Murder By the Book [Paperback]

D. R. Meredith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 6, 2006

When a client is accused of murder, Lara's investigation leads her to the Orkney Islands off the northeast coast of Scotland. There, she is pulled into a centuries-old Viking saga and a troubling quest that could end in danger--and rewrite history.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (June 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425209253
• ISBN-13: 978-0425209257
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,303,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fun cozy, June 7, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder By the Book (Paperback)

Texas suffers from a terrible drought that has dried up many of the lakes in the Amarillo area. The Wild Horse Lake is at the lowest ebb it has been in decades; so low that an abandoned Depression Era car up until recently buried under water is now visible.

Like her peers at the Murder by the Yard Reading Circle that meets at the Time and Again Bookstore, reference librarian Megan Clark enjoys reading and discussing mystery novels. Unlike her friends, she finds the recently discovered vehicle fascinating as she wants to know why it was dumped into the lake. However, as she tries to learn more about the Depression Era car, Megan begins to find corpses; the police consider the librarian as the prime suspect as they have no one else. However, Megan believes the real culprit knows Agatha Christie intimately as the killer seems to follow the means of many of the late author's novels.

MURDER BY THE BOOK, the fifth Murder by the Yard tale, is a fun cozy that fans of the series will appreciate as Megan urges her reluctant armchair book club detectives to help her solve the Depression Era mystery and the present day whodunit. At the same time she wants their help, Megan knows she is a person of interest to the cops and that probably one of her bookworm colleagues is most likely the killer as Christie is the focus. D. R. Meredith provides a delightful amateur sleuth tale with some police procedural elements that contrast to Megan's sleuthing skills.

Harriet Klausner

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good characters, bad research, October 3, 2006

By 

Agatha "Christie Fan" (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder By the Book (Paperback)

While the author did a good job building her characters and their relationship, she really got off base with her Agatha Christie research. The reference to Murder, She Said being a version of the book What Mrs. McGillicudy Saw was an error - there was never such a book version, only a film version with Margaret Rutherford starring as Miss Marple. Also, the author clearly did not know that Ten Little Indians and And Then There Were None were two different names for the same book. She also referenced "Barbara Peters" when she meant Elizabeth Peters (Barbara Michaels is a pseudonym). I also was able to figure out the plot from the very beginning. The witch and the cape were clear giveaways. I was dissapointed, but would probably give this author another chance if she did her research next time. Signed, a true Christie Fan.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun book to curl up with, August 11, 2006

By 

Wanda L "love and faith" (Allentown, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder By the Book (Paperback)

My husband recently died, and needless to say I've gone through a state of depression. A great friend of mine keeps me supplied in books. And "Murder By the Book" is a book she gave me recently.

It's great. It reminds me of the Agatha Christie book I've loved growing up.

This book certainly helped me forget about my depression. I got caught up in the story.

I highly recommend it. It's a great book for mystery buffs and everyday people like myself.