Murder Beyond Words (A Ruby Neptune Mystery) [Kindle Edition]

Julie Christensen (Author)

Book Description

During a heat wave in New York City, a literary agent is murdered in her Brooklyn apartment. Across the hall in 3B, aspiring writer Ruby Neptune finds herself sucked into the murder investigation of a neighbor she barely knew and didn’t really like. The agent seems to have known her killer, as there was no forced entry. Ruby slowly discovers that many of her neighbor’s friends had strong reasons to want her dead. Determined to find the killer, Ruby puts her own life on hold, which upsets her closest friends, one of whom suspect that her new boyfriend is capable of the murder. As the list of suspects narrows, it hits uncomfortably close to home and Ruby finds herself lying to friends and even putting aside her writing career to solve the case. But will Ruby be able to identify the killer before she becomes the next victim?

Product Details

• File Size: 475 KB
• Print Length: 254 pages
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005GAP2HU
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,976 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 56 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Murder Beyond Words August 23, 2011

By Miss C

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I purchased this on a whim and, I must say, it is one of the best mysteries I've read in awhile.

It starts off like an Agatha Christie drawing room mystery with a slew of suspects identified right off the bat when a literary agent is killed. But then the plot veers off with all sorts of modern day twists. The main sleuth, a young writer named Ruby, is funny and down to earth although she develops some decidedly non-traditional heroine traits that serve her well while living in the big city.

The book's pace moves like a summer breeze, flowing along nicely until the blood pumping climatic scenes. Overall I found it a fun and unexpected read, just what I was needed to shake off the stress from a taxing week. According to the author's note, there is to be a sequel. I'm looking forward to meeting Ruby and her crowd again.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story, Character, and Setting! August 9, 2011

By DC

Format:Kindle Edition

Great book - I really enjoyed the main character Ruby. She seems typical, moving through her day, then she jumps in and does something totally surprising. By the end I was wondering what Ruby would do next. She is unusual because instead of being out there she is relatively mild mannered, then all of a sudden she does something unexpected and ballsy. A very enjoyable, memorable character.

I also appreciated how the author wrote a compelling mystery while paying homage to Brooklyn. Perfect amount of great descriptions without getting bogged down with boring detail.

Great story too!! Let's see another book with Ruby.

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars No depth November 13, 2011

By Steve in Scottsdale

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I can see from the other reviews that I am in the minority here, but this book just didn't measure up for me. There are a couple of things that I look for in a book. It has to have either a believable plot, characters that I came to know and care about, or some twist that I didn't see coming. This book didn't have any of those for me. It felt like the author spent 5 or so pages pulling together the ending. I think that when you finally find out "whodunit", you should be able to go back and see where the author left the clues that you didn't see. At the end of this one, there were too many things that seemed to be added to make it all come together. But the biggest problem for me was that, at the end of the book, I didn't feel as though I knew anything about the characters. They all just seemed to "be" there, never fully developed into anyone I would care about. The saddest thing about that is that I think the potential was there, but was never realized. I can't see myself buying another installment in this series and I cannot recommend this book.

More About the Author

Julie Christensen is the author of "Searching for Meredith Love," "The Truth About Dating," and two Ruby Neptune mysteries: "Murder Beyond Words" and "Murder with Art." A native New Yorker, Julie studied painting at Pratt Institute and worked briefly in advertising on Fifth Avenue before she realized that her "creative" job was sucking the life out of her soul. Julie worked as a live-in Au Pair in Brooklyn, taught preschool, and lived in Barcelona and New Mexico before finally going back to school to get her Masters in Audiology. It was while living in Omaha, Nebraska that she discovered how hard dating is for thirty-somethings. She began writing about her horrible dates to amuse her single friends and make her married friends appreciate their husbands. "The Truth About Dating" is based on these experiences. Julie was introduced to her future husband by an acquaintance who, after reading a draft of "The Truth About Dating," realized that she knew the perfect man for Julie. One blind date led to marriage less than a year later. They now have two children, ages 3 and 4. Julie continues to paint (juliechristensen.net) and write (julielivingthedream.blogspot.com). She is currently at work on her fifth novel, the sequel to "The Truth About Dating."