1 Ragged Ridge Road [Hardcover]

Leonard Foglia (Author), David Adams Richards (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1997

Estranged from her husband, Carol Robbins and her young son transform a mansion into the Christmas Inn bed and breakfast, before learning of the bizarre, unsolved double murder of the mansion's former owners. A first novel."

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

In love with the decaying Kennedy mansion in backwoods Fayette, Pennsylvania, Carol Roblins talks her husband into her scheme to buy and restore it. But that's the last thing she does talk him into, since he's promptly posted overseas and tells her they both need room to think about their marriage. So Carol and her son Sammy, who's slowed by Attention Deficit Disorder, set about transforming the mansion into a bed and breakfast called the Christmas Inn. She isn't daunted by the news that the original Kennedys both died violently on Christmas Eve, 1928, only a year after their romantic wedding, so that even the name she's chosen for the inn sends chills down the spines of locals with long memories--like Lyle Quinn, the ga-ga son of Charles Kennedy's banking partner, and historical society stalwart Esther McPherson, who has her own reasons for wanting to stifle Carol's plans. And when reinforcements arrive--a hunky contractor who slides into spending night after night on the living-room sofa and an even hunkier TV star whose idea of a joke is to tell an on-camera interviewer that he and Carol have solved the Kennedy mystery and will be turning the story into a Movie of the Week- -you can be sure that modern-day trouble will follow. Broadway director Foglia and Washington Post columnist Richards team up for serviceable neo-Gothic shivers, though you have to survive an awful lot of foreboding, toothless flashbacks to get to the payoff. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review

... the literary equivalent of Mom's tuna noodle casserole: not elevated, not new, but just tasty enough to tempt you into wanting a bit more. -- The New York Times Book Review, Malachy Duffy

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Atria (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671003542
• ISBN-13: 978-0671003548
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,901,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

LEONARD FOGLIA is a theater and opera director as well as librettist. His work has been seen on Broadway, across the country, as well as internationally.

He directed the original Broadway productions of MASTER CLASS, THURGOOD and THE PEOPLE IN THE PICTURE as well as the revivals of WAIT UNTIL DARK and ON GOLDEN POND.

Off Broadway he directed Anna Deavere Smith's LET ME DOWN EASY as well as the national tour and ONE TOUCH OF VENUS at Encores!

His opera credits include the premiers of three operas by Jake Heggie - MOBY DICK (Dallas Opera), THREE DECEMBERS and THE END OF THE AFFAIR (both Houston grand Opera). His production of Heggie's DEAD MAN WALKING has been seen across the country.

As a librettist his opera CRUZAR LA CARA DE LA LUNA (To Cross the Face of the Moon) with music by Pepe Martinez had it's premier at Houston Grand Opera in 2010 and was performed at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris in the fall of 2011.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book by Foglia/Richards. Hope we see a lot more., September 28, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 1 Ragged Ridge Road (Hardcover)

I purchased this book based on a review in the Harrisburg, PA newspaper. I absolutely loved this book. Being close to the surroundings of the true story of the inn, Chambersburg, certainly peaked my interest. I love to stay at old historic inns and I really felt I was there and part of the mystery. This is a book you will not want to put down. I have this book as a must keep for my permanent library. Great suspense, great read.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 1 ragged ridge road, February 6, 2000

By 

Tracey (montana, U.S.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 1 Ragged Ridge Road (Hardcover)

wonderful book! The first book in many years to grab my attention from the first chapter and keep it! I, normally a slow reader who takes her time reading only during boredom, was searching for time to finish this book. However, when I finished it I wished there were more, just because I became so attached to the characters.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WONDERFUL!!, September 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: 1 Ragged Ridge Road (Paperback)

I come from the town that this book was based on, and i live only about 3 miles from the Ragged Edge Inn, as it is called in my town. I found this book to be totally captivating, and to me it was especially intersting because i can relate to the places in the town, and there are just a few changes in names, but basically all the land marks talked about in the book actually do exist here. The authors recently came to the playhouse where i worked this past summer, the playhouse refered to in the book itself actully to help it raise money. The authors are great people, and i respect them for coming to a little town like mine and help its summer stock theatre get some always needed money. I strongly recommend this book to any reader, it has been one of the best books i have read this year.