On The Slam (A Bridge Club Mystery #1) [Paperback]

Honor Hartman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2007

Meet Emma Diamond: novice bridge player, recent widow, and the kind of person who never leaves her grocery cart sitting willy nilly in the parking lot. And now, after a vile woman in her new neighborhood in Houston is poisoned during a bridge game, Emma has a new identity: amateur detective.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Signet (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451221400
• ISBN-13: 978-0451221407
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #158,182 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent fun!, May 10, 2008

By 

Carolyn Haines (Mobile, AL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: On The Slam (A Bridge Club Mystery #1) (Paperback)

When I used to play bridge with my aunt's club, they always made me be the "dummy" hand. That tells you what I know about real bridge playing. But even without a background in the card game, I thoroughly enjoyed the fast-paced mystery. I want more! And thank goodness "The Unkindest Cut" will be out the first of June.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Decent start to a new series, July 18, 2007

By 

Twilight "So many books, so little time..." (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On The Slam (A Bridge Club Mystery #1) (Paperback)

Following the death of her husband, Emma Diamond moves in next door to her best friend, Sophie. Emma is quickly introduced to a plethora of people from the neighborhood, including the nasty Homeowners Association President, Janet McGreevey. As you can guess, Janet meets an untimely death. Emma is coerced by her friends to try to solve Janets's murder.

This is the first in the Bridge Club's series. Honor Hartman did a good job with character development. I connected with the main character, Emma, and hope to see more of Sophie in future issues. I am not a bridge player and was hoping I wouldn't have to be to read this. There are a number of bridge games played throughout the story and although the author tried to explain in detail what was happening, I got lost and confused. It was a little distracting.

I am not good at figuring out who did it until the very end. Usually right before the author revels who did it. In this case, even with the abundance of characters, I had the killer pegged almost immediately. Hopefully, the next book will keep me guessing. Aside from that, it was a decent read. I will definitely give the next book a try.

Honor Hartman is a pseudonym for Dean James. James also pens under the name Jimmie Ruth Evans, of the Trailer Park Mysteries, which I fully enjoy. I am listing a few of my favorite series so you can get an idea if we have similar tastes:

Psychic Eye Mysteries by Victoria Laurie
Flower Shop Mysteries by Kate Collins
Savannah Reid Mysteries by G.A. McKevett
Dead-End Job Mysteries by Elaine Viets - GET WELL SOON ELAINE!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars terrific amateur sleuth, May 2, 2007

By 

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

This review is from: On The Slam (A Bridge Club Mystery #1) (Paperback)

It has been six months since Emma Diamond's husband died in an automobile accident; to escape the memories that are everywhere in the abode they shared, Emma moves to a house next door to her friend Sophie. One of the first people she meets in the upscale complex is the homeowners' association president Janet McGreevey, a virago who orders her not to let her cats roam loose on the streets and to keep her porch swing out of the front of her home. Emma takes an immediate dislike to the overbearing shrew. However, when Janet invites her and Sophie to come over to play bridge, the latter persuades the newcomer to go so as to get on the good side of the martinet.

While several people play bridge, Janet eats a spinach dip brought by Marylou Lockridge, who loathes the president also, but knows not to antagonize her as the mean spirited woman will find a way to hurt anyone who doesn't treat her right. Janet suddenly keels over and dies from an allergic reaction to peanuts added to the spinach dip. Emma believes someone else added the peanuts during the evening festivities and she finds herself playing sleuth to find out who it is..

ON THE SLAM is the first book of what looks to be a terrific amateur sleuth series. Emma gains reader empathy from the onset as she struggles with grief while trying to move on with her life. Sophie, in many ways, steals the game, as a caring supportive person who makes her friendship "contract" to help Emma cope. The story line is well plotted and contains quite a few twists and tricks as Emma bids on who killed the despot.

Harriet Klausner