Customer Reviews

The Tooth of Time: A Maxine and Stretch Mystery (Maxie and Stretch Mystery)

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

 

 

The Tooth of Time caught my interest on the first page and kept it right up to the very last. I didn't want to put it down. Maxie McNabb and her mini-dachshund, Stretch, are on the road again in their Minnie Winnie RV. The descriptions of New Mexico and the character development are excellent as Maxie gets to know the folks in Taos. Along with the new friends she meets, she runs into an old friend from the first time we met Maxie in DEAD NORTH: An Alaska Mystery.

One of Maxie's first stops when she arrives in Taos is at the Weaving Southwest, a business she has shopped with in the past via mail order. One of their customers, Shirley, is in the hospital from an unsuccessful suicide attempt. While Maxie hadn't met Shirley before, she accompanies her new friend Pat, from the Weaving Southwest shop, to go to visit her. Shirley adamantly denies the suicide attempt, checks herself out of the hospital and, since Pat must return to her shop, goes home with Maxie. The mystery starts when Shirley leaves the next morning while Maxie is out having breakfast.

After Shirley's departure, Maxie's RV is broken into and searched. Stretch is 'dognapped' in an effort to get back something Shirley may have left in the RV. Maxie leaves town, but after locating what Shirley hid in the RV she returns to Taos to help Officer Herrera solve the mystery.

The Tooth of Time is a thoroughly enjoyable mystery. I think Maxie and Stretch are getting better with age as I enjoyed this newest installment even more than I did the first, THE SERPENTS TRAIL. Well done!

Maxie McNabb, a twice-widowed, independent woman of 63, is back on the road in her Winnebago with her beloved dashchund dog, Stretch. While touring the Southwest, she goes to Taos, NM, where the mountain breezes are cooler than some of the other places she has visited. She goes to a yarn shop and becomes acquainted with Pat, the owner. While at the shop, she hears about Shirley Morgan, who has supposedly made an unsuccessful suicide attempt. Pat takes her to meet Shirley in the hospital, and Shirley denies having anything to do with her own carbon monoxide poisoning. Maxie invites Shirley to stay in her RV, but soon Shirley leaves without any notice. When two people are killed, Maxie becomes embroiled in the investigation, to the point that her life and property are soon threatened. Author Henry paints an interesting background with the Taos setting, much as she did with her Alaska series. Maxie's character develops further as she demonstrates her independent and feisty nature, and her relationship with her dog should please readers who are animal lovers.

Twice widowed, sixty-three years old Maxie McNabb, an Alaskan resident most of her life, tours the lower forty-eight with her "Minnie-Winnie" Winnebago and her dog Stretch. After leaving Colorado (see THE SERPENTS TRAIL) she tours New Mexico before stopping in Taos where she visits the Weaving Southwest, a tapestry gallery. Maxie and owner Pat Dozier hit it off and weave a friendship.

When new resident Shirley Morgan apparently tried to commit suicide, the two women visit her as she has become a friend of Pat. Feisty Shirley insists she was not trying to kill herself with carbon monoxide poisoning though despondent that her spouse dumped her for a younger woman. Maxie begins making some inquires and soon agrees that the woman was the victim of a murder attempt with the killer adhering to the proverb if at first you don't succeed try again.

THE TOOTH OF TIME is an enjoyable cozy starring sexagenarian Alaskan (it is a Sue Henry tale, duh), who makes friends while traveling the southwest. Maxie is terrific in her latest caper as she cannot help but getting involved with what happened to Shirley. Though the mystery starts towards the middle of the strong plot as friendships are first forged, fans will want to hitch a ride with Maxie and Stretch as they find the Land of Enchantment enchanting but dangerous.

Harriet Klausner

Intrepid senior citizen, Maxie McNabb has set off once again in her Winnebago, accompanied by her mini dachshund, Stretch. This time she is intent on exploring areas of New Mexico and makes a stop at the town of Taos. A chance encounter with a strange woman who was rescued from death by asphixiation in her car, leads Maxie to offer her a bed for the night. She confides in Maxie that she was recently taken in by a con man who stole $100,000 from her and absolutely denies attempting suicide. Maxie becomes very interested in weaving after seeing an exhibition in the town's gallery but is horrified to learn that a man's body was found in a vat of the dye used to colour the wools used in weaving. What follows is is a collection of things that could only happen to Maxie...a burglary, a kidnapping, a murder/suicide...altogether too much for a woman in her 60's to cope with...chipper as she is! It's an ok read but has a lot of scenic padding to fill it out.

Once again Sue Henry has taken the RV Road to adventure. This time to beautiful Taos, New Mexico where she becomes involved in yet another mystery. I love this newest character she had created. Having RV'd many of the miles Maxie covers, I appreciate the detail and accuracy given to the surroundings. A quick and delightful read!

Enjoyable, but somewhat predictable, if you have read the other books in this series. You could practically use the book as a guide to the Taos, NM area, which is a good thing. But the author gets a bit lengthy about various weaving techniques, etc. - All and all an enjoyable book, but not a nail-biter.

Sue Henry's Alaskan mysteries are great favorites of mine, but I knew nothing about her Maxie McNabb and Stretch mysteries. What a find!

This lovely, lightweight tale finds sixty-something Maxie McNabb, a widow, and her wonderful dachshund Stretch in their "minnie winnie" (a small Winebago) touring the American Southwest. It made me want to pack up and go to Taos immediately, the description of the countryside was that vivid, and not at all like a travelogue.

Anyway, while exploring the world of weaving (also fascinating), Maxie inadvertently gets herself mixed up with the mysterious Shirley, who may or may not have attempted suicide, and then becomes a target herself of murderous killers she does not know. As mentioned above, the mystery is light and doesn't take itself too seriously, and it all gets wound up in about 3 complicated pages that leave more questions than answers, but who cares?

There are mentions of our Alaskan heroine Jessie, and Butch, a character from the Alaska mysteries, puts in an appearance. All in all, I was delighted with this book, and look forward to the next, just published.

I loved Maxie and Stretch in the 2 prior books in which they were characters, but this book was very disappointing. I normally like details of the characters' environment, but this book contained page after page of details, such as mentioning each business establishment Maxie passed as she walked along, each diagonal or right turn she took... and almost none of the things she passed was ever mentioned again. There was a very small percentage of words that actually were related to clues or information concerning the mystery / mysteries that Maxie eventually solved. I love New Mexico, have travelled there regularly, and have been to Taos, but this book contained way too much filler and very little relevant or even interesting material. And I was fool enough to buy the hardcover version, being so eager to read more of Maxie and Stretch!

I have really enjoyed this entire series, now going to try other books by same author. Can't wait for the next book in this series!

Enjoyed the book, as I have all of the Sue Henry books that I've read. Service was excellent.