Customer Reviews

Strangled Prose (Claire Malloy Mysteries, No. 1)

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

 

 

What a pleasant surprise! I'd read a "Maggody" mystery some time ago, not realizing there was another Joan Hess series to savor. Claire Malloy is bright, sarcastic, ironic, and funny as all get-out. The plot has enough twists and turns to keep you going... I stayed up way too late two nights in a row to finish it. Peter Rosen has definite possibilities, although his character wasn't developed quite as much as Claire's; since this was Claire's opening gambit, however, that's understandable. Loved this book, and right now I'm trying to figure out the order in which the rest were written so I can follow through properly (I always read a series in order to follow character development). Definitely have your library rustle up a copy of this one, and, I suspect, the rest of the series, as well!

... It is old-fashioned in a way. The police procedures are unrealistic and being gay can lead to being fired from an academic post. Much of the humor is heavy-handed and corny (addressing the cop as "Sherlock" for instance) but somehow I found it worked for me. It's unpretentious fun in the tradition of those old English cosies that were relaxing and easy to read if you willingly suspended disbelief.

Typical of Joan Hess, it's engaging, interesting and hard to put down. The characters are lifelike, and the town is one you feel like you know.

Just like rice krispies, Hess' tale snaps, crackles and pops. It moves along at a snapping pace, with humorous moments mainly provided by the scotch swilling main character, Claire Molloy. Just when you think you figured out this who-dunnit, the tale crackles and takes a 90 degree turn. Characters pop up in unexpected places, further complicating the reader's and Claire's hypotheses. This is a light, enjoyable read written by a masterful plotter.

Not a very well thought out plot and yes, once again, the relationship energy comes from the police character.

The only good thing about this book is that you don't have to read all of it to find out whodunnit. The identity of the murderer is obvious from chapter 2 -- even before anyone has been murdered! With their identity so clear so early on, you don't need any clues or sleuthing, which is a good thing, because there aren't any. When the showdown comes and the murderer's identity is "revealed" to anyone who has bothered to read this far, whopping great loose ends are left hanging around, leaving you asking "But why -- and what about -- ?" The setting -- a bookshop -- could have been interesting but little is made of it. This book is the first in Joan Hess's Malloy series, and as far as I'm concerned, it's also the last.