Customer Reviews

Philly Stakes

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

 

 

This is the second book of Gillian Roberts in the Amanda Pepper series. After the first book I was hooked! Amanda is simply so wonderful ... a caring clever school teacher. Her real plus above every other female mystery paragon is her WONDERFUL humour! I was so thrilled to see this turn into series. I enjoyed the the "unmarried_ still" dialogue with her mother... the conflict with her boyfriend and ofcorse the way Amanda solves a mystery. This series is sooo refreshing that I pace the stores for new ones in the series. Don't miss this one but don't deny yourself the earlier one either... as you get into her life you will just adore her views on everything...

Philly Stakes in the second in the Amanda Pepper teacher mystery series, set in Philadelphia where Pepper teaches English at a private prep school for bored rich kids. Unlike the first book, Caught Dead in Philadelphia, Philly Stakes takes a dark turn with disturbing subject matter, namely sexual abuse of a teenage girl by her father. I feel this may be disturbing to some readers, but there is no denying this is a well-written and gripping mystery novel.

The story is about Pepper planning to teach her apathetic students about the true meaning of Christmas with a trip to the local soup kitchen. One wealthy parent plucks the affair out of her hands and hosts the homeless people at his home, so the precious kiddies won't be in any "danger." But when Clausen is murdered after the party, and his wife, daughter, and daughter's boyfriend ALL claim responsibility, Pepper is thrust in the middle of a truly muddled holiday mystery. Shadows of generations past, not unlike the ghosts in a Christmas Carol, add layer to the puzzle for the reader to solve. Amanda's boyfriend/detective CK Mackenzie is back on the case, too. Their relationship is progressing.

Even if the mystery itself were not so well-crafted, Roberts' prose would have kept me hooked throughout this book. Add to that her obvious understanding of, and compassion for, the teenage condition, and the book is a clear winner. I'd have given it five stars, but for the fact that I guessed who the villain was half-way through the book (though not the true identity or family connection), and I hate it when that happens.

Amanda Pepper, the detective in this series, teaches English at Philly Prep to a bunch of underachievers from Philadelphia's wealthier families. One of the students in her class (Laura) seems very talented, although she says nothing in class, but one essay ends in a rather disturbing paragraph that alarms Amanda. Not long afterwards, someone in this student's family dies in a fire -- and since the student had been involved in a mysterious fire two years ago, the police are looking at young Laura. The "police" include Amanda's boyfriend, a homicide detective.

Although the plotting in this book was pretty good, I'm usually not very surprised at the endings in this series, and this book was no exception. But I read the books (and love them) as novels, with an engaging protagonist and some humor and romance. Amanda's boyfriend CK is a Louisiana hunk, and you're cheering that they will get past the first steps in their relationship (described in this second book in the series -- they meet in the first when CK is investigating a murder and Amanda Pepper is a suspect.)

Detective MacKenzie is still in Amanda's life but more in the background in this episode. Amanda's wacky friend Sasha Berg provides a welcome contrast to the stolid policeman. PHILLY STAKES is one of the stronger entries in the very entertaining Amanda Pepper series.