Murder under the Palm [Hardcover]

Stephanie Matteson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1997

On vacation in Florida, intrepid actress-turned-sleuth Charlotte Graham is enjoying catching up with old friends and renewing a lost love, when she is drawn into a murder case because the very people she is visiting have become suspects.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Classy septuagenarian Charlotte Graham, famous both as an actress and a sleuth (Murder Among the Angels, LJ 1/96), here lends a hand to friends in Palm Beach, Florida. Invited to town for a charity gala combining a ship-theme dinner with the debut of a jewelry line designed by her goddaughter and a local jeweler, Charlotte nearly witnesses the jeweler's murder. Since she's acquainted with the main suspects, police ask her help. Delightful characters, opulent and picturesque surroundings, the revival of a long-ago shipboard romance, and ever-present wit make this prime reading and one of the best titles in the series.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Matteson's sleuth Charlotte Graham is Miss Marple in furs and jewels. Graham is a legendary actress who lived well, loved better, but still has a keen eye for foul play. Here Graham is in Palm Beach visiting old friends when she attends an art-deco ball in which the decor re-creates the luxury liner Normandie. At the party, she meets an old love and, in the midst of dinner, learns that an acquaintance, a prominent jeweler, has been murdered on the beach. With her reputation as a sleuth preceding her, Graham is drawn into the case, which turns out to have fascinating and deadly ties to the sabotage of the real-life Normandie in 1942. The story, which sparkles with glamour, mixes romance and homicide effectively and thus is sure to satisfy those who like their mysteries soft-edged rather than hard-boiled. With Graham and her first love reunited as the story ends, can another murder be far behind? Ilene Cooper

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 245 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover; 1st edition (March 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425156281
• ISBN-13: 978-0425156285
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,451,426 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Our intrepid senior sleuth is at it again, February 5, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Murder under the Palm (Hardcover)

Seventy plus years old stage and screen superstar Charlotte Graham travels to Palm Beach to vacation with some old friends. Charlotte joins the local social scene where she meets pianist Eddie Norwood, a man she had a fling with over five decades ago. However, the gala party abruptly ends in tragedy when jewelry designer Paul Feder is found murdered on the beach. His daughter Marianne is the primary suspect since she had the means and the motive. When a close friend asks Charlotte to investigate in order to prove Marianne's innocence, the senior citizen readily agrees. Soon s he finds a link between Paul's death and a ship's bombing in 1942. However, to prove that Marianne did not do the crime seems a bit out of reach for our intrepid amateur sleuth. The eighth novel in the Charlotte Graham series is as good as all its predecessors due to the excellent characters, especially Charlotte. Stefanie Matteson's detective is one of the best protagonists in the sub-sub-ge nre of senior citizen amateur sleuthing. This is one series in which all the books are worth reading. Harriet Klausner