PARTNERSHIPS CAN KILL (Charlie Parker Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Connie Shelton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1997

Charlie returns home to Albuquerque after her Hawaiian vacation. Her brother, Ron, meets her at the airport. And guess what? Ron's in love. Is there anything worse than a middle-aged man smitten silly?

Yes--Charlie finds out, when it turns out that Ron's new sweetie is almost twenty years younger! Cute Vicky is full of secrets and Ron is about to get hurt.

In addition to Ron's problems, Charlie runs into an old friend whose business partner has apparently just committed suicide. If that's true, Sharon Ortega will probably lose her business. If it wasn't suicide, Sharon might end up in jail for murdering her partner.

It's a no-win situation until Charlie sorts out the puzzle.


Here's what others have said about the Charlie Parker mysteries:
"A well written, by-the-book whodunit that will enthrall purists. Charlie is a fabulous amateur sleuth." -- Midwest Book Review

"Down to earth and very readable." -- Library Journal

"Charlie is slick, appealing, and nobody's fool..." --Booklist

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Returning from a supposed Hawaiian vacation (Vacations Can Be Murder, LJ 10/1/95) Charlie Parker steps into trouble back home in Albuquerque. Wistful over Drake, the handsome pilot she teamed up with in Vacations, and dubious about her brother's new love, Charlie must investigate the suspicious death of a friend's business partner. Down-to-earth and very readable.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Author

Partnerships Can Be Murder (originally published as Partnerships Can Kill) is the third book in my Charlie Parker series and the book which gave me a chance to really flesh out many of the secondary characters that would reappear in nearly every book. Charlie's older brother Ron, and his surprising relationship with the young girlfriend, is one example.

The plotline of this book was taken from a very short snippet of a news story that I happened to catch on the local TV news one evening. Without including a spoiler, I'll just say that I never learned how the original story was resolved. The circumstances in the book came purely from my imagination. I mention it now because people often ask where we writers get our ideas. And now you know. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 195 pages
• Publisher: Intrigue Press; First Edition edition (May 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964316145
• ISBN-13: 978-0964316140
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,346,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

...Every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day, somewhere in the world, someone downloads a Connie Shelton mystery...

A personal Thank You to all my readers who make this little statistic possible. Having fun with my writing, and connecting with readers--that's what being a mystery writer means to me. And I LOVE what I do!

It began in 1985 when I started writing my first novel, without much clue how to go about it. Two years and 500 pages later, when I finally typed 'The End,' I felt a huge rush of excitement. That book took third place in the Southwest Writers competition and began making the rounds of publishers. I simply started writing my second, and then my third books.

After publishing ten of my Charlie Parker mysteries, I decided to branch out with a second series and I created the character of Samantha Sweet. One of the ways in which I earned a little extra pocket money during my high school years was to bake and decorate cakes--hence, a career for Samantha based on my own experiences.

In 2009 I switched publishers and was off on a new adventure, seeing all of my books made available for Kindle and the other ebook devices that were just beginning to take off in the book world. It's been an exciting time in publishing and I'm loving the new formats and the ability to personally connect with readers all over the world via my newsletter and my website at connieshelton.com.


* * *

Besides writing the Charlie Parker and Samantha Sweet mysteries, Connie is an award-winning essayist. Her work has been published in both small and major anthologies, like Chicken Soup For the Writer's Soul, and her short stories have won several prizes. She has also been a commercial hot air balloon pilot and holds the women's world altitude record for size AX-4 balloons. She has been featured in Who's Who and The World Who's Who of Women. She and her husband live in northern New Mexico.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent observations of dog and CPA behavior, February 3, 2000

By 

D. P. Birkett (Suffern, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Partnerships Can Kill: The Third Charlie Parker Mystery (Charlie Parker Mysteries) (Paperback)

Halfway to a cozy,although not excactly Miss Marples, and it does have suspense and action. A great dog and a wonderfully sleazy accountant (he was my favorite character -the heroine is a CPA to compensate). Dialog always realistic but never crackles. Good on South-Western food. Best descriptions of office furniture since Chandler. I bought a bundle from Amazon's cheapo bargain list of authors I'd never read and this was the best. There are plot implausibilities.

3.0 out of 5 stars 3.5 Stars - A slight new twist on an old theme, January 5, 2012

By 

Nichole Fagg - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Partnerships Can Kill: The Third Charlie Parker Mystery (The Charlie Parker Mysteries) (Kindle Edition)

As a reader of hundreds of mystery novels, it is hard to find much that is all that "new". So, when an author finds a slightly different way to attack the age old (enjoyable) topic of a murder mystery, my hat is off.

I am reviewing Partnerships Can Kill, the third book in the Charlie Parker series from Connie Shelton, as opposed to the first or second because it was only with this third one I decided I indeed had something to say. The first two novels were obviously enjoyable enough for me to read the third. But with this third novel the little "twist" or "tweak", which Ms. Shelton has interestingly interwoven, really comes to light.

The main character is an accountant! Her involvement with the cases seems quite natural since she is a partner (along with her brother) in a PI firm. Charlie is not stumbling over bodies in a suspension of reality or streak of coincidence. She has a reason to be involved. But, what I really like is that, in this third book, her profession is real part of her investigation. Forensic accounting is a great field and certainly something which catches criminals (The IRS is everywhere, you know!). So, to see this aspect highlighted in an already enjoyable mystery series quite tickled my fancy. Of course I am slightly biased, being in the accounting field myself, but not many mystery novels touch on the seemingly boring rows of number which can clue people in to motives and/or crimes. I would give 4 stars, but I still feel that Ms. Shelton has not quite reached her stride. This book is much more smoothly written than the first two, however, and I look forward to seeing the 4th!

3.0 out of 5 stars Ready for #4, December 25, 2011

By 

Dr. (Gulfport, Montserrat) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Partnerships Can Kill: The Third Charlie Parker Mystery (The Charlie Parker Mysteries) (Kindle Edition)

As some of the reviewers have said, there are a few plot improbabilities so if you are a true crime drama fan you will not enjoy this book. But if you are looking for an entertaining, engrossing literary get away this fits the bill. Charlie and Rusty are as charming as ever, and we get a good look at Ron's 'stupid guy' side. This time Charlie's accounting skills are more important to the investigation, which makes more sense as those are the skills she brought into their firm. Enjoyable from the first page to the last, this third entry in the Charlie Parker series does not disappoint. I think the first two were better - but I am still looking forward to #4.