A Streetcar Named Expire (Bed-And-Breakfast Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Mary Daheim (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bed-And-Breakfast Mysteries | Publication Date: January 9, 2001

For Sale: Luxury Condos, Corpse Included

Just a stone's throw from Judith McMonigle Flynn's thriving Hillside Manor, workmen are busy renovating the elegantly decrepit Alhambra Arms into pricey condominiums. But concerned contractor George Guthrie fears that well-heeled potential buyers may blanch when they learn about the four-decades-dead body that was stashed behind the crumbling walls of the moldy manse. And ever-inquisitive Judith's discovery of some much more recent remains on the premises threatens to se property values through the floorboards--and Guthrie through the roof! Both her professional detective husband Joe and her partner-in-crime solving cousin Renie think Judith is bonkers to suspect that the two killings are connected. Nevertheless, Judith's ready to build a strong case to that effect -- unless some homicidal someone decides to deconstruct her first!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Judith and Renie are sleuths to treasure." -- Carolyn Hart

About the Author

Mary Richardson Daheim is a Seattle native with a degree in communications from the University of Washington. Realizing at an early age that getting published in books with real covers might elude her for years, she worked on daily newspapers and in public relations to help avoid her creditors. She lives in her hometown in a century­-old house not unlike Hillside Manor, except for the body count. Daheim is also the author of the Alpine mystery series and the mother of three daughters.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Avon (January 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380800802
• ISBN-13: 978-0380800803
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,023,102 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #36 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Authors, A-Z > ( D ) > Daheim, Mary

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful cosy, January 5, 2001

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Streetcar Named Expire (Bed-And-Breakfast Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

In the past decade, Judith McMonigle Flynn, proud owner of the bustling Hillside Manor Bed and Breakfast, seemingly has stumbled on more dead bodies than many coroners have. Judith reluctantly accompanies her cousin Rennie on a death tour that the latter won with the highest bid during a church auction. Judith becomes outraged to learn her B&B is part of the tour

The tour stops at the dumpy Alhambra Arms where Judith peaks into a room only to spot the corpse of a woman on the bed. Judith becomes a media sensation just like she ha last many times before. Month ago the crew found the remains of a decades-old person walled up in one of the apartments. Judith believes there is a connection between the two deaths and begins to investigate, not yet aware that any revelation could make her corpse number three.

The "Bed and Breakfast Mystery" series is like a bag of potato chips as readers can't read just one. Each time Mary Daheim releases a new entry, fans seem propelled to go back and reread the previous novels just to remember what trouble Judith manages to encounter. A STREETCAR NAMED EXPIRE is a well-done amateur sleuth novel filled with a plethora of suspects so that the audience struggles with identifying the villain. Cozies should always be this delightful.

Harriet Klausner

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A mystery, straight up with humor!, January 28, 2001

By 

Kay Lewis - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Streetcar Named Expire (Bed-And-Breakfast Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Judith Flynn is not James Bond when it comes to solving mysteries because Bond himself was never this real nor this funny! Toss her cousin, Renie Jones into the mix and you have a pair of the zaniest, middle aged sleuths this side of....uhhhhh....well, any Agatha Christie characters. This was my first experience at reading a Mary Daheim book but, certainly not my last. It was a riotious read that kept me guessing to the very end (and then I was wrong about who did what to whom). Judith and Renie may not have the most conventional methods of getting to the bottom of the case, however, they have the brains plus pure dumb luck on their side. They're both a hoot and an easy read! Now I'm off to find another Daheim book for my reading pleasure.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The best Judith and Renie book yet., February 27, 2001

By 

Moe811 (New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Streetcar Named Expire (Bed-And-Breakfast Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

In this mystery Judith and Renie take a murder mystery tour of their neighborhood. It is no surprise to the reader that Judith's bed and breakfast is featured, but Judith is furious at the lurid description of her home and rushes to confront the tour operator at the next stop. She follows him upstairs to the second floor of an historic apartment complex and finds the featured entertainment, an exorcist, dead of a gunshot wound.

This is a fast moving and entertaining mystery, the characters are very quirky, and there are red herrings aplenty. I find myself looking forward to the next one.