Customer Reviews

The Passover Murder (Christine Bennett Mysteries)

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Here we have the seventh in Lee Harris' nice clean easy-going series about a 15-year ex-nun turned (newly married) amateur sleuth, Christine Bennett. With only a couple of part-time jobs to sap her time, Chris has more than adequate opportunity to chase down witnesses and family members of crimes left unsolved from years ago. This one follows that same form - one of the elder women attending a Passover Seder some 16 years prior suddenly disappeared at a key part in the ceremony when someone opens the door for Elijah. (Knowing nothing about the heritage or celebration of Passover, I found the author's light tutorial interesting in itself, especially told through the eyes of our somewhat naïve leading lady, obviously a Catholic...) She was found murdered a day or two later in another part of Manhattan. The family knows of Christine's "hobby" and asks her to determine whatever happened if she can.

A key discovery of the lady's wallet (after 16 years, right in the very closet where they originally thought it would be?), frankly a little hard to believe, provided a lot of clues, as did the somewhat reluctant memory of key players still alive, like the lady's ex-boss' widow, an old boyfriend, etc.

A few somewhat surprising developments continue to unfold as Christine digs ever deeper into the family mystery, as well as family secrets heretofore untold, but in the end she unravels the whole mess. All of this is a favor to her best girlfriend, Melanie Gross, a confidante from virtually all the previous episodes.

Lee Harris' series is certainly pleasant enough; rather carefree reading when one doesn't feel like following too complex a plot or too suspenseful a thriller. Rather, some nice characters we grow increasingly fond of must be finding a following, as the series now stands at 14 titles all told. I'd like to see a little more variety in the "formula", like maybe hubby and NYC detective Jack could work on a problem with Chris directly, or there could be old and new overlapping mysteries or something, but hey - I'm not the author!! So if any of this sounds like your cup of tea, or just to go with your cup of tea, try it!

I always enjoy the Christine Bennett mysteries. Chris is such an appealing character - lives a typical suburban life, down-to-earth, smart, nice, and gets involved in the most tantilizing situations in the most believable ways. This book was one of her best until the very end where a little twist that came out of the blue seemed like nothing but a trick to end the story.

One of my favorite authors. Nice mysteries played out with a "holiday" theme. Have never been disappointed by a Lee Harris book.