Customer Reviews

On The Slam (A Bridge Club Mystery #1)

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

 

 

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.

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!

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

Amazon processing is simple and safe. The two books arrived in plenty of time for Christamas.
I will contine to use Amazon for book purchases.
Happy New Year.

I finished On The Slam this morning by Honor Hartman aka Dean James. As you might have guessed I really enjoy this authors writings regardless of the nom de plum he uses for any particular series.

This is the 2nd book in this series that I've read and from what I understand there are only two. Too bad I wasn't Honor Hartman's publisher! We would have had many more in this Bridge Club Mystery series.

It seems that as soon as I get into page one...I'm right at home with Emma and Sophie. We are just settling down for a cup of coffee, cake and a good morning of gossiping amongst ourselves.
Emma has recently moved nextdoor to her good friend of more that 30 years-Sophie.(Emma lost her beloved husband six months prior to this move.) They've been close friends for such a long time they often can read each others thoughts by just a glance. Since Emma is new in this neighborhood she is in the process of being introduced to other neighbors as well as the president of the homeowners association-Janet.

What could Emma and Sophie have in common with these new "friends"? Bridge of course. (as a matter of fact I haven't played bridge in decades but thanks to the authors well scripted and interesting bridge games much has come back to my memory). At Emma's very first neighborhood bridge game the first murder takes place. No one couldhave forseen it and no one could do a thing to stop it...except that is for the murderer.

I so much enjoy the comradery between these gals and their dialogue. So believeable with 2 loved pet cats included.Hilda & Olaf, the setting is complete. How Emma solved the murder(s) was untangling the not so obvious details which made reading all the more engrossing.

I enjoyed this book as I enjoyed The Unkindest Cut also in the Bridge Club Mystery series. I definitely would and do recommend this book to any lover of cozy mysteries.
Ellen

I really liked this as a good simple mystery story.

I don't want to slam the book because of a publishing error, but the formatting on this was awful with a double space between each paragraph making it hard to follow.

So five stars for an interesting first book in the series, and zero stars for formatting

When young widdow Emma Diamond moves into a new Houston neighborhood to live near her best friend, she hopes for some good bridge, some new friends, and some quiet so she can continue to morn the recent death of her husband. Most of the neighbors are nice, but neighborhood association president Janet McGreevey has earned the hatred of just about everyone in the neighborhood. When Janet complains about Emma's (indoor) cats, Emma joins the list of those who'd just as soon Janet drop dead. Still, when Janet dies during a bridge game, Emma can't help thinking that it might have been murder.

With her best friend Sophia, and neighbor MaryLou, Emma decides that it's up to them to solve the murder. Considering that everyone hated Janet, there is no shortage of suspects. Could it be Janet's stepson, her husband, or any of the neighbors. Certainly everyone at the bridge game had both opportunity and motive. Sophia comes up with the idea of inviting the neighbors over for bridge. Over a glass of wine and some cards, people tend to talk--and she's certain someone will spill more truth than they intended.

Author Honor Hartman spins an enjoyable light mystery. As a beginning bridge player, Emma has to balance her play and her sleuthing to be certain nobody suspects anything. Then there's the crush she develops on the sexy police detective sent to investigate. Mostly, though, friendship between Emma and Sophia, and their developing relationship with MaryLou drive the story.

I would have liked to see a bit more complexity in the story--the motives for murder are pretty well unveiled at the start of the investigation and it seems like Emma never takes a false step in her investigation (even when she's investigating the wrong suspects, she quickly learns vital clues). As a beginning bridge player, Emma doesn't really show a lot of brilliance in her bridge. As a beginning sleuth, there's plenty of room for her to grow in this career as well. Still, Hartman's writing kept me involved in the story and Emma's friendships and her loss made her sympathetic.

I was expecting more of a mystery to go along with the bridge interspersed throughout the novel. I thought the murder mystery lacked depth and suspense. The women's bridge club did too much talking about the murder and drinking too much coffee as they discussed the murder. As mysteries go, it wasn't even scarry for the main character. I did enjoy the few references to Houston (where novel took place), her cats, and some of the things that happen at the table when one plays bridge. I did enjoy that part of this novel the most. Hope the next one is better.