Murder at Five Finger Light: A Jessie Arnold Mystery (Alaska Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Sue Henry (Author)

Book Description

Series: Alaska Mysteries | Publication Date: April 5, 2005

Sled dog racer Jessie Arnold stars in a series that's "suspenseful, intelligent, and filled with the spectacular beauty of the northern wilds" (Dallas Morning News). Her friends, Laurie and Jim, have acquired their dream-an old lighthouse on the Alaskan Inside Passage-and invited everyone to a party. Not a party in the typical sense, but one where guests earn their keep by restoring the old building. With the company of old friends, the smell of fresh paint, and a view to die for, this is one weekend Jessie won't soon forget-especially when a guest ends up dead. At first, the death seems like an accident, but when someone cuts the phone and radio connections, Jessie realizes there's a killer loose on the island.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

At loose ends because she is unable to race her dogs this season due to an injury, Jessie Arnold heads to Five Finger Light Island to help friends restore an old lighthouse. On the way to the island, Jessie meets Karen Emerson, who is on the run from a persistent stalker, and invites her along on the trip. Once on the island, Jessie's idyllic getaway turns deadly as a body is found, a woman disappears, and an extensive search of the tiny island fails to find her. Jessie and her companions realize they are on their own when they discover that all means of communicating with the outside world are either missing or destroyed. Alternating chapters from Jessie's and the stalker's points of view keep motives hidden and readers guessing as the plot moves briskly along. The unspoiled Alaskan setting, and Jessie and her boyfriend Alex's somewhat uneasy relationship, add to this eleventh in the series. Sue O'Brien
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

A perennial throat catcher and a great setting. -- Kirkus Reviews --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: NAL Hardcover; First Edition edition (April 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451213971
• ISBN-13: 978-0451213976
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #445,230 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED!, August 29, 2005

By 

Carol (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder at Five Finger Light: A Jessie Arnold Mystery (Alaska Mysteries) (Hardcover)

When a book title begins with "Murder at...." I know I am going to have a good time. Sort of reliving the old Nancy Drew days!!!

Sue Henry has written an able mystery again featuring Jessie Arnold. Jessie gets a request from an old friend to help renovate the lighthouse they just bought. In the process of getting to her destination, she does a good deed for a fellow traveler on the run from an abusive boyfriend. The story takes off from there.

I have lost track of Sue Henry's books lately but intend to catch up soon. The concept - Murder on a remote island with just a small circle of friends, one of whom is a killer. Ms. Henry describes Alaska nicely, but praises Cruise West too highly. I was not that impressed with CW on my vacation to Alaska. I am sure it was a fluke, but the other descriptions were right on track.

Also as a fan of New England lighthouses, I was interested in the detailed description of the lighthouse and its history. Ms Henry gets you right there into the action.

The ending, as well as the book, was not melodramatic. It was good to see that Tank, her faithful lead dog, is as devoted to Jessie as always, and that Alex Jensen is back in the picture. Very pleasant read.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but..., August 13, 2005

By 

J (Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder at Five Finger Light: A Jessie Arnold Mystery (Alaska Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Sue Henry is one of my favorite mystery authors. The Jessie Arnold series is well worth reading from the first to the last. But, the truth is that I find this is Henry's least well written book.

The plot is promising: Jessie Arnold is invited,along with several others, to visit/work on a remote old lighthouse that friends are renovating. En route, a young woman fleeing an abusive ex attaches herself. Shortly after arriving on the island, the dead body of a stranger is found....and the complications mount.

In previous novels, the Alaskan landscape and history are an important, integral, and appealing part of the books. Here, unfortunately, they are awkwardly treated and become laborious.
There are too sentences with so many dependant clauses you must read them 3 times to be sure what she's trying to say.

Definitely read the book if you are already a Sue Henry addict. But, if you haven't read her before, don't start with this one.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A minor production from a usually good writer, January 12, 2006

By 

Judith Lindenau "dulcie22" (Traverse City, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder at Five Finger Light: A Jessie Arnold Mystery (Alaska Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Over the years, I've waited anxiously for Henry novels: I enjoy the setting, the suspense, the characters. But "Murder at Five Finger Light" was a real let-down. It was very formulaic (put your characters in an isolated spot and let human dynamics work) and the characters were poorly defined (frankly, I didn't care WHO did it, because nobody was particularly distinguishable from anybody else). The setting was fun (I always like Alaska and whales and eagles) but not worth the predictable and flat ending. My advice to Sue Henry readers: don't ask for this for Christmas. It's a waste of a good gift.