Unbreathed Memories (Hannah Ives Mystery Series, Book 2) [Mass Market Paperback]

Marcia Talley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 13, 2000

Is the key to a therapist's murder hidden away...in a patient's mind?

Is a shrink's death fall a Freudian slip?

Hannah Ives has every reason to mind her own business. Having survived a recent bout with breast cancer, she's opting for reconstructive surgery and a fresh start. Her Annapolis home is decorated for better feng shui. Her parents are living close by. And her sister, Georgina, is finally getting help for recurring depression. Everything is coming up roses-until her sister's therapist takes a nosedive off a balcony.

Now, with Georgina a prime suspect in the murder, Hannah needs to do some analysis of her own. A few pages torn from an appointment book may hold a crucial clue. And some bizarre memories from her sister's past may point to a motive...if Hannah can keep a clear head and dare to enter the darkness of a killer's twisted mind....

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An engaging combination of domestic drama and murder mystery, Talley's second Hannah Ives mystery (after Sing It to Her Bones) centers on the plucky heroine's ability to see her family through a crisis. After Hannah's recent battle with breast cancer, her retired parents move back to Annapolis, Md., where Hannah, her husband and her older sister reside. The family seems peaceful until Georgina, Hannah's younger sister who lives in Baltimore, is accused of murdering her therapist, who had been treating her for a protracted bout of postpartum depression. To make matters worse, the childhood memories that Georgina claims caused her emotional problems threaten to tear the family apart. Hannah resolves to prove the memories false and, with the advice of a retired mystery writer (and a few pages from the therapist's appointment book), she sets out to find the real killer. Talley's Hannah is an indefatigable caretaker and an irresistible protagonist who does her amateur sleuthing in between helping her parents move and babysitting her sister's kids. Ultimately, however, the novel is more a heartfelt (and melodramatic) story of a family's healing than a suspenseful mystery. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A series with the right stuff...don't miss this one."
--MLB News

"A shining new talent...Hannah Ives tackles life's ups and downs with humor, intelligence and courage."
--Deborah Crombie, author of Dreaming of the Bones

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Dell (June 13, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440235189
• ISBN-13: 978-0440235187
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 0.7 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #705,533 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Marcia Talley is the Agatha and Anthony award-winning author of A QUIET DEATH and nine previous mystery novels featuring survivor and sleuth, Hannah Ives.

Marcia is author/editor of two star-studded collaborative novels, NAKED CAME THE PHOENIX and I'D KILL FOR THAT set in a fashionable health spa and an exclusive gated community, respectively. Her short stories appear in more than a dozen collections. A recent story, "Can You Hear Me Now?" is featured in TWO OF THE DEADLIEST: NEW TALES OF LUST, GREED AND MURDER FROM OUTSTANDING WOMEN OF MYSTERY, edited by New York Times best-selling author, Elizabeth George.

Marcia is immediate past President of Sisters in Crime International, serves on the board of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America and is a member of the Crime Writers' Association (UK) and the Authors' Guild of America. She lives in Annapolis, Maryland, with a husband who loves to sail and a cat who doesn't.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good read-not the typical heroine, June 13, 2000

By 

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

This review is from: Unbreathed Memories (Hannah Ives Mystery Series, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

After recovering from a mastectomy, Hannah Ives waits to undergo reconstructive surgery so she can feel like her old self. While, her new age sister Ruth runs off to Bali to find her spiritual self, her younger sibling Georgina begins to ask Hannah strange questions related to their childhood. A hysterical Georgina calls Hannah to come pick her up at her psychologist's house. Hannah arrives only to have Georgina show her the body of Dr. Diane Sturges who apparently fell off the balcony. Hannah anonymously calls the police as her sister flees the scene.

The next day the police call Georgina and Hannah who admits they left the scene of the crime. They bring Georgina in for questioning and follow up with a visit to her father. Georgina believes, with the help of Dr. Sturges, that her father sexually molested her as a child and he killed Diane to silence her. Hannah takes it on herself to prove her dad's innocence and to persuade Georgina that she suffers from false memory syndrome planted there by her now deceased therapist.

UNBREATHED MEMORIES is an entertaining mystery that sensitively deals with current social issues. Hannah is a wonderful role model who has no time for self-pity. She is a fighter who will enter hell for that heavenly cause she believes is morally right. The story line is intriguing and fun, but tally one for the star as this plot belongs to Hannah. Marcia Talley is a bright light who has enlivened the amateur sleuth galaxy with the opening act of what should be a warm long running series.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unbreathed Memories, June 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Unbreathed Memories (Hannah Ives Mystery Series, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

Marcia Talley's second mystery, Unbreathed Memories, features spunky breast cancer survivor, Hannah Ives. Hannah's sibling, Georgina, believes she's a victim of child sexual abuse. When Georgina's psychologist is murdered, Georgina becomes a suspect, along with Hannah's father who believes the psychologist was a quack. Hannah, eager to save her family, sets out to prove her father's innocence. If you like your heroines spunky, heroic, and humorous, then you will enjoy Unbreathed Memories. It's a fast-paced jaunt that draws you in and keeps you turning the pages to the end.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Impressive!, January 25, 2001

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unbreathed Memories (Hannah Ives Mystery Series, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have not once read a book by Marcia Talley, let me tell you, she is a fantastic writer. This book is full of excitement, romance, and best of all mystery of a murder! I can't say this is the best book I have ever read, but it is one of the best books I have ever read. You will be amazed when the killer is revealed in Unbreathed Memories. This book kept me turning pages late at night, don't miss this great read! The best Mystery book I have ever read in my entire lif is called Bloodline by Jill Jones, don't miss that one either!