She Shoots to Conquer (Ellie Haskell Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Dorothy Cannell (Author)

Book Description

Series: Ellie Haskell Mysteries | Publication Date: March 31, 2009

On a dark and foggy night, charming amateur sleuth Ellie Haskell, her husband Ben, and her plucky sidekick Mrs. Malloy find themselves stranded at a grand estate on the Yorkshire moors. Lord Belfrey of Mucklesfeld Manor has decided to save his crumbling establishment by offering himself as the prize on a TV reality show titled “Here Comes the Bride.”Thrilled at the prospect of marrying a lord, Mrs. Malloy eagerly joins the competition. After one of the potential brides is shot during an archery contest, Ellie begins to explore the dark passageways and hidden nooks of the delightfully Gothic estate—but she may not be prepared for the secrets lurking behind closed doors.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At the start of Cannell's droll if draggy 13th Ellie Haskell mystery (after 2008's Goodbye, Ms. Chips), Ellie; her chef husband, Ben; and their housekeeper, Mrs. Roxie Malloy, take a wrong turn one foggy night on the Yorkshire moors. They wind up at Muckelsfeld Manor, where Georges LeBois, a French director, is producing Here Comes the Bride, a reality TV program aimed at finding a wife for Lord Aubrey Belfrey, whose estate could benefit from the publicity. When one of the contestants dies in a car accident in the fog, single Roxie takes her place, and Ben becomes chef for the shoot. Besides becoming enamored of a homeless black Lab, Ellie gets drawn into the mystery surrounding Aubrey's older brother's wife, who's rumored to have absconded with some family jewels before her husband died. While the eccentric supporting cast, notably Muckelsfeld's scary housekeeper, lends interest, Cannell doesn't fully exploit the juicy reality show premise. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

Hilarious and engaging sleuth Ellie Haskell is back—always a good thing for the health of British cozies. This time she and her husband, restaurateur Ben, and their faithful employee, slightly wacky Mrs. Malloy, are stranded in a fog-bound, deteriorating Yorkshire estate called Mucklesfeld Manor. Mrs. Malloy ends up being a replacement contestant on a new television reality show called Here Comes the Bride. The program is being filmed at the manor to help owner Lord Belfry save his estate from financial ruin. Ben is drafted to prepare meals for the devious cast, the cantankerous crew, and the mysteriously linked contestants. But when contestants begin to die, it’s up to intrepid Ellie to save the day as she explores the creepy Gothic estate looking for clues. If British cozy fans who have somehow missed the earlier books in Cannell’s endearing series give this one a try, they will soon be clamoring to read the rest. Pair Ellie with Nancy Atherton’s equally charming Aunt Dimity. --Judy Coon

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (March 31, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312343396
• ISBN-13: 978-0312343392
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,189,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Cumbersome read from Ms. Cannell this time, July 30, 2009

By 

S. Brainard (amarillo, tx USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: She Shoots to Conquer (Ellie Haskell Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I have enjoyed this series about Ellie and her exploits in her small English town, but this book may be my last by Ms. Cannell. The central character with her little twin boys, the character of a housekeeper and Elle's long suffering husband are becoming trite, in my opinion.
The book's take off them stumbling upon a reality show in the making at a british manor house is very silly and not terribly interesting. The cumbersome details of each scene, not to mention the long winded tale was quite poderous for me.
Ms. Cannell may want to steer clear of the doting of the boys too. the Mommy track in the books is not terribly appealing to most, the main point is the mystery! Might be time to retire this character and move to a new one.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't Bother, June 16, 2009

By 

J. Lang "mystery fan" (Chestertown, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: She Shoots to Conquer (Ellie Haskell Mysteries) (Hardcover)

If you loved The Thin Woman please don't read this. It's time for Dorothy Cannell to retire Ellie and let her live out her remaining days in peace at Merlin's Court. It's too late for me to recover the money and time wasted on this book but, maybe, this will help the rest of you.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Oh dear..., September 24, 2009

By 

WG "avid reader" (Kulmbach, Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: She Shoots to Conquer (Ellie Haskell Mysteries) (Hardcover)

...Mrs. Cannell! I'm a big fan of Ellie Haskell, but this was just terrible. From start to finish. I can appreciate that it must be hard to keep the creative juices flowing on a even keel. But when they don't, maybe it would be better to take a break. Better luck next time. I'm not giving up on Ellie yet! One star for the occasional glimpse of the true Ellie Haskell.