Customer Reviews

Murder at Machu Picchu: A Jamie Prescott Mystery

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

 

 

I love mysteries and travelogues, and Murder at Machu Picchu offers both in the same cover. Jamie Prescott is an appealing protagonist -- capable and confident, but without the affectation or outsized ego of so many detectives. A delightful discovery.

This is a quick read with enough twists to keep you interested. This is not one of those books that makes your head spin with confusion or going back several chapters to see if you missed something. Jamie Prescott is a true-to-life character with charisma. It combines the fun of a light murder mystery with a travelogue of places you long to go.

I have read several of Tadmor's mysteries featuring the versatile, intelligent protagonist, Jamie Prescott. What I find particularly refreshing about Prescott is that she's not your typical, overly accommodating travel agent, but, in fact, is highly intelligent and sometimes even perverse in the sense that she heeds her own drummer rather than submitting to either her customers' or fellow travelers' whims. She is a modern woman with a keen sense for adventure and a mind like a steel trap. She can be brusque and cool as a cucumber, but she doesn't lack compassion or friendliness either. I think she reacts to circumstances in a sense that is believable but not predictable even though her strong presence and basic character are firmly formed.

I like to travel but am currently home bound due to a disability which I have had for several years. An armchair gypsy, I can follow Jamie Prescott into the adventures I'd like to experience and figure out and do so in the interesting locations that travel plans would not permit me at this time.

I particularly enjoy Tadmor's writing style, her clear, lively sense of dialogue and what is said beneath the surface by her characters in social conversations. Her language is always smooth and crafted so both description and dialogue advance the plot which has not seemed to be at all far fetched in any one of her four novels I have read. Finally, I get the sense that her settings are authentic and richly imbued with careful use of detail.

I would say the idea of Jamie Prescott meeting adventure and mystery in far-flung and domestic tourist sights is an intriguing niche for a mystery writer. I happily recommend this series of books to all those who enjoy both mystery and adventure that is well crafted and intriguing.

Marjorie Meyerle,
Author of Bread of Shame
Franktown, Colorado

I bought this book because of the title. Fortunately, I only paid a dollar for it. But with shipping costs added? Way too much....

"Murder at Machu Picchu" is possibly the worst book I've ever read.

The author set most of her story in Peru, but it's obvious she did almost no research on her locations or the people there. The story's backdrop is riddled with mistakes, but two were outstanding in my mind. Not only did she have no idea of how what Machu Picchu is like as a tourist destination, she consistently referred to the indigenous population as "Indians", which in Peru is tantamount to using the "N-word".

Her knowledge of police procedure is abysmal -- as was that of her lead character. The writing itself betrayed so many beginning novelist's mistakes that I couldn't understand how it got published at all.

Halfway through, I finally checked to see what publisher would buy anything like it. The answer was, "apparently no one" because the author paid to have it published at a vanity press.

I didn't bother to finish this book. I didn't care enough about who committed the crime to push my way past another word.

And frankly, if the heroine was a real person, she wouldn't have gotten a chance to solve it anyway. Instead, she would have ended up in jail herself for gross interference with police procedure.

Instead, the author assumed Peru is so backward that no police would even have been at Machu Picchu to recover the victim's body, let alone manage the crime scene without the heroine's assistance.

Ordinarily, I'd spare the author's feelings by just keeping my mouth shut. But even at a dollar, I paid too much for this one. I tried to get away without giving it any stars at all, but Amazon.com insists on at least one.

My advice? Skip this one. "Murder at Any Other Location" would make a better read.