Putt to Death (Golf Lover's Mysteries) [Paperback]

Roberta Isleib (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 6, 2004 | Series: Golf Lover's Mysteries

Touring pro Cassie Burdette stumbles over the body of a member who was trying to turn a posh Connecticut country club into an environmentally-friendly, Jack-and-Jill domain. It's then that she realizes that golf can be a contact sport.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (April 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425195309
• ISBN-13: 978-0425195307
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,001,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a clinical psychologist and the author of DEADLY ADVICE (Berkley, March 2007), featuring advice columnist/psychologist Dr. Rebecca Butterman. The second in the series, PREACHING TO THE CORPSE, will be out in November 2007.

I've also written the Agatha and Anthony-nominated Cassie Burdette golf lover's mystery series, including SIX STROKES UNDER, A BURIED LIE, PUTT TO DEATH, FAIRWAY TO HEAVEN, and FINAL FORE. You don't have to love golf to love Cassie!

Read more at http://www.robertaisleib.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A strong third mystery in the series, April 20, 2004

By 

Debbie Lee Wesselmann (the Lehigh Valley, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Putt to Death (Golf Lover's Mysteries) (Paperback)

Roberta Isleib's PUTT TO DEATH, the third golf-lover's mystery after SIX STROKES UNDER and A BURIED LIE, follows the further adventures of Cassie Burdette. Cassie has taken a position as "touring pro" at a Connecticut private club to supplement her falling income as she struggles with her professional golf game. Less than twenty-four hours after she begins work, she discovers the body of one of the club's esteemed members floating in a water hazard. One murder sets the club on edge, but, when a second body is discovered, the members and staff fear for their safety. Naturally, our heroine Cassie is more curious than afraid, and, despite complicated personal issues that threaten to distract her, she buckles down to solve the mystery of the deaths.

Isleib's pacing is genre-smooth - never rushed, never bogged down with unnecessary detail. Cassie has become even more likable in this newest addition to the series as her emotional baggage begins to weigh more than her golf bags. She is a gutsy, human character. The returning characters from previous titles - Mike, Joe, Laura - are equally memorable. Unfortunately, the characters specific to this mystery are less clearly drawn; they are identified primarily by name and position and less by who they are as people. With the exception of Cassie's roommate Megan and club member Elizabeth, the characters blend into one another, thus making it difficult for the reader to grasp the role each plays.

Although the resolution requires far too much explanation than was adequately prepared for, the ride to get there is so much fun that it hardly matters. I couldn't put this book down. Easy to read and equally full of tense moments, this mystery makes great vacation or weekend reading. You don't need to read Isleib's previous efforts to enjoy this one, although it can't hurt.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very entertaining and clever mystery, April 7, 2004

By 

Larry Gandle (Tampa, Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Putt to Death (Golf Lover's Mysteries) (Paperback)

Cozy mysteries are usually not to my taste. So it was with some trepidation that I approached the third mystery by Roberta Isleib featuring Cassandra Burdette, professional golfer and amateur detective. I had problems with Roberta's first mystery, SIX STROKES UNDER. Specifically, I did not care for the character of Cassie and found it highly improbable that she would mentally be ready to attempt qualifying for the LPGA after being involved in the death of a fellow contestant. Pacing was also a bit of a problem. All of these issues have been successfully resolved as Roberta Isleib has written a very entertaining and clever mystery.
Cassie Burdette is hired as a touring pro at a country club in Connecticut, after floundering on her initial attempt to meet with success on the LPGA tour. One of her first duties requires her to stand on the tee of a par three hole challenging the foursomes passing through to hit the ball closer to the hole than herself. While waiting, she discovers a dead body in a patch of high grass. The police are called and it is soon afterwards that Cassie is told that one of her golf clubs were found near the body with blood on it. Cassie is therefore a suspect and now feels she must clear her name thereby giving her the excuse to try to figure out the cause of the death. After another dead body turns up, Cassie feels some real pressure especially when an attempt is made on her life.
My only real problem with this book is the need for a character list. It is difficult to keep track of who exactly is who. However, with some effort, the character identification falls into place and the pacing of the story picks up quite nicely. I appreciate the need for Cassie to investigate the murders with her own reputation at stake. The character of Cassie is much more fully realized and much more sympathetic and likable to this reader. Suspects come and go and when the true killer is revealed, the solution is both clever and unexpected. The bottom line- a very good job by Roberta Isleib and a strong contender for best PBO at the Agathas next year.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars witty and suspenseful, June 7, 2004

By 

K. Hubbard (Morristown, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Putt to Death (Golf Lover's Mysteries) (Paperback)

PUTT TO DEATH finds pro golfer Cassie Burdette on hiatus from the tour, working as a pro at a snooty Connecticut country club. When two outspoken club members turn up dead on Cassie's first week on the job, she has to work overtime to figure out who's zooming who, who can be trusted and who might be out to implicate her in the murders. Cassie's problems with her neglectful father, her almost-boyfriend, Mike, and her new shrink are just as suspenseful as the mystery. In fact, the personal and the mystery plots dovetail neatly to provide a clever and satisfying ending. As always, the writing in this series is witty and full of pithy observations of human, and golfer, behavioir.