The Scent Of Murder: A Robin Light Mystery [Hardcover]

Barbara Block (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1997

Syracuse pet shop owner and amateur sleuth Robin Light comes to the aid of missing teenager Amy Richmond, a suspect in the killing of her wealthy and powerful stepfather, Dennis Richmond, journeying through an ugly world of drugs, violence, and murder to clear the young girl's name."

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

A nervous teen-aged girl asks pet shop owner Robin Light (Chutes and Adders, LJ 7/94) to keep her albino ferret, then disappears. Robin finds out that the girl is wanted for murdering her step-dad. An appealing series.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Last seen in In Plain Sight , Block's Robin Light seems unable to avoid murder, no matter how hard she tries to mind her own business, which happens to be a pet store in Syracuse called Noah's Ark. When a young girl comes into the store and demands that Robin board her pet ferret because Murphy said she would, Robin is speechless. Murphy, her husband who died of a drug overdose and left behind a mess that made Robin a chief murder suspect, has again risen from the dead. But before she can find out more, the girl drops her ferret and bolts out the back, just as two cops arrive in pursuit. Thus begins yet another intricately plotted mystery, this one involving the girl's murdered father and a connection to one more part of Murphy's life about which Robin knew nothing. Block's gripping denouements are especially good: they have previously starred a poisonous snake, a tarantula, and a bat. This one extends the streak, but this time we're not revealing the animal involved. Robin Light was recently named one of Booklist's Top Five Lesser-Known Female Sleuths . Soon she will have outgrown that category. Stuart Miller

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 323 pages
• Publisher: Kensington; First Edition edition (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575661950
• ISBN-13: 978-1575661957
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,001,399 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun read, July 3, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Scent Of Murder: A Robin Light Mystery (Hardcover)

Robin Light owns Noah's Ark, a pet store in Syracuse that recently has been frequented by a strange looking teen (oxymoron at least to us old farts, perhaps?). On her third visit to the store, the young girl asks the store owner to help her by flashing the name of Murphy, Robin's deceased spouse who almost landed Robin in jail for his murder. Before Robin can say no, the girl flees into the streets just ahead of the police. Robin knows that Murphy was aptly named and if she gets involved with anything that touches him, something catastrophic will happen. Still, she cannot resist assisting Murphy's fifteen year old daughter, Amy.

Robin arranges to meet Amy to learn what she can do to help the teen, Instead of finding Amy at their rendezvous spot, she finds the corpse of Amy's legal father. Robin searches for Amy and investigates into the relationship amidst her extended family members. Robin soon realizes that the animals are not in her shop, but are two legged and walking the streets. The adults prefer cheating and stealing to obtain a bit more materialistic items, while ignoring their children, who have turned to drugs for nurturing. As she uncovers the mystery of Amy and her ilk, Robin tries to flee back into the emotional haven of Noah's Ark, her last bastion of decency.

THE SCENT OF MURDER is a fabulous mystery that makes life in America feel like a living nightmare. Avarice and amoral behavior are the norm as society seems to fall apart. It may take a village to raise a child, but Barbara Block takes the audience around the block as she demonstrates that it all begins with a functioning family unit. This is a dark, but elaborate tale of depravity destroying everyone's lives except those fortunate enough to read this stimulating novel. Must reading for the politicos who jump on family values as a hypocritical slogan to save the world.

Harriet Klausner