Customer Reviews

Murder at Five Finger Light: A Jessie Arnold Mystery

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

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Sled dog racer Jessie Arnold feels the world is looking up as she rebounded from knee surgery, recovered from a DEATH TRAP, and is back with her beloved State Trooper Alex Jensen. Jessie accepts an invitation to a paint party thrown by close friends Laurie and Jim Trevino, who are renovating a fixer-upper Five Finger Lighthouse on Alaska's Inner Passage; Alex has a meeting that he must attend so he cannot accompany Jessie, but tells her to have a good time.

However, thinking this will be fun though hard work, Jessie goes leaving Alex behind. However, the idyllic gala of paint and panorama ends when Jessie finds the corpse of another guest. Assuming a tragic accident occurred Jessie changes her mind when she tries to call for help by phone and radio; neither work as a killer has severed the lines with the objective to snuff the life out of the party one death at a time.

The latest Sue Henry Alaska mystery will remind readers of Agatha Christie's classic Ten Little Indians. The story line is action-packed once Jessie stumbles over a dead body and never slows down as the sleuth realizes a murderer is amongst the guests. The scenery as usual is breathtaking, but it is the cat and mouse game between the culprit and the detective that will have the audience spellbound.

Harriet Klausner

WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO SUE HENRY? THIS BOOK IS SUCH A LET DOWN; I ALMOST THOUGHT THAT SHE HAD SOMEONE ELSE WRITE IT -- THE STORY IS FLAT AND THE SENTENCE STRUCTURES ARE CONFUSING. SORRY TO SAY THAT I REALLY CAN'T RECOMMEND THIS EVEN THOUGH I WANTED TO.

Jessie Arnold has sustained an injury, so she is unable to participate in her favorite sport of sled dog racing. Instead, she decides to go with two of her friends to help renovate an old lighthouse they have bought. In the intriguing setting of Alaska's Five Finger Lighthouse, Sue Henry creates another well-written mystery. Jessie looks forward to joining a crew of volunteer workers, but on her way to the lighthouse, she becomes acquainted with a young woman named Karen who is running from a man who has abused her in the past. Desperate for a place to go where she will not be found, Karen accompanies Jessie to the island where they are to work on the lighthouse. Soon a dead body is discovered, and the workers know that they have taken on more than they bargained for. As the communication system to and from the island is cut off, the situation becomes more serious. Sue Henry's fans will enjoy this latest addition to the Jessie Arnold Mystery Series.

Iditarod champ Jesse Arnold is back in this rather tepid tale of intrigue at a friend's lighthouse, where she has agreed to join the rehab work crew after an injury forced her off the sled dog racing circuit.

Antsy in her recovery period and more than a bit afraid of her intimate feelings for her returned State Trooper boyfriend Alex, Jesse can hardly wait to get going, when she meets up with Karen Emerson, a frightened and extremely unlikeable character who claims to be running from a dangerous stalker.

Although Jesse dislikes Karen from the start (and so does the reader), she unaccountable lets the woman share her hotel room and accompany her to the lighthouse. There is a reason behind these moves, but it never made much sense, and thus greatly weakened the story, in this reviewer's view.

Once at the lighthouse, Jesse and the others quickly learn that things are not what they seem. Are they in danger? Are they being stalked as well? And who stole the gun?

You get the picture. Formulaic, a bit boring, but still Sue Henry, and therefore still worth reading--for those of us hooked on the series.

I really love Sue Henry's novels. This one is not one of my favorites but still a good book.

Very good book. I want to get some more of Sue Henry's Alaska mysteries. Good condition also.

SUE HENRY WRITES a most interesting tale. I have now read all of her books and each one has been a page turner. I love her characters Jessie Arnold and Maxie McNabb. You think you have figured out who did what but in the end, you are wrong again. I am anxiously awaiting her newest one in November. Having just visited Alaska I love reading about the areas I have visited.