Customer Reviews

Resort to Murder

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

 

 

Henrie O is still recovering from her recent bout of pneumonia, so that accompanying her grandchildren, Diana and Neal, to Bermuda for their father's (Lloyd Drake) marriage to the beautiful widow, Connor Bailey, isn't exactly at the top of Henrie O's list of ways to recuperate. However, Emily, Henrie's daughter and Lloyd's ex-wife, is concerned and worried about how Diana is handling her father's remarriage: Diana is simmering with anger and hostility towards Connor, whom Diana feels is all wrong for her father. And so Emily begs her mother to go along with the children and to keep an eye on Diana. Henrie's initial observations however lead her to note that Diana is not the only one with misgivings about this marriage, Connor's eldest daughter, Marlow, and a close family friend of the Baileys, Steve Jennings, both seem to feel that Lloyd is the wrong kind of husband for Connor. For Connor is a very beautiful and somewhat naive woman who enjoys the innocent attention that her beauty brings, while Lloyd is a rather straightforward but somewhat possessive type who does not enjoy other men flirting with his fiance. The air is positively foggy with tension, as first an unwanted Texan starts paying Connor more attention that Lloyd can deal with, then the ghost of the resort manager's dead husband, who had a history of flirtation with Connor, starts playing practical jokes on Connor! Henrie O is furious at this childish attempt to put a pall on the wedding, and resorts to unmask the 'ghost.' But before she gets too far with the investigation, a waiter who was helping her with her inquiries accidentally falls to his death at the resort. But did he fall or was he pushed, Henrie wonders. Henrie grimly resolves to discover what is afoot at this heavenly resort.

I'm a huge Henrietta Collins fan, but I was a little disappointed with "Resort to Murder," as I felt that it lacked the bite and the crispness that was so evident in "Scandal at Fair Haven" and "Death in Lover's Lane." "Resort to Murder" is good, but is not quite on par with previous Henrie O mystery novels; this novel just seemed to take a while to take flight. And Henrie O herself was unnaturally reticent in this book and left too many things undone and unsaid. Perhaps it was because she was recovering from an illness and was easily tired, but I found myself missing the old Henrie O who would have tackled her granddaughter and other suspects a little more strenuously than she did in "Resort to Murder." However having put my minor quibbling to print, I will only add that this is still a good read -- with well portrayed characters and a good plot that will keep you guessing for about 2/3 of the book.

It was Saturday, but I still woke up at the regular time. The pharmacy wouldn't be open for hours. I figured I could put down RESORT TO MURDER when the time came and finish it when I came home. WRONG! I didn't leave until after I finished. By the time I was almost there, the rain had started again. While I was walking through the parking lot, pea-sized hail was bouncing off my umbrella! Why hadn't I picked a duller book?

Has Henrie O's former son-in-law made another mistake in picking the bride for him? Is Connor, his new love, a woman who just feels the need to have men admire her, as her older daughter says, or is she a man-trap who loves manipulating her conquests?

Is the ghost of the hotel manager's late husband really haunting the tower? Is the ghost appearing so close to the first anniversary of his death because it was murder, not an accident?

How far is Henrie's granddaughter willing to go to keep her father from marrying Connor?

Is Connor really in danger?

Is Marlow really a loving daughter who doesn't mind being outshone by her mother?

Will the wedding actually take place? Should it? Would Connor be better off marrying her old friend, Steve?

Has an innocent party been framed for murder? Henrie thinks so, but can she find proof? Can she figure out what's going on? Well of course she can, but will she be able to do so in time to prevent tragedy?

It was nice to meet Henrie's grandchildren. The descriptions of Bermuda add to interest of the plot.

Don't let the dustjacket fool you. The design may be pretty and peaceful-looking, but there are ugly passions stirring under the cover and not much peace to be found.

Note to the publisher: chapter 20, p.266, full paragraph two, line one. That "Lloyd" should be "Steve". You might wish to fix that for the paperback.

Henrie's daughter Emily asks her to accompany her two children to their father's wedding in Bermuda. The wedding is to be at the small hotel where the happy couple met. Unfortunately, the manager's husband died there the year before, in questionable circumstances, and the proposed bride, Connor, was supposedly the reason. The children dislike Connor, and her side of the family also seems less that pleased with the arrangements. A "ghost" is seen hovering around the tower and Connor's sanity seems to be crumbling. Soon, Connor is murdered and the proposed groom Lloyd is the suspect. Henrie O has to find out who really killed her for her grandchildren's sakes.

The mystery was really very good in this novel. I had a very hard time figuring it out. I love Bermuda, and I enjoyed the little descriptions of the Island. I went there in May however, and the residents thought that we were crazy to swim in 75 degree water, I can't imagine sunbathing in January. It seemed especially wierd for people from Texas and Georgia to go to a colder place for a vacation. Henrie O's recovery from pneumonia was the only reason that I could figure that she changed from a very active older woman to Miss Marple. All criticisms aside, this is a very good mystery and I look forward to the old (that is, not OLD) Henrie O in the next novel.

Carolyn Hart is, in my opinion, the most accomplished and the best traditional mystery writer today. Her two series, the Death on Demand series and the Henry O series, closely follow the "cozy" customs. Her sleuths, bookseller Annie Darling in the first and retired journalist Henrietta Collins in the second, are people you'd like to know. They are amateurs, characters who are fully developed and who often find themselves in peril. Through wit, ingenuity and creativity they solve the crime at hand. The emphasis in each story is the reasoning by the protagonist that leads to the eventual solution of the crime(s).

In RESORT TO MURDER, Henry O joins her grandchildren and ex-son-in-law at a Bermuda resort for his wedding. The bride is a compulsive flirt, who can't seem to stay away from men. The groom is jealous. Stir into this mix a hotel owner whose husband may have committed suicide because of the bride-to-be, a granddaughter who dislikes the bride so much she threatens to kill her, a touch of blackmail and a roaming "ghost" and you have a story you won't want to put down until you finish it.

Hart's strong point is puzzle solving. We follow Henry O's analyses, her interventions and consequences and her re-evaluations until right up to the conclusion. Then the story finishes with the classical confrontation scene that is almost a "must" in this kind of story.

I've read all of Hart's books and eagerly await the next. If you haven't met Henry O or Annie Darling yet, put them at the top of your to-read list. You won't be sorry.

Though she prefers to remain home, septuagenarian Henrie O recovers from pneumonia at a beautiful Bermuda resort. Actually Henrie accompanies her two grandchildren at the request of her daughter as they attend their father's wedding to the beautiful but needy Connor.

The bridegroom Lloyd Drake looks forward to his second marriage festivities. Unfortunately his oldest child Diana dislikes Connor's selfish nature. His other daughter Marlow believes her dad should not marry the flirty Connor who craves other male companionship. However, neither one seems capable of actually harming or even frightening Connor to death, but someone appears to desire that to happen. Henrie begins making her own inquiries.

A tired still ailing Henrie O has more energy than the average preteen, which is part of her charm. Carolyn Hart's heroine is spry, keen, and independent with a mind as sharp as ever and the guts of Rocky (without the punch drunkenness). In her latest tale, RESORT TO MURDER, she scores again as she turns the multi-layered plot into one of the author's greatest triumphs.

Harriet Klausner

I read this book because my friend had read it just before we were to take a cruise to Bermuda. I thought it would give me a flavor of Bermuda, but after we toured for our two days, the book paled by comparison. The book takes place at a hotel. Hart gives us a glimpse of lush foliage and craggy hills, but nearly all the characters spend most of their time at the hotel, so she doesn't reveal the pink beaches with clear aqua water, the catamarans ferrying tourists from dock to dock, or the cheery residents with their Caribbean-like British accents. She mentions restaurants and nightclubs in the boutique-y town of Hamilton, but doesn't describe them. The writing is full of cliches -- footsteps are hurried,, heels always click, people knock on doors, but there is no answer, and Diane runs her hand through her red-gold hair again and again. I enjoy supersmart detectives like Holmes, Nero Wolfe, Sam Spade, Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, but Henrie O is ordinary through and through. I felt the other characters were two-dimensional, often stereotyped (pardon the pun). In fact, the mystery seems to depend on the fact that she presents the murderer according to a certain stereotype. One important character drops out of sight for no apparent reason. In the end, the solution depends on the murdere's having committed an illegal act, so the reader who isn't privy to this matter can't possibly solve the murder. For some reason I can't analyze, it wasn't totally boring, but it was not really stimulating to me.

Carolyn Hart is one of my favorite authors in the mystery genre and she did not disappoint me with this entry in the Henrie O series. I enjoy this series as much as the Death on Demand series she writes and am always glad to see a new one coming out. In this episode, Henrie O is recovering from an illness and attends her former son-in-law's wedding on a resort island. A murder occurs and, of course, Henrie O works to solve the mystery. As always, Hart's writing is dead-on; her characterizations are excellent, there are clues to help the reader along without giving the solution away easily, and the descriptions of the surrondings are vivid enough to make the reader feel as if s/he knows where s/he is.
Hart's next book is a Death on Demand book and I hope that the next one will be another Henrie O. It is nice to have the break between the episodes of the two series.

It's not a wedding that Henrie O ever expected to attend. She is on a week's trip to Bermuda to attend her former son-in-law's wedding. But after being convinced that her grandkids need her strength to get through the week, she heads south.

Actually, the kids of both the bride and groom are opposed, and the tension is evident from the moment the entire clan arrives at the resort. Lloyd and Connor seem oblivious to it, however. Actually, Connor is oblivious to most things, including how her fiancee reacts when she flirts with every guy in the place.

But the tension only builds when a ghost is spotted at the resort where they are staying. A year ago, when Lloyd and Connor met at this resort, a man fell to his death from a tower. Is his ghost haunting the area now? As Henrie does her best to put the specter to rest, a dead body turns up. Is there a connection to the ghost? And what does it have to do with Henrie's group?

The last couple of books in this series were sub-par, but I am glad to say that this book is back on track. True, Henrie does spend more time than necessary recounting the clues and red herrings that point to each suspect, but that's my only complaint. The story starts strongly and mostly moves forward at a steady pace to the climax. I was confused the entire time. One element of the story is dropped in the rush to end the story, but it took me until the next day to even realize it.

The characters are also strong. We are introduced to the lot at once, yet I never had a hard time keeping them straight. True, some of them fall into cliches if you stop and think about it, but while I was reading the book they felt completely real to me. And the characters give the book a more serious tone than normal for the books I read.

Despite a couple of flaws, I really enjoyed this entry in the series.

Carolyn Hart has such a command of language and pacing, developing the plot and building tension. She leant such color to this story with the setting in Bermuda. The texture and tones of the island seeped through and captured my imagination. As always, she delivered an interesting mystery. Most of all, I like her understated, but very knowledgeable view of human nature, which is how Henrie O is able to solve murders so well.

Henrie O receives an unusual wedding invitation to Bermuda. She is invited to the wedding of her former son-in-law, Lloyd to a wealthy and beautiful widow, Connor Bailey. Although she is not that eager to attend, Henrie O decides to go in order to support her grandchildren. Connor is not particularly happy to be in Bermuda because the last time she was there, a friend of hers plunged off a tower to his death. From the minute Connor arrives, she is frightened by ghostly apparitions and supposed visitations from the dead man. Both Connor's and Lloyd's families are unhappy about the marriage between them, but the family members seem to try to make the best of the situation. When a murder occurs, someone is put on the spot and accused of being the murderer. Henrie O doesn't believe that justice is being done, so she sets out to find the perpetrator. This is another good read in the Henrie O series.