Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Flinn Has Become A Favorite!!, March 10, 2005
Elaine Flinn's second book in her antique mystery series is even better than the first! "Tagged for Murder" (love the title) again features antique dealer, Molly Doyle, as she continues to rebuild her reputation in the posh community of affluent Carmel, CA.
Mayhem erupts when local antique dealer, Trudy Collins, abruptly dies from an apparent heart attack at the Carmel Antiques Show. When Molly's sister, Carrie, suddenly arrives that day with her daughter after a 15-year estrangement, Molly once again fears her sister is being deceitful. Carrie swiftly and unceremoniously leaves her daughter, Emma, with Molly and takes off to pursue a "legal career" overseas.
As fake antiques and additional murders begin to surface, Molly attempts to piece together who is behind these acts - against her better judgment and certainly against the wishes of Police Chief Randall. The result is a great mystery and terrific development of wonderful characters.
Flinn has a wonderful series going! The dialogue is written in a realistic manner as to the verbiage that individuals actually use. Any "dangling participles" are included to make the conversations realistic and engrossing as, let's face it, most speech patterns and dialogues are not always in complete grammatical sentences. To change this would change the whole rhythm of the characters.
The addition of Emma was absolutely brilliant! This kid brings such a new dimension to Molly and others. I thought that Flinn VERY ACCURATELY AND REALISTICALLY did not have Emma enrolled in school. Only about 2-3 weeks have elapsed (not months!) and Molly has started the legal process to have Em remain with her. She has arranged for a tutor, but for Molly to enroll Em in school, only days after being abandoned by her mother and before any decisions were made by the State, WOULD have been unrealistic.
Likewise, Molly's relationship with Chief Randall is currently being defined. Randall cares greatly for Molly, but sternly masks his fear as he is trying to rein Molly in when she insists on putting her life in jeopardy. From the first book, "Dealing With Murder," we have learned that Randall is often jaded and rather acerbic in nature- as is Molly at times. Randall gives Molly a difficult time as she KNOWINGLY hides evidence that she wants to look over. Good grief - the argument that she gives Randall about "forgetting about certain evidence" is an excuse that they both realize is fabricated. However, she can't very well say, "Randall, here is the evidence that I deliberately withheld from you while I attempted to discern how involved my sister is in this matter!"
And finally, Molly's sister has not been arrested because she is out of the country. They have just that night discovered the extent of her involvement. Although the next book may indicate that she may be extradited back to the States for trial, law and customs officials may "have bigger fish to fry" and not pursue it.
"Tagged for Murder" is a wonderful new series and I greatly anticipate the next book by Elaine Flinn!
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
an excellent read, September 30, 2004
Fans of Elaine Flinn's Molly Doyle mystery series rejoice: her latest antique-store mystery, "Tagged For Murder" was as engrossing, absorbing and enjoyable as her first book, "Dealing in Murder."
Molly Doyle, a New York transplant is beginning to feel completely at home in Carmel, Ca -- she's picked up the pieces of her life, adapted completely to the more low key pace here, found some good friends, and has completely recovered from her the murder investigation she had gotten entangled with, when (wouldn't you know it) she finds herself coming face to face with another unexpected death, this time that of friend and fellow antique's dealer, Trudy Collins. Found face down on her desk at the Carmel Antiques Show, everyone initially assumes that Trudy had suffered from a heart attack at the show. But Carmel's chief of police's, Kenneth Randall, behaviour makes Molly believe that there is something more to Trudy's death. However, the unexpected appearance of her deceitful long-estranged younger sister, Carrie, soon distracts Molly from the mystery of Trudy's death. Especially when Carrie saddles Molly (permanently) with her 12 year old daughter, Emma, and disappears. Struggling to absorb the latest change in her life, and to ensure that no lasting damage has been done to her clever and sweet natured niece, Molly's composure takes a further knock when she makes the discovery that Carrie knew Trudy and that they were both involved in something shady. Should Molly share her fears with good friend police chief Randall? Or should she try to figure out exactly what Carrie and Trudy were involved in and to try cover Carrie's tracks for Emma's sake? Torn between protecting her sister and doing the right thing, Molly soon finds herself neck deep in murder once again, and dodging yet another determined killer...
Once I started "Tagged For Murder" I simply had to finish it in one go -- it was that engaging and absorbing. Tautly paced and with quite a few interesting plot twists, I was happily engrossed from beginning to end. The storyline was a very intriguing and interesting one, and Ms Flinn's brilliant and believable character portrayals added to the overall excellence of the novel. And adding to the overall enjoyment to the book, was the wonderful manner in which the authour painted in the quiet charms of Carmel. My advice, if you enjoy absorbing and quiet cozies, that is, is to unplug the 'phone and settle into your favourite chair, "Tagged For Murder" is a read to be savoured and enjoyed without interruption.
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31 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
promising, October 4, 2004
I enjoyed this book, although I also thought it awkward in places. But will definitely look for more.
Problems:
(1) grammar: there were a lot of jolting dangling participles. Please have a good editor eliminate these next time! I do not consider this trivial, because the flow of the narrative is badly interrupted by these things.
(2)awkwardness: In places, there is a failure to deal with details that harms the "genuineness" of the atmosphere. It nagged at me that Emma was not in school. You don't just keep kids out of school for months on end. Was it summer? I couldn't find a season reference anywhere.
(3) the so-called "teasing" between the heroine and randall. These exchanges "read" to me as hostile and dismissive. If I were a dealer and someone constantly called me a rip-off artist, I don't think I would view it as teasing. How could anyone like this guy?
(4) Heroine's waiting to give evidence to police. COME ON!! Her excuse was not believable.
(5) Sister Carrie: cannot understand why she is not in jail
Good Things:
continuously entertaining
for the most part, engaging characters (see above), and interesting family background.
antiques lore
california ambiance
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