Customer Reviews

Murder Can Cool Off Your Affair

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

 

 

Meet PI Desiree Shapiro. A short plumpish widow turned New York City private eye who feels that she was born without woman's intuition or very poor intuition at best. Today she is waiting to meet her newest client, John Lander (and his wife) who fears for his life since he has become heir to the family fortune. The trouble is John was second in line to the estate, now that the original heir is dead will he be next? He has already been frightened by a stray bullet which he and his wife think was meant for John. Desiree can't imagine why the couple have come to her for help, when her area of expertise is finding lost pets, not murder but it's now up to her to put the pieces together before her client is killed. Desiree's style of questioning suspects is uniquely her own. She chats people up while eating or feeding anyone she needs information from. Now she must find out who had a motive to kill cousin Edward. John certainly did but he and Edward were not only cousins, they were friends. As Uncle Victor lay dying someone is killing off the heirs to the fortune he has not yet left behind. We follow Desiree as she searches for the killer among the suspects while avoiding being romanced, trying on dresses for her nieces wedding and buttering up her long time friend on the force with donuts and coffee for tidbits of information. Selma Eichler's Desiree Shapiro is a joy to read. Reader's get a bonus of recipes included in each novel. Vannie(~.~)

I loved and enjoyed this book so much, I couldn't believe the low ratings and negative reviews. I guess it just goes to show, that we are all different and have different tastes. If I don't like a particular book in a series, I will not continue to read the series. But if I do like it, I will continue to read the series. This particular series is one series that I love and enjoy so much. However, like I mentioned earlier, this series is not for everyone. But if you like cozy mysteries, a fun-loving slightly overweight PI with a sense of humor, then this series could be for you. I have read some of the books in this series, and I will continue to read until I am finished, as I love it so much, I don't want to miss a single book.

In this particular book, Desiree Shapiro (the main character, who is a PI) is hired to find out who killed Uncle Edward, and who tried to kill nephew John. She interviews lots of people. She tries to put all her notes and findings together, gets discouraged . . . The book has a nice twist at the end when she finally figures it all out. Smart lady!

I love Desiree's life. She has a cozy life, a cozy apartment, and isn't afraid to eat her favorite foods. She is a widow, with no children, and lives in NYC. She has a witty and fun sense of humor. I absolutely love these books.

The Desiree Shapiro series is by far my favorite mystery series. Although this was not Ms. Eichler's best work, just spending time with Desiree is a pleasure. I feel like she is either my best friend or next door neighbor. I always anxiously await the next book. You will enjoy the book, but the plot is not as rich as some of the others.

Desire Shapiro is very comfortable living in her own skin despite society's narrow views of short, full figured women. She is a private detective who has had a remarkable record solving cases for her clients. However she knows she has plenty of competition in Manhattan so she's really surprised when John Lander and his wife Trudie insist she is the only private investigator they want.

The Landers hire Desiree to catch the person who killed Cousin Edward and tried to kill John. Wealthy Uncle Victor is dying and his heir was Edward followed by John. The Landers and Desiree think that the inheritance is the motive behind the homicide and attempted murder but the police think John killed Edward and Ken faked an attempt on his own life to divert suspicion. It is up to Desiree to prove the cops wrong.

Selma Eichler has once again written a delicious cerebral cozy culinary mystery that satisfies the mind and the stomach. The protagonist is an admirable woman who genuinely likes herself and doesn't need to conform to society's expectations of what a woman should look like. MURDER CAN COOL OFF YOUR AFFAIR has a fascinating story line that ends with a stunner.

Harriet Klausner

For someone whose private eye investigating has been heavily weighted toward finding missing pets, suddenly being called upon to find out who's trying to kill John Lander is more than a little nerve wracking. Desirée Shapiro suggests that a bodyguard might be a preferable choice, but John and his wife Trudie insists that she is just the person they need. While the police are skeptical about the murder attempt, Shapiro takes the report seriously. After all, John's cousin has just been shot to death, leaving John next in line to inherit a fortune-if he lives-and there are several other cousins who will benefit greatly if he doesn't. So the search begins, with Shapiro interrogating all the most likely suspects and seemingly getting no closer to her main goal, but discovering many family secrets in the process. Eventually, as one might expect, the pieces do fall into place. MURDER CAN COOL OFF YOUR AFFAIR is probably at its best in its descriptions of some of the fringe characters--the septuagenarian father of a friend, Shapiro's secretary, and others who don't figure in the main plot but who do add amusing asides to a generally entertaining novel.

This is the first and the last Desiree Shapiro book I will ever read. The main character Desiree might be comfortable with herself and funny in her own way, but she has no problem solving skills. I figured out the killer in the first chapter and continued to think it was the same person throughout the book, only to find out in the end, that it was exactly who I thought it was. BORING and STUPID. I love mysteries, but this book not only lacked good humor, it also lacked any mystery.

OK, so it's a cute title, and in keeping with the rest of the glib titles of Selma Eichler's books. But it telegraphs way too much of the plot! The mystery, at face value, seems to have nothing to do with an affair. The title tells you what to look for.

The mystery is too easily solved--there is only one clear solution to it, beginning very early on. So this book is padded with chapter after chapter of Desiree missing the clues, plus a completely annoying chapter in which Desiree looks down her nose at a bridal store employee. Now, this saleswoman is a pain in the posterior, to be sure, but Desiree's barbs are more directed at the size of the saleswoman's own posterior. This from a P.I. who is supposed to be appealing because she is plus-sized? OK, so maybe it's OK to be plus-sized as long as you aren't any bigger than Desiree...whatever size she is...or at least it seemed that Eichler was trying to convey something like that.