Customer Reviews

Murder Can Rain on Your Shower: A Desiree Shapiro Mystery

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Selma Eichler continues to write good mysteries involving this plus-size detective who is comfortable with herself and her love of food.

In this one, Desiree is helping her niece Ellen plan her wedding at a posh country club. When one of the guests keels over dead, Desiree is asked by Ellen's fiancee to look into the matter.

Despite the snobbery of the society ladies and bogus clues galore, Desiree manages to solve the crime.

If you like a cozy mystery with a little meat on its bones, be sure to check out this Desiree Shapiro mystery. You'll be sure to read the rest.

Desiree Shapiro, a Manhattan PI who loves food, throws her niece Ellen a bridal shower with Allison Lynton, mother of the groom, at Silver Oaks Country Club. Unfortunately Bobbie Jean, Allison's sister-in-law, takes a few bites of her green salad and keels over.

Desiree believes this to be a homicide and begins investigating. She discovers many people didn't get along well with Bobbie Jean. Bobbie Jean had stolen many fiances and husbands over the years. The suspect list keeps growing and changing.

Allison's husband Wes, Bobbie Jean's brother, has a tough time accepting her death. This adds to the tension in the family.

A new love interest starts calling Desiree. This makes it quite difficult, at times, for her to concentrate on the investigation.

Unfortunately Chief Porchow has set his sights on one suspect, and Desiree has to speed up her investigation before they arrest an innocent woman. She also finds Chief Porchow is not very receptive to her help and information. But, narrowing down the suspect list is not an easy task.

Desiree is the type of PI I'd want to hire if I ever needed one. She is very down-to-earth and loves food. We get to know her strengths and weaknesses in this series. She is a three-dimensional character. She also has a great relationship with Ellen -- who is a character in her own right.

The society ladies that Desiree investigates are very realistic. It is easily believed that they could be hiding something and adds to the overall mystery.

At the end of this book is a tasty new recipe for Desiree's Wild Mushroom Croustades. Food is a big focus in this series.

This cozy is one of my favorite series. I highly recommend this book. When you read one book, you'll want to read the whole series.

I always love Desiree, but this mystery outdid itself. There were a lot of interesting characters to pick from, all with nice juicy reasons [to end the life of] the...victim. I like the way Desiree goes about figuring things out, plus I love the recurring set of friends she has. Her humor is incomparable.

With her sister Margot still in Florida recovering from an ankle injury, private investigator Desiree Shapiro takes her niece Ellen to a surprise wedding shower at the Silver Oaks Country Club in Forsythe, Long Island. While everyone eats salad, the groom's Aunt Bobby Jean Morton keels over and dies. Everyone attending the event except Desiree and Ellen and perhaps the victim's sister-in-law apparently hated the trice married Bobby Jean.

The groom Mike Lynton, who might have been the only living person quite fond of his aunt, calls Desiree to hire her to investigate the death of his aunt. She refuses his offer of money though she could use the cash as the Manhattan sleuth considers him family and plans to make her own inquiries. Now if the plump Desiree can only be as confident with her attraction to smallish neighbor Nick Grainger as she is in trying to solve a homicide, life would remain still broke, but perfect.

The latest Desiree Shapiro tale is an exciting private investigator tale that is fun to read because of the delightful cast, especially the heroine. The who-done-it is cleverly designed so that the reader receives clues to narrow down the myriad of suspects who attended the luncheon and wanted Bobby Jean dead. However, Selma Eichler's novel belongs to everyone's favorite sappy sucker Ms. Shapiro and the supporting ensemble who make this lively widow so much fun to watch in action whether it is questioning a suspect or trying to pick up the neighbor in the supermarket.

Harriet Klausner

I loved this book!!! It is really fun. Desiree Shapiro is one cool and witty Private Detective. I love her witty and fun personality.

In this book, Desiree's niece, Ellen, is having a shower. The shower is in a nice country club and there are lots of guests, not to mention good food and exquisite service. A wedding shower is to be a happy event.

Anyway, this is a mystery; therefore, someone turns up dead. Desiree is determined to find out who did it. During her adventures of trying to find out who did it, she has some interesting conversations, meetings, and outings. I also enjoyed her cozy little apartment.

And the treats are fun.

This book takes place in New York City. (And those "suburbs", which I'm not too familiar with, such as Long Island, etc.)

These Desiree books sort of remind me of the Sophie books by Kyra Davis, which I also absolutely love and have read the first two of that series: "Sex, Murder, and a Double Latte" and "Passion, Betrayal, and Killer Highlights".

This book, "Murder Can Rain on Your Shower" is, I think, around the middle of the series. It is the first one I've read, but now I'm starting with the first book in the series and reading forward. I love Desiree and I want to visit her again. This book is a winner.

Plus-size Manhattan private eye, Desiree Shapiro, may be scrimping on luxury items for herself, but when she learns about her absolute favorite - and only - niece, Ellen's upcoming wedding, Desiree does the unthinkable...she breaks the bank and gets together with the mother of the groom-to-be, Mike, to throw a fabulous bridal shower to ring in the special occasion. Making arrangements at Connecticut's extravagant Silver Oaks Country Club, Desiree keeps things under wraps in an attempt to surprise Ellen. And surprised she is. For amongst the lavishly laden table full of scrumptious treats lies a killer salad that literally does Ellen's aunt-to-be, Bobbie Jean, in. Having known the woman for an extremely brief time, Desiree is clueless as to why someone would want to do Bobbie Jean harm. However, when Mike hires her to investigate the woman's death, Desiree can't say no. After all, they're practically family, and she doesn't want to rock the boat before he and Ellen have said "I do." Contrary to popular belief, Desiree instantly learns that Bobbie Jean was not the saint that Mike and his father may have believed her to be. Quite the opposite in fact. Upon digging up the dirt, Desiree actually learns that Bobbie Jean was an extremely manipulative woman who was hated by many for various scandalous reasons - namely the fact that she was an adulterer and a home-wrecker who left many women without spouses and in tears. The police, however, are not as convinced as Desiree that Bobbie Jean's death was a homicide, and refuse to treat it as such until they get their lab reports back. But Desiree refuses to wait. Dragging her dimpled behind through the streets of Manhattan, and all the way out to Connecticut various times, the pudgy PI begins interrogating her four prime suspects - Carla and Robin Fremont, Lorraine Corwin, and, worst of all, Mike's own mother, Allison Lynton. The process is slow-going, considering each woman appeared to hold a very strong grudge against the deceased, but Desiree is determined to solve the crime no matter how long it takes. After all, aside from some canceled dates with the irresistibly nerdy, Nick Grainger, who just happens to occupy an apartment in Desiree's building, as well as hold a place in her heart, Desiree doesn't have much to do on a Saturday night. And, if she plans on reviving her love life, she'll have to first muddle through her awaiting case before making dates that will undoubtedly leave her mind somewhere else. But as Desiree navigates through the world of love and death, she begins to find clues leading to a suspect she hoped would escape without a mark on her record. Now, however, Desiree must gather as much evidence as possible to convict her for the crime, otherwise a seemingly innocent women will be thrown in jail by the hare-brained police who refuse to look deeper into the mystery at hand.

As a die-hard fan of the portly Desiree Shapiro, as well as an avid Food Network watcher, I instantly knew that MURDER CAN RAIN ON YOUR SHOWER would be scrumptious - and it was just that. As always, Desiree's signature self-deprecating humor is at an all-time high; while her adventures out of city limits through bad weather, bad food, and bad company are not only humorous, but original, and laugh-out-loud funny, as well. While Ellen is quite often featured within the pages of the Shapiro novels, Selma Eichler made her a much more prevalent character in this particular installment, most likely because it's her bridal shower where the murder takes place, which was extremely enjoyable. Ellen is such a fun character, whose freak-out sessions really illustrate a vulnerability in her character, making her even more appealing; while her penchant for shoveling tons of food into her tiny frame makes you green with envy. The supporting characters in this particular installment are also quite enchanting - in a semi-evil way. Eichler has created four society ladies whom you absolutely love to hate. Each one is privy to her own quirks and feelings regarding Bobbie Jean's death, which makes it impossible for the reader to solve the mystery on their own; while their ability to remain so passive over the woman's death is not only surprising, but extremely convincing to the reader, as we attempt to navigate through this sordid world of money, scandals, cheating, false accusations, and so much more. Eichler has certainly outdone herself with this Shapiro novel, not only crafting a delightful, hard-to-solve mystery, but inserting a gem of a recipe - Desiree's Wild Mushroom Croustades - as well. A mouthwatering addition!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

Desiree Shapiro, a Manhattan PI who loves food, throws her niece Ellen a bridal shower with Allison Lynton, mother of the groom, at Silver Oaks Country Club. Unfortunately Bobbie Jean, Allison's sister-in-law, takes a few bites of her green salad and keels over.

Desiree believes this to be a homicide and begins investigating. She discovers many people didn't get along well with Bobbie Jean. Bobbie Jean had stolen many fiances and husbands over the years. The suspect list keeps growing and changing.

Allison's husband Wes, Bobbie Jean's brother, has a tough time accepting her death. This adds to the tension in the family.

A new love interest starts calling Desiree. This makes it quite difficult, at times, for her to concentrate on the investigation.

Unfortunately Chief Porchow has set his sights on one suspect, and Desiree has to speed up her investigation before they arrest an innocent woman. She also finds Chief Porchow is not very receptive to her help and information. But, narrowing down the suspect list is not an easy task.

Desiree is the type of PI I'd want to hire if I ever needed one. She is very down-to-earth and loves food. We get to know her strengths and weaknesses in this series. She is a three-dimensional character. She also has a great relationship with Ellen -- who is a character in her own right.

The society ladies that Desiree investigates are very realistic. It is easily believed that they could be hiding something and adds to the overall mystery.

At the end of this book is a tasty new recipe for Desiree's Wild Mushroom Croustades. Food is a big focus in this series.

This cozy is one of my favorite series. I highly recommend this book. When you read one book, you'll want to read the whole series.

Ok, so it isn't exactly a *love affair* but I adore Selma Eichler's books. I'm currently reading my way through all her books and with my busy schedule I only have time to read before bed each night. Thank you Ms. Eichler for giving me that *something to look forward to* each day.

"Murder Can Rain On Your Shower" is a humorous mystery novel. But Desiree is not a very clever or dedicated private investigator. She was very easily distracted from the case and would stop work the moment someone suggested going out to dinner or she felt upset or she felt like having a bubble bath. She even did hated housework instead of work on the case! It's amazing she got anything done on the case except that most of the interviews were done over breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Desiree also overlooked obvious clues and possibilities in preference of the easiest route--focusing on "the obvious suspects." When she finally noticed a few, slight clues, she made up a whole story of how the murder could have been done, promptly decided that's how it must have been done, and then she's shocked the police don't call her a hero and immediately go out to arrest the person. Not to mention that she lied to the police and regularly lied to and manipulated people but didn't see anything wrong with it. The only reason she solved the murder was because, in my opinion, the person wanted to get caught.

That said, the characters were charming in a lying, manipulative sort of way. The details about the food, decor, and appearances were vivid if those sorts of things interest you. The mystery wasn't difficult to solve--I saw the possibility of who and how back when the murder was committed, but I figured it was too obvious. I'm still convinced it was someone else. While quite possible, I wasn't satisfied by the solution.

There was a minor amount of bad language. While the murdered woman was a seductress, there was no explicit sex described. Overall, I'd recommend this novel to people who enjoy humorous investigators but don't care so much about clever mysteries.