Customer Reviews

Murder on the Eightfold Path (Mantra for Murder Mysteries, No. 3)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

the third installment of this series felt lacking in mystery (yes, there IS a mystery), however, the manner in which the story unfolded made me feel like I was
experiencing a mother and daughter relationship reunion (again) which superceded any other occurrence....mysterious, comedic or otherwise.

Since I felt the second installment was barely making the grade as a cozy mystery, I was looking forward to this third title, having liked some of the characters. My pre-order had been in since the title was released. Sorry to say I won't be doing that any more. If you must read it, try the library or wait until amazon.com's prices fall greatly.

Enjoyed the series - waiting for the next one- passed it on to my yoga instructor who has passed it on to others who are all anxiously awaiting the next release

I enjoyed the first two installments of this series, but this one just didn't do it for me.

Maybe it was the lack of Andy, who was a fun character. Maybe it's that Elysia was exceptionally annoying in this book. Maybe it was the CONSTANT references to AJ's back problem, which didn't seem to have a purpose since she kept doing stupid things despite the pain. I'm not sure what it was, but this installment just fell flat and was actually kind of boring.

Hoping the next one is better.

Somehow I missed the second book in this series--I loved the first one, and was very happy to get the third. The mystery itself is very well done--the solution to the crime isn't obvious. And while it does have one element I don't care for (the one where the protagonist has to solve the mystery herself because the police suspect the wrong person--usually it's the main character in stories that use this tired premise, but this time it's her mother), she's not a complete idiot about it. They actually hire a lawyer! So I didn't spent most of the book muttering, "This character is an idiot! Why doesn't she just hire a lawyer!",or "The police can't be that stupid. She doesn't even have a motive!" This allowed me to actually care about the mystery. I wish more mystery writers would avoid that brand of laziness. So yes, this is a particularly good, well-written mystery.

I've read all three of these books and I've thought them ok -- there are some things that bother me, for example, sometimes the dialogue doesn't really make sense. In this one it seems that the main character is smarter about investigations (or at least has watched a lot more tv) than her investigator boyfriend (really, he didn't think the salon connection was a bit much of a coincidence?) But the thing that caught my attention (and distracted me a bit)was the apparent product placement. My guess is that the author is getting kickbacks from the maker of the Palm Pre -- since she has the main character regularly refer to her phone by its brand name (who does that?) and a least once A.J. mentions that it has ALL the aps. Please, it's bad enough on tv and in the movies. Do we have to have it in books, too? (Ha -- I have to laugh -- I just looked up and noticed that there's a button to insert a product link. I'm not sure what that does exactly, but there just may be no escaping product placement! If I do that, do I get kickback?)

i enjoyed the book and i like the series and most of the characters with the exception of the boyfriend. i have to agree with the mother - he is unimaginative, not to mention, boring, sexist, irritating and apparently not a very good detective. i think it is time for the author to stage a fatal accident or possibly make him a victim. i much prefer the male lead in diane killian's poetic death series.

A cozy mystery -3rd in the Mantra for Murder Mystery series. A.J. comes across a dead body on Easter morning in her mother's front yard. Off A.J. and her mother tear to find the real killer and exonerate her mother. Jake (A.J.'s policeman boyfriend) has a complication from his past arise to cause trouble with his relationship with A.J.