Customer Reviews

Purses and Poison (Haley Randolph Mysteries)

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

 

 

I really enjoyed Dorothy Howell's first Haley Randolph mystery, Handbags and Homicide, but this latest left a bit to be desired.

Haley becomes the prime suspect in a murder that happens at the department store where she "works", Holts. I say works very lightly, since Haley attempts at every chance to find a way of not working while she is at Holts.

I thought Haley was portrayed as just a bit too zany and not very bright in this mystery. Although I did enjoy the mystery of who killed the the pageant director. However, I think Haley comes across as just too silly in this story and the story did not capture my attention as did Handbags and Homicide. This is a quick, but not altogether enjoyable read.

I enjoyed and reviewed the first in the series giving it 5 stars. But this one I could not even finish. Why did I buy it in hardcover? Haley was so whiney and kept lying, lying, lying. I know her lies added to the development of the storyline, but after a very few short pages, I couldn't take it anymore. I at least felt I understood her in the first outing. In this one, she was just too irritating to continue. Don't think I will give the 3rd installment a try in hardcover or paperback.

I liked the first in this series, HANDBAGS & HOMICIDE, but this one was nowhere near as good. Haley came across as not very likeable, and not too bright. I liked her before. The mystery was pretty good, but Haley not so much.

I have enjoyed reading all these books, I read for fun and enjoyment and lets face it for the LAUGHS!!!

Great series, start at #1 and go to #3 and then, be like me, now anxiously awaiting #4.
I enjoy the character development and insertion of several possible 'it' guys. The banter with them, between the main character and her friends, co-workers, and other characters is a hoot.

This is the second in the Haley Randolph mysteries and it was as amusing as the first. This is an ideal book to read while watching older children in the pool or supervising outside activities. It was a fun summertime read and I am sure many readers will find Haley's shopping addiction in one of their best friends.

Murder strikes Holt's Department Store once again and purse-loving Haley Randolph finds herself in the hot seat again! This is a quick romp of a mystery, with Haley questioning her relationship with Ty Cameron, Holt heir and golden boy, going to school and trying to solve more than one mystery. More questions arise at the end of the story, leading us to hope there's another title in the works. I liked the friendships Haley has made with her fellow Holt employees. Haley is a bit self-involved at times, especially with her handbag/retail issues, but still has time for Evelyn or Sandy

First, I can promise that I'd be staring at a waitress that has on sunglasses. And, if I was already staring at her, I'm sure I'd notice that she had on a wig. Even a good one - which this one probably wasn't because according to Haley the stuff is way below her.

Second, the book is told in first person & I hated it! Haley says - I hate __ but it's __ fault. Grrr. Or she says, I did this, well, not really. It's really quite annoying.

Third, she's really a bit slow. I mean it. She's a complete ditz - so how did she solve that first murder? Yeah, I don't think so.

It wasn't a terrible book, but for me, this is not something enjoyable at this point in my life... maybe as a pre-teen I would have enjoyed it...

Haley Randolph is back. The good news is she hasn't changed a bit. She's still a purse junkie, still pretty and charming, still a loyal friend,and still clever enough to find a killer. The bad news is she hasn't changed a bit. She's lazy, unfocused, a bad employee, a horrible student, a habitual liar and fantasizer, and a truly bad driver who must have a guardian angel preventing her from killing herself and a carload of others. She attracts men without much difficulty including an engineer from her father's firm and a reporter, but she's not sure where she stands with Ty, owner of the chain of stores where she "works"and her "sort-of boyfriend," whose ex-girlfriend may be back in the picture. As an insurance agent and the understanding mother of a Kohl's assistant manager, I should despise her, but I don't. I like her and wish her well. Her heart is kind and her intelligence is sharp, when she chooses to use it. And she performs an amazing act of kindness at the end of the book which which I didn't see coming.

At an affair for Holt's employees, for which her mother's Elegant Edibles (in which her mother, a woman even shallower than Haley, has zero interest whatever) has provided fruit baskets with chocolate name tags, she feels sorry for a young server who is sick and volunteers to cover for her. But the fashion coordinator of the event, an old girl friend of her "sort-of boyfriend" Ty, is found dead--poisoned by the contents of her fruit basket. Haley and her mother become suspects in both her death and the disappearance of the server.

On top of that, Evelyn, who is the guardian of Haley's settlement from the previous book, refuses to give her $2000 for a Judith Leiber crystal evening purse (with a satin lining and a keepsake bag!) and is concerned about the man next door, who may have been kidnapped and/or murdered by his new girl friend. So Haley tries to find the truth for her while solving the model's murder.

Her path to the truth is enjoyable, although I wanted to shake her and tell her to grow up and get a grip on reality. I honestly don't understand her obsession with purses, and I feel she needs to take a good look at herself. However, I liked it enough to pre-order the third book. You will enjoy it, but, like me, you'll probably want to do something to make this interesting young lady grow up. Her mother didn't!

This is the second book in this light mystery series and is just as entertaining as the first. The main character, Haley Randolph, is a 20something who, despite wanting something better, finds herself employed at a discount retailer and doing.. well, not doing much with her life. She spends her time shopping (for handbags), hanging out with her girlfriend (Marcie), ogling guys, avoiding work (and her family)at all costs, and soaks up the shallow Southern California lifestyle with enthusiasm. This book is somewhat of a continuation from the first - the characters are all the same, and so is the setting for the murder (Holts Department Store). The book is cute - quite girly and fun, and Haley is so shallow and lazy that you just have to laugh at her private thoughts. Her one moment of helpfulness leads her to become a suspect in the murder of Claudia, her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend. Haley isn't a typical sleuth and just happens to stumble upon information as she goes along. This definitely isn't an intense mystery, but a light and enjoyable book with a girly lead and a light plot. If you read and enjoyed the first book - Handbags and Homicide - than this will make you happy.