People in Glass Houses (Culinary Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Tim Hemlin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Murder is definitely not part of the menu that part-time chef Neil Marshall has planned for the fundraiser for congressional candidate Chip Gunn. Not until Gunn's guard is stabbed and Neil's assistant is caught with a bloody knife, and then the victim vanishes. It looks like Gunn--who's also a mobster--may be ready to have Neil for dinner.

From the Publisher
When friends and relatives ask me which authors we publish at Ballantine, where I am the mass market managing editor, they always want to hear the big names. They're impressed that I get to work on books by Anne Rice, Michael Crichton, Sue Grafton, Dean Koontz, Richard North Patterson, etc. While that is an impressive list (and one that I and my cohorts are immensely proud of), I always go out of my way to mention some of the authors who have not quite reached that level of fame. One of those authors is Tim Hemlin. "Tim who?" my relatives will say. And then I get to describe to them the many charms of Tim Hemlin. From his first book, IF WISHES WERE HORSES . . . to the most recent one we are working on right now (A CATERED CHRISTMAS), Tim has put together an impressive list of mysteries featuring the Jim Rockford-like amateur sleuth Neil Marshall. Neil, a poet and a chef, follows recipes for cooking (and poetry) somewhat better than he does recipes for catching criminals. It's not always pretty, but he always gets his crook, in an always entertaining manner. Neil is just a likable guy who happens to find himself in the middle of these murderous situations, and reading how he solves the crime and still gets a wonderful dinner on the table makes for enormous fun.

Mark Rifkin, Managing Editorial

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 230 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (August 30, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345409027
• ISBN-13: 978-0345409027
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 3.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,444,363 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Avery talented author pens a terrific serio-comic mystery, July 20, 1997

By A Customer

Neil Marshall would be a very happy person if everyone would just leave him alone so that he could cook his culinary masterpieces and perfect his poetry writing skills. Unfortunately, his generous nature would never allow him to abandon a friend in need. Since many of his friends seem to end up in trouble, Neil is on a first name basis with most of the local police, dangerous thugs, crooked politicians, and world famous private investigators and lawyers. His connections come in handy when Neil is cooking and catering a dinner part for a local thug, who wants to be the mayor.

It seems that one of Neil's kitchen help, Mattie, has been set up to make it look as if she killed her former lover using a meat cleaver. However, no body is found and the goons clean up the evidence before Neil can even think of his next move. He takes Mattie home with him, but the kind gesture turns into a ton of trouble from the police and the local criminals. When Mattie's ex-lover is finally found dead in her apartment. She is arrested for the crime. Neil plans to prove her innocence even if it means risking his own life to do it.

With the exception of comic book "hero" Major Bummer (who would rather chill like most teens), if ever there has been a more reluctant hero than Tim Hemlin's protagonists, this reviewer has not come across him/her yet. Neil's hesitancy to get involved makes the culinary chef cum poet much more invigorating and realistic than most amateur detective tales. PEOPLE IN GLASS HOUSES is a brisk entry in a wonderful culinary mystery series that, though not everyone's palate, but will be enjoyed by readers who like to be entertained in a less cerebral manner.

Harriet Klausner

5.0 out of 5 stars As his student, this is my opinion, May 15, 2005

A Kid's Review

I am an eighth grader at my local middle school where Mr. Hemlin is the English teacher. I love his teaching methods and get along well with the kids in his class. I have not read one of his books yet, but I do know that he is a good writer and highly recomended. I encourage you to read one of his books.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars standard fair, November 4, 2002

By	Jeff Hemlin (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews

Having bought this novel for obvious reasons, devouring it was a different matter. The recipe, preparation and presentation were - predictable and not very imaginative.

At the end - I felt that I had just watched a Matt Houston episode - with different, rather bland characters. It should have been a little slow cooked Texas BBQ, but all I felt was the humidity of the Gulf Coast.