a small town, and life in North East Ohio. The author has painstakingly laid out a vision, and intriguing plot. I was convinced I had figured out the "whodunnit" by chapter 28, but was pleasantly surprised to find out I was wrong.

This book has great life, and is an easy and entertaining read - perfect for a weekend at the beach, or even a day in a hammock... it's light easy humor makes you feel connected with each character.

I am very much looking forward to future publications by author Amanda Flower.

This is an excellent first book in a new series. I can totally relate to India and I love her sense of humor! I love the reality of this book because it proves that not all families are cookie cutter images other authors make readers imagine them to be. I predict that this will be a great series! Highly recommended!!

As her day job, Amanda Flower is an academic librarian for Ohio's Western Reserve. In her spare time, she globe trots and writes mysteries. Her goal is to see as much of the world as she can...and write about it.

India Hayes is a college librarian to pay the rent. Her heart lies with her art, though. She lives next to an elderly spinster who is as Irish as a clover leaf. Oh, and India has been a bridesmaid six times. When her childhood friend...or fiend...Olivia Blocken begs her to be a part of her wedding, India is torn. Her brother, Mark, genius mathematician and overall social outcast, has been in love with Olivia ever since childhood. Naturally Olivia turns up dead. Who do the police focus on immediately? Of course, Mark. To make matters worse, he may have been the last one to see her:

"'I could have saved her,' Mark said. 'I could have been with her. I heard her talking to somebody at the fountain, but I went back to my office to wait for her to come to me. I was always the one to take the initiative in everything. For once, I wanted her to come to me first.' Tears rolled down my brother's sunken cheeks. He said, barely above a whisper, 'if I hadn't been selfish, if I hadn't had to prove to myself that Olivia would look for me, I could've protected her from whoever did this to her.'"

Amanda Flower no doubt writes in part of her experience and personality into this India Hayes mystery. She certainly does a great job of capturing campus life. As for the character of India, the reader finds themselves cheering her on from the very first page. Amanda evidently feels the same, because she gives India room to grow and mature throughout the book. India's is haunted by her circa 1960's family, but there is a love bond there that is hard to miss.

MAID OF MURDER is a delightful cozy mystery that is entertaining through and through. Oh, and if you can guess "whodunit" early in the book, kudos to you. This reviewer didn't have a clue until the very end. Very satisfying.

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

College librarian India Hayes is the reluctant bridesmaid of former childhood friend Olivia Blocken. Olivia broke the heart of India's brother Mark, so she tries to keep her role in Olivia's wedding a secret. Unfortunately, Mark finds out and has another meltdown. He has loved Olivia since they were young and had a breakdown when the two broke up.

When Olivia is found in the college fountain near Mark's office, Mark is the first person everyone suspects of pushing her into said fountain. When Olivia dies of her injuries, college math professor Mark is arrested for murder.

India instantly becomes an amateur sleuth as she tries to find out who the real killer is in order to get her brother off the hook.

Maid of Murder is a quirky humorous cozy mystery with an odd assortment of characters, including an over the top Mother of the Bride, Mark and India's former hippie parents, and an annoying maid of honor and clueless body builder groom. India's Irish landlady and all-too-human cat add to the crazy mix.

Author Amanda Flower has created a sleuth who will certainly be seen again, and rightly so. This is a fun, albeit serious, murder mystery that is sure to please cozy readers.

Maid of Murder (Five Star Mystery Series)

Maid of Murder is a lighthearted cozy mystery that is also very funny. I grew up in Ohio so I loved that the book takes place there. I think the author has a unique writing style that you will either love or not. I'm in the "love" category. I found this book refreshing, entertaining and full of laughs. All the characters were, well...characters. They all had their own personalities and quirks.

I loved this book and want to read more from Amanda Flowers. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to read a light, funny who dunnit

In a Northeastern Ohio town that "connected itself with civilized New England and distanced itself from its Midwestern-ness," a wedding and murder threatens to tear a liberal activist family down to its very foundation. India Hayes' childhood friend returns home to get married and instead meets a terrible end at Martin University's campus. And, all fingers point to India's brother, Mark.

India is the middle child of Presbyterian Reverend Lana Hayes and the wheelchair bound Mr. Alden Hayes. Along with her older sister, Carmen, and her younger brother, Mark, she has spent her entire life in the Akron suburb of Stripling. Working as a librarian at Martin University where her brother is a member of the mathematics faculty, India spends her free time indulging in her painting and pampering her cat. That is, until Olivia Blocken, her estranged best friend (and her brother's unrequited love), blows into town on the 4th of July with an arsenal of emotional fireworks. Suddenly, India is plunged right in the middle of a murder investigation, desperately trying to clear her brother's name and find justice for her erstwhile friend.

Maid of Murder by Amanda Flower is a riveting tale of murder and family dynamics. Permeating throughout the story are unforgettable, eccentric characters, amusing anecdotes of Northeast Ohio life, and tongue-in-cheek humor that captivates the reader in this page-turning mystery. Amanda Flowers truly captures the essence of traditional mystery writing; complete with an ending that leaves the reader saying, "Why didn't I see that coming?"

India Hayes is a librarian in a small town. Single, she lives with her cat, and her elderly landlord neighbor, Ina, born again Irish believer, keeps her on her toes. Ina keeps leprechauns and pots of gold scattered on her yard, names the statues, and religiously rotates them.

Back in the day when they were younger, India's friend Olivia dated her brother Mark. Mark is a math geek, but fell in love with Olivia. Unfortunately for Mark, he was the rebound guy, and Olivia coldly cast him away. Mark never got over Olivia, and the sad part is that over the years, Olivia would call Mark. Talk about leading a guy on.

Out of the blue, Olivia calls India to be her bridesmaid in her upcoming wedding. India agrees but doesn't share the information with her family about Olivia coming back to town, most of all, Mark. But Mark finds out and crashes a party at Olivia's parents, where the girls are trying on their horrid bridesmaid dresses. He beseeches Olivia to reconsider and that he just wants to talk. He urges her to see him at his office the next day.

The next day, India gets a call and rushes over to the College that Mark teaches at. A woman has been found in the fountain, bleeding profusely, and Mark pulled her out. The woman is Olivia, and she dies. Mark is the prime suspect for her murder, but India is confident he is innocent and begins her own investigation to prove it.

Along the way, India's hippie parents create quite a few ruckus's, someone is setting Mark up, or he isn't as innocent as he proclaims, and India finds the detective on the case a bit more handsome then she remembered.

A quirky, entertaining, laugh-out-loud cozy mystery that you won't want to miss. Ms. Flower has penned a magnificent debut and I can't wait to read the next in the series! The characters are delightful and charming, the mystery is solid and page-turning, and the humor sometimes dry, ironic, to the point of belly laughing. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Cozy lovers will fall in love with India Hayes -- pick this one up as soon as you can!!

India Hayes didn't want to be a bridesmaid for the umpteenth time, but how could she refuse her childhood friend Olivia? Unfortunately, Olivia suffers a fatal fall into a fountain before she ever gets the chance to walk down the aisle. Even worse, all signs point to India's brother, Mark, as the killer. Now India has to find the real killer before Mark is sent up the river for a crime he didn't commit!

The cast is as quirky as they get--from India's activist parents to her leprechaun-loving landlady. Add a few funky cats to the mix, and you have one terrific first mystery. The killer's identity will surprise you, and you'll enjoy every moment of the journey. I'm looking forward to the next India Hayes mystery.

By now most of you who are familiar with what I review will know that I always enjoy picking up a mystery book! Whether it's a complex "whodunnit" that is sure to surprise or a cozy mystery with humor and other interesting tangential side plots, I can't help wanting to try to solve the crime before the culprit is revealed.

Amanda Flower's Maid of Murder certainly falls more into the cozy mystery category, with more than its share of quirky characters and amateur sleuthing by India Hayes. Sprinkled with humor and wit, this book tells the story of a tragic pre-wedding murder and shows you all sides of the crime and the people involved. A more varied group of suspects and supporting characters you'd be hard-pressed to find, from India's nosy Irish landlady, to the deceased bride's testosterone-filled fiance, to her liberal parents and their hunger for causes and demonstrations. And that's only the start!

The mystery itself isn't too complicated and naturally we are led to suspect several people before the murderer is revealed. The story is fast-paced, thanks to India's desire to pursue the investigating on her own--although her methods are at times more of a hindrance to her brother's case than a help. I really enjoyed reading this book--Flower's timely use of humor and dry with make for an entertaining read. My only disappointment was in how quickly the case wrapped up once we were hot on the trail of the murderer. I would have been happy with more fleshing out of that aspect of the storyline--and I have to admit I wouldn't have minded seeing more development of the budding relationship between India and Detective Mains. Oh, in case you are wondering, I did figure out who killed Olivia before it was revealed--it wasn't a huge surprise for more than one reason...

If you're looking for a quick read and a cozy mystery, you might like to pick up a copy of Maid of Murder and give it a try!