Customer Reviews

Murder Between the Covers: A Dead-On Job Mystery (Beeler Large Print Mystery Series)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Helen takes a job in a bookstore. Life seems to be settling into a routine. She has a cozy home, an interesting job, a boyfriend, and friends at her apartment complex.

That all changes when her apartment is swarmed by termites, her boss is murdered, her boyfriend turns into a jerk, and her good friend is arrested.

Helen and her landlady systematically investigate until they find the killer.

Helen Hawthorne has landed another under the radar job. This time she's working at Page Turners book store. The job isn't as nice as she thought it would be, but she puts up with her womanizing boss, Page Turner III, because he's will to pay in cash. Now, if only the rumors of the chain closing would go away, Helen might be able to relax.

When her apartment is infested with termites, she doesn't mind the weekend at the beach with new boyfriend Dr. Rich. But Helen returns to find Page Turner III dead in neighbor Peggy's bed. There is no shortage of suspects, but the police center in on Peggy, soon arresting her. Helen knows her friend couldn't have committed the murder, so she starts her own investigation. The more she investigates, the more motive she uncovers for Peggy. Can she find another motive and free her friend?

I still have very mixed emotions about this series. On one hand, I find Helen's plight down right depressing. And, frankly, I also find it rather hard to believe she would let herself stay in the predicament for very long. Furthermore, there seems to be a real anti-male theme going in this series, which rankles me. On the other hand, I had a hard time putting the book down and was completely drawn into the mystery. I was proud of myself for figuring out the killer before Helen even if I missed the clues along the way, so obviously I cared about the outcome.

This series is advertised as a humorous series, but I don't get the black humor. I'm compelled enough that I'll probably move on to the third when it comes out. Helen may be depressing, but I can't seem to stay away from her adventures.

Once again Helen is working a dead-end job that allows her to be paid in cash under the table. She is hiding out from the law and her ex-husband.

This time she's working at Page Turners Bookstore. With her love of books, she thought this would be the perfect job. Wrong. Not only is the caliber of customers low, but her boss, Page Turner III, is the pits. Plus the stores appear to be on a downward spiral.

Her apartment complex, The Coronado Tropic Apartments, become infested with termites. The residents are all forced to move out for the weekend while the complex is tented and bombed.

Her landlady treats Helen to an enjoyable weekend at the beach. Her new boyfriend, Dr. Rich, comes to spend it with her.

But, when they return to the Coronado, they find Page Turner III dead with a knife in his back, on a bed in one of the apartments. How could this happen? Did anyone at the Coronado even know him? Plus, the apartments had been locked down and tented.

Suspects are not is short supply. Helen's friend Peggy is arrested. Apparently she had been engaged to Page some time before and had threatened him. Helen investigates to help get Peggy released. She feels Peggy knows something but won't tell her. Could it have been his wife, one of the female authors he took advantage of, or one of Helen's co-workers?

I really enjoy this series. Helen is a lot of fun, and the characters she works and lives with always add to the story. Fort Lauderdale is a terrific setting, too. There are plenty of twists and turns before the killer is revealed so that it is not easy to figure out who the killer is.

This series is a great cozy series. I highly recommend it.

Helen Hawthorne is on the lam, from the law and her ex-husband.

To avoid detection, she only takes jobs where she can get paid under the table in cash.

She's been on her new job at the Ft. Lauderdale Page Turners Book Store for several months now, and although she had always thought working in a book store would be a wonderful job, she's been disappointed. Not only with the customers, but her pig of a boss Page Turner III.

Then disaster strikes her apartment complex. The Coronado Tropic Apartments are infested with termites and Helen and her neighbors are forced to move out for the weekend while the complex is tented and bombed.

The weekend at the beach, spent partly with her new boyfriend, Dr. Rich ends badly when after returning to the Coronado, Page Turner III is found with a huge knife in his back, on the bed in one of the apartments.

How did Page Turner die, and how did he end up in an apartment that was locked down and tented for termite extermination?

There are no lack of suspects, but when Helen's friend Peggy is arrested for the crime, (she had previously been engaged to him, and had threatened to kill him when she read he was engaged to another woman in the newspaper).

Helen is shocked, she didn't even know Peggy knew Page Turner, let alone would have ever gone out with him. But when the cops close the case, it's up to Helen and her landlady, Margery to find out who the killer is.

Was it his wife, jealous of his consant womanizing? Or the female authors who were all promised book signings for their Vanity Press books, if they spent some time in Page's office. And what about the rumors that Page videotaped himself with all of these women, and what other things might he have video taped?

And then there's another murder.

Highlights:

All the inhabitants of the Coronado Tropic Apartments. Peggy & her Parrot, Pete. Cal, the Canadian who is constantly complaining about everything American. Phil - the unseen, pot-smoking next door neighbor, are all amusing characters.

Margery - the 70ish landlady is a hoot.

Helen and Margery on a stakeout.

Helen's fellow employee's at Page Turner's and old Mr. Davies, who sits in the book store all day and reads.

The mystery. The killer was a surprise, but made perfect sense.

Helen confronting the killer. This part made me laugh out loud.

Helen having to read "Love and Murder - Forever: A Romantic Mystery or Mysterious Romance". which will qualify as one of the worst books, and titles ever written.

Lowlights:

I know Helen is ticked off, which is why she's living like she is, but it's stupid. NO ONE IS LOOKING FOR YOU. (I had to say it, but if she wasn't acting like this, it would ruin the series).

Dr. Rich: He appeared in the first book, and continued into this one. He was such a nice guy, that I don't understand why his character had to change so radically, it was a very unpleasant turn in the story. Couldn't she have just dumped him?

This was much better than the first book in the series - Shop Till You Drop, which had so many characters, I got confused.

Great characters. Great mystery. A thoroughly enjoyable book. Can't wait for the next one to be published.

Once upon a time Helen was happily married, living in a mini-mansion and earning over six figures a year as a number cruncher. One day she came home early and discovered her husband in bed with their next door neighbor. After divorcing him she went on the run because she wouldn't obey a court order involving alimony.

She now lives in a tall old building in Ft Lauderdale working dead end jobs that pay her in cash. Her latest job is at Page Turners as a bookseller. The owner is a slimy married man who cheats on his wife in the back room of the bookstore. It comes as no surprise to anybody that somebody kills him but what shocks Helen is that his body is found in her neighbor and good friend Peggy's apartment. The police arrest Peg because she once had an affair with him and she vowed to get even with him for cheating on her. Helen is positive that Peggy is innocent and goes to some outrageous lengths to prove it.

Elaine Viets is a great writer whose characterizations are simply superb. In MURDER BETWEEN THE COVERS, she has created a tough, independent yet very vulnerable heroine who comes across as a believable person who stands by her principles even when they cost her everything. The victim in this case is so evil readers will wonder why someone didn't kill him sooner.

Harriet Klausner

The Dead End Job mystery series is set in Fort Lauderdale, and features great stories interspersed with gentle humor. This one revolves around the murder of a bookstore owner named Page Turner (you gotta love it!) Our heroine is Helen, who feels the need to stay on the lam from her ex-husband, preferring to keep under his, and the law's, radar. So she takes jobs that are way beneath her talents and education (a former high powered CPA in her married life) and ends up working for cash in a small, independent bookstore that is owned by a real creep. When the creep gets killed, Helen can't help but get involved along with the zany cast of characters that populate this series. Sometimes I just want to read something light, fun and fast, and Viets always comes through.

NOTE: Another reviewer expressed serious disbelief about employers paying their employees under the table. That is extremely naive...I believe it was 60 Minutes that did a piece on this a few years ago, and as a long time south Florida resident and former New Yorker, I can say unequivocally that it goes on every day and in all sorts of businesses, from mom & pop stores to doctors' offices to pre-schools to law firms to bookstores...

Hi! I read the first book in on this series and I LOVED MURDER BETWEEN THE COVERS. I like Helen and all the other zany characters. It is humourous and witty. Why I personally think Helen has no reason to run (a good lawyer could get her out of her troubles and back to making money) I want the series to continue. Who knows...maybe she will end up making everything right in the end.
I think the majority of you guys that think Viets is a terrible writer are just jealous that she has a SIX book deal with the second largest publisher in the world! Ms. Viets, keep up the good work and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!:-)

Once upon a time Helen was happily married, living in a mini-mansion and earning over six figures a year as a number cruncher. One day she came home early and discovered her husband in bed with their next door neighbor. After divorcing him she went on the run because she wouldn't obey a court order involving alimony.

She now lives in a tall old building in Ft Lauderdale working dead end jobs that pay her in cash. Her latest job is at Page Turners as a bookseller. The owner is a slimy married man who cheats on his wife in the back room of the bookstore. It comes as no surprise to anybody that somebody kills him but what shocks Helen is that his body is found in her neighbor and good friend Peggy's apartment. The police arrest Peg because she once had an affair with him and she vowed to get even with him for cheating on her. Helen is positive that Peggy is innocent and goes to some outrageous lengths to prove it.

Elaine Viets is a great writer whose characterizations are simply superb. In MURDER BETWEEN THE COVERS, she has created a tough, independent yet very vulnerable heroine who comes across as a believable person who stands by her principles even when they cost her everything. The victim in this case is so evil readers will wonder why someone didn't kill him sooner.

Harriet Klausner

Elaine Viets came up with her series of dead-end jobs mysteries after working many dead-end jobs herself. The second in the series, MURDER BETWEEN THE COVERS just gets better. Helen is now in Ft. Lauderdale, FL working as a bookseller in Page Turners bookstore, which is the namesake of its owner, a cold, womanizing and selfish man. Helen is being paid cash since she is on the run from her ex-husband and the police after smashing the husband's car after finding him with the woman next door.

In comparison to Viets' first in this series, SHOP TILL YOU DROP, I was hooked from the beginning of this one and I thoroughly enjoyed Helen's part and her more confident role. I got lost in characters in the first book, but with this one, I felt that I got to know Helen much better as she works her way to finding the killer of Page Turner III. I absolutely loved the scenes with her landlady by the pool with Peggy's parrot at the Coronado Apartments. There is humor, some chilling mystery,
some romance and a whole lot of guessing on my part in MURDER BETWEEN THE COVERS. I loved it!

The Coronado Crew is back with another Page Turner (pun intended:) When a resident of the Coronado Tropic Apartments is arrested for the murder of a bottom feeding millionaire bookstore owner, it's up to this series' heroine, Helen, and her sassy, salty, and ever-so fascinating 80-something year-old landlady, Margery, to figure out who done it.

This is a laugh out loud funny novel that would make a perfect book to take on vacation or to make a daily passenger commute more enjoyable.

"Murder Between the Covers" is the second book in this series. The debut novel is "Shop till You Drop".