Up In Smoke (A Police Chief Susan Wren Mystery) [Paperback]

Charlene Weir (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 346 pages
• Publisher: Worldwide (2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373265158
• ISBN-13: 978-0373265152
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 3.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #936,729 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A really good read!, January 19, 2005

By 

Judith Lindenau "dulcie22" (Traverse City, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Up in Smoke (Police Chief Susan Wren Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I won't bore you with the plot--let's go straight to the evaluation. This is a good book! It's got action, well-drawn characters, several intertwining subplots, lots of interesting background--and, the prose craftsmanship is outstanding. Well worth reading!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book., April 10, 2005

By 

L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Up in Smoke (Police Chief Susan Wren Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Normally I find a plot with so many characters muddled and confusing. No so here! The characters are so well drawn and interesting, each stands clearly on it's own, yet they weave together to form a very good story. It also provides and interesting, and timely, backstage look at the running of a presidential campaign. I've always felt Weir is a much-overlooked writer who deserves more notice. I highly recommend this series.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Murder and Politics in a Small Town, January 6, 2004

By 

Dawn Dowdle "Mystery Lovers Corner reviewer" (Lynchburg, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Up in Smoke (Police Chief Susan Wren Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Susan Wren is Chief of Police in Hampstead, Kansas. Governor Jack Garrett is running for President. He and his entourage have come back to Hampstead to kick off his campaign with a homecoming rally.

Susan?s cousin Sean Donovan is in town as he is a reporter covering Garrett?s campaign.

Casilda Storm (Cass) has returned to Hampstead to Aunt Jean?s house. She finds a large dog in the middle of the road in a rain storm. She takes it in. Luke and Laura (her husband and daughter) were killed by a drunk driver. She is planning suicide. Jack is an old friend. He has Bernie Quaid enlist her help with the campaign.

M. L. Shoals (Em) has come to town planning to murder the governor.

Wakely Fromm is Jack?s childhood friend. He was paralyzed in a fire jumping incident many years ago. Jack takes care of him and has him travel with him. Jack?s wife Molly is not too pleased with this situation.

A woman calls 911 from the trunk of a car but no one can track down where she is located. She is later found murdered. Her niece Arlene Harlow (Moonbeam Melody as she prefers to be called) runs away. The killer comes looking for something and ends up attacking Moonbeam. Officer Luke Demarco cares for her and becomes her friend. This relationship is believable in a small-town atmosphere. It lets us get to know Demarco a little better.

Then Wakely Fromm is found murdered. Susan has her work cut out for her to get to the truth and find the killer.

I find these books a little hard to get into because there are so many different threads to the story, but once I?m in, I?m hooked! She has created fantastic characters for this story. Plus I really like Chief Susan. She has had hardship ? she lost her husband of four weeks! She doesn?t know if she wants to stay in Hampstead or return to San Francisco. The author has truly captured this struggle.

The various characters related to the governor are very well constructed and their interactions are so well written that I forgot they weren?t real.

I highly recommend this book.