Shadow Waltz (The Marjorie McClelland Mysteries) [Paperback]

Amy Patricia Meade (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Marjorie McClelland Mysteries | Publication Date: April 8, 2008

"Did he or didn't he?" is the question in this third vintage mystery set during the Great Depression and starring the strong-willed and independent Marjorie McClelland. Newly betrothed and looking forward to the future, wealthy Englishman Creighton Ashcroft and mystery author Marjorie would like nothing better than to enjoy some quiet time in which to write about their adventures and plan their impending nuptials. Fate has different plans for the couple when a young mother shows up on Marjorie's doorstep asking for help to find her missing husband. Accepting the case, Marjorie and Creighton are led to an abandoned house and the dismembered body of the husband's mistress. When the husband is convicted of murder, Marjorie feels a nagging doubt that he might not have been guilty. Can her fiancé keep Marjorie's sleuthing nature under wraps or will he be willing to jump in and help her solve another mystery?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At the start of Meade's diverting third Marjorie McClelland 1930s cozy (after 2007's Ghost of a Chance), Marjorie agrees to help an anxious young wife, Elizabeth Barnwell, find her missing husband, Michael. When Marjorie and her fiancé, wealthy Englishman Creighton Ashcroft, discover a dismembered body that turns out to be Michael's mistress, the philandering husband surfaces shortly thereafter and is arrested for murder. Marjorie, though, suspects the police have the wrong man. Meanwhile, the members of Marjorie's church in Ridgebury, Conn., have planned a wedding reception for her and Creighton complete with Mrs. Shutt's revolting Perfection Salad. Can they gracefully get out of this without hurting any feelings? While weak on period detail, this light whodunit does offer a surprise closing twist. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

The spirited third installment in Meade’s bewitching Marjorie McClelland mystery series finds her adventurous heroine fending off the wacky and tacky assistance of family and friends who have immersed themselves in planning her upcoming wedding to debonair Englishman Creighton Ashcroft. Nuptial details quickly take a backseat, however, when a distraught young woman arrives on Marjorie’s doorstep, tearfully pleading for the couple’s assistance in locating her missing husband. Curious clues quickly lead the amateur sleuths to the husband’s secret love nest, where the mutilated body of his mistress turns out to be just the first of the corpses Marjorie and Creighton encounter throughout Meade’s elaborate tale of revenge and betrayal. When Marjorie’s mystery-writer’s intuition kicks into high gear, the couple is challenged to a contest of investigative prowess by the head of the local police force, Marjorie’s ex-fiancé, Detective Robert Jameson. Sprightly characters, saucy dialogue, and supple pacing are once again winsomely showcased in Meade’s sassy paean to those zany Depression-era, romantic detective duos. --Carol Haggas

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Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: MIDNIGHT INK (April 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738712493
• ISBN-13: 978-0738712499
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,003,456 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Amy Patricia Meade graduated cum laude from New York Institute of Technology with degrees in both English and Business. Amy lives in Vermont with her husband and their two cats. She enjoys classic films, The Beatles, travel, cooking, and entertaining friends and family. Her fourth Marjorie McClelland Mystery, "Black Moonlight" was released June 1, 2010.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable historical mystery, April 2, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shadow Waltz (The Marjorie McClelland Mysteries) (Paperback)

It is 1935 and the nation remains buried in the Great Depression, but author Marjorie McClelland and her rich fiancé Creighton Ashcroft barely feel its effects. They are making wedding plans when an interruption comes in the form of a knock on the door. Elizabeth Barnwell, who read about this couple solving two murders (see GHOST OF A CHANCE and MILLION DOLLAR BABY), begs them to find her missing husband Michael who vanished two days ago. They agree to help her; she tells them she found a mysterious key and a piece of paper with an address on it in a pocket of one of his pants.

They go to the address and find the butchered body of a woman whose face is smashed in, and her four extremities cut off. The house belongs to Ronnie Carter and a witness describes her lover as that of Michael. Marjorie and Creighton find him at his parents'' home where he proclaims his innocence. He is taken to jail. Marjorie learns that the victim's lover before Michael, Trent Taylor, is now a widower who made a fortune collecting a life insurance payout on his wife's death. Before she died, Ronnie accused Trent of poisoning his spouse; an autopsy proves his late wife had a deadly amount of arsenic in her system. Case closed except Marjorie thinks someone else has set up Trent, but her sleuthing almost gets her shot.

Since everyone in Ridgebury, Connecticut wants to get involved in the wedding, Marjorie buries herself into the investigation to avoid dealing with definitive decisions that people demand of her. Readers will feel like they are in the middle of a Tracey-Hepburn movie to include campy dialogue, misleading assumptions, and plenty of action. SHADOW WALTZ is a thoroughly enjoyable historical mystery that takes its audience dancing into a bygone era.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ahhhh, the thirties, April 21, 2010

By 

reader "fantasy maven" (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Shadow Waltz (The Marjorie McClelland Mysteries) (Paperback)

This book makes you believe you have gone back to a really mythical gentler time. Majorie is a mystery writer who lives in a small town and is making enough to get by in the Depression of the 1930's. Then into town arrives a rich, good-looking Englishman. Need I say, the scene is set. The story follows the mystery lines set by Agatha Christie and many others who wrote during the early part of the 20th century but it has endured. The book is funny, but it sometimes drags. All in all I recommend it for an afternoon of lazy summertime reading when you don't want to think too much and just want to enjoy a light, entertaining read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A light hearted read, January 9, 2010

By 

B. Bryan "bookworm" (Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shadow Waltz (The Marjorie McClelland Mysteries) (Paperback)

This is a fun book, takes you to a different time and place. Very reminescent of the "Nick and Nora Charles" movies of the past.