Customer Reviews

Million Dollar Baby (The Marjorie McClelland Mysteries)

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

 

 

Million Dollar Baby is a superbly-written whodunit set in the 1930's amid the small town charm of Ridgebury, Connecticut where Creighton Ashcroft purchased a mansion with a dark secret. There is murder, there is a cover up, and there is the unraveling of a mystery. All this is done in wonderfully-flowing character dialogue with pictorial descriptions of the scenes. Readers will feel as though they can hear the ting-a-ling of the bell on the book shop's door, the sound of the orchestra, and the dull roar of the crowd at one of Creighton Ashcroft's house parties. The lead detective, Jameson, is a very likeable lug, and he's got a crush on Marjorie, a sleuthy novelist who likes to solve crimes for fun and adventure. Creighton also likes Marjorie, but he's more of a Rolls Royce-driving rich guy who'd rather dance and party all night than solve a murder mystery. But he helps Marjorie, if for no other reason than to keep the handsome detective, for whom she seems to have a fancy, away from her. Clues and red herrings pop up in every chapter, and the reader won't have an idea whodunit until the final few pages, so don't jump ahead and cheat! You'll need the information in the earlier chapters to figure it out! I can't wait to read Ms. Meade's next installment!

It's been a few years since I picked up a mystery novel, but this book has restored my faith in the genre! Amy Patricia Meade is a captivating writer, and she sweeps you up in the era. Creighton and Marjorie carry the story forward and their relationship is the perfect backdrop for a great "whodunnit" that unfolds with twists and turns. Overall, a wonderful first novel in what should be a very promising series. Looking forward to the next Marjorie McClelland mysetery!

Everytime I put the book down to do something, I couldn't wait to pick it up again to continue reading. I love murder mysteries and this is one of the best ones I have ever read!

Characters plucked from the depression era with strong morals and love for life. The two main characters are from complete different worlds and it seems they hit it off right away. I wish that whole storyline was played out. Some good twists along the way and a great whodunnit that makes you feel as though you are right along with them! Great first effort for Amy Patricia Meade; here's hoping to many more Marjorie Mysteries!

This book has interesting characters and could be very good, but it is just a bland read. It didn't hold my interest after the first 50 pages. It got me all excited and then didn't anywhere...I stuck it out for the "whodonit," but wasn't that impressed. Marjorie and Creighton really could be great characters...but the writing needs to improve to hold the reader's attention through the steps of solving the mystery.

This book has had some good reviews, sadly this is not one of them. Set in the 1930s, a period I enjoy, I looked forward to an enjoyable read. It was a huge disappointment. While the plot is decent, the book is burdened with heavy-handed, amateurish dialogue. It felt like the author was writing with a dictionary in one hand and Roget's Thesaurus in the other - this reviewer "interjected crabbily." Oh, and did people say "hinky" back in the 1930s? I thought that came in with The Mod Squad. Better research and editing could have helped. Anyway, I slogged through to the end of the story, just to see who-done-it and there were no big surprises.

This is a competent mystery that is fine for passing a couple of hours, but it doesn't reach the top rank of mystery writing. Like many modern mysteries it is mostly made up of talk. The murder takes place, and the characters talk about it. Then they talk with suspects. Then they talk over what they have learned with each other. Then they talk with other suspects. At the end, the author gets lazy enough to have the scene where the detective, bleeding and under cover of a gun, discusses the murder's solution with the killer. For pages. All this talk makes the novel pass quickly, and some of it is entertaining, but if one is going to read so many pages of dialogue, it should be more sparkling. There is little attention to character development or scene.

Another issue is the book's reliance on cliches. The male and female protagonist are in love... sort of... but keep bickering with one another rather than admit it. In a depression-era story, about half the characters are millionaires--as if we're in a 1935 Fred Astaire movie. But, just like Fred Astaire, the main millionaire is TIRED of being a millionaire and just wants to be a regular person (who drives a rolls).

As a first novel, such cliches are perhaps to be expected, and we can hope that in later books, the author shows more originality and takes better advantage of her time (the depression) and setting (small town America) to write more of an interesting novel.

This is an easy enough book to read, towards the end it was tedious though. What I really liked about the book was its humorous element, I really think the author should have kept it funny and light. The crime aspect was far from thrilling. I did not really care who committed the crimes. And the love triangle was dull, as was the romance. I barely cared when the couple was in the throws of passion. The cliches were unbearable, and I wondered if they even existed in 1935. "Crud is a four letter word!" I really wished the dialogue was better, and the story. And again with the feisty female lead...it gets tiring. Women do not have to be bitchy to be strong (Yes, I have an issue).

Another thing about the novel I wasn't sure I liked was the medical references...I am not sure dental records, ballistics, and paternity tests were readily available in 1935. Just saying. Not sure if the author is entirely serious.

this isn't a bad book--the plot is reasonably well set out and the characters, although they aren't well developed in this novel, could become more interesting.

the major problem i had in reading through to the end was the quality of the writing. some was very good, but there were sections that made me wonder if two people had been involved in the writing. also, nearly every other page had a horrible example of very bad english usage. i had to wonder several times if the author knew the meaning of some of the words she used, they were so inappropriate. and, of course, there were anachronisms--phrases and words that were used in casual speech only in the last twenty or thirty years--or less. a good editor would have at least brought all this to the author's attention.

if the reviews for the author's next book are enthusiastic, i might try it (used). but i wouldn't recommend this book to any of my mystery loving friends.

During the Depression British expatriate millionaire Creighton Ashcroft arrives in Ridgebury, Connecticut, which would mean very little to New Englanders except he drove to town in a Rolls-Royce Phantom, a vehicle no one ever saw before. He moves into the affluent Kensington House Mansion while the town is agog over the apparent affluent outsider. That is everyone except local mystery writer Marjorie McClelland who looks down upon Creighton even as he is attracted to her.

Marjorie decides Creighton can prove handy because she would like to write a story about the suicide of a previous resident, Henry Van Allen. Seeing this as an opportunity to get on her better side, Creighton agrees to assist Marjorie starting with showing her the place. However, they quickly stumble upon the partially buried corpse of the gardener. While the local police investigate that murder, Marjorie with her loyal sidekick Creighton at her side begin to look into the death of Henry, as she theorizes he was murdered.

The first Marjorie McClelland mystery uses the Depression to accentuate the class distinctions between the lead amateur sleuths even while an attraction and respect grow for one another. The whodunit is cleverly crafted to amplify the battles between Creighton and Marjorie as well as to compare their investigation to that of the cops. The fascinating lead couple relationship turns MILLION DOLLAR BABY into a fun historical mystery.

Harriet Klausner