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The Unkindest Cut: A Bridge Club Mystery (Bridge Club Mysteries)

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The Unkindest Cut: A Bridge Club Mystery (Bridge Club Mysteries)

As a former party bridge player and mystery lover I really enjoyed this book. Well written, good bridge hints, enjoyable quirky characters. I loved hating the victim. However, Emma is perhaps overly worried about leaving her cats alone at home while she is at a bridge convention; then, suddenly, about a third of the way through the book, she gets a call from the cat sitter who has a family emergency and must leave the cats with another sitter. I thought this might have really upset Emma, but no - we don't hear another woord about Olaf and Hilda, even at the end of the story! Of course finding a corpse can take over your life, but I have the feeling that the author was going to do domething with this lead and just forgot about it. As if one could ever forget one's cat. I also would appreciate getting some of Honor's (or Emma's) clues about bridge lessons on line.

Young widow Emma Diamond has turned to her friends and the game of bridge to help with her recovery from her husband's death. She reluctantly agrees to go along on a weeklong bridge holiday that her next door neighbor is attending in support of a long-time friend. The friend has been married to two bridge experts--and now schemes to get the first one back. But the week in the Texas hill country ends up involving a lot more than bridge when one of the bridge pros turns up dead--the Queen of Diamonds clutched in his hand. Emma knows she's innocent, but was he trying to send a message with that card? If so, might the police decide that Emma is the killer?

Author Honor Hartman mixes a cozy mystery with the game of bridge--it's a convincing combination. Anyone who can count out a bridge hand, can decide who's bluffing and who's telling the truth, or can reason out a safety play could also be an effective sleuth. Emma, with her supportive friends and her recent loss makes a sympathetic character.

For the most part, THE UNKINDEST CUT is an enjoyable light mystery. The history of cards Emma discovers in her attempts to uncover the truth is an entertaining adventure and Emma/Honor's look at the world of bridge is sympathetic and fun (although my bridge experience doesn't include like those Hartman describes). (Spoiler alert) I thought, however, that Hartman cheated a bit in her clues, especially when friend Paula shows up with ex-husband Basil in tow--and the announcement that he's agreed to re-marry her. Considering his obvious reluctance, his agreement is never explained--except that this provides a misleading clue.

As a bridge teacher and player, I'm excited about bridge being shown as a positive influence on people's life--which indeed it can be. One quibble, however--I recognize that many people, including bridge players, are frightened of duplicate bridge--as is Emma. I hope that if Hartman continues this series, he'll find ways to help Emma overcome this fear. Duplicate bridge is the same as any other game of bridge--with the same cards, same bidding, same rules. Perhaps if Emma gives herself a chance, in BRIDGE CLUB MYSTERY #3, she'll find that duplicate is a great way to play the game.

After her husband died in a car accident, Emma Diamond needed a year to recover, but now she is beginning to get her act back together as she meets with her best friends and neighbors Marylou Lockridge and Sophie Parker. All three are avid bridge players and look forward to a retreat in Texas Hill Country. Marylou's friend Paula was with the threesome when they decided to go on the bridge retreat; she has a hidden agenda for joining the as she wants to divorce her suspicious husband Avery Trowbridge to remarry her first spouse Basil Dumont.

Avery's room at the retreat is next door to that of the three pals. When Emma passes by his room she notices the door open; she glances inside as walks by and sees a guy sitting in a chair holding a card with a knife in his chest. Avery is dead. Many people disliked Avery including his first wife, the son he ignores, his former agent he fired, the receptionist at the retreat who loves him and especially Paula who Emma and her two buddies heard screaming she wanted him dead. Emma starts snooping hoping to eliminate suspects until one is left standing while wondering what his holding the queen of hearts means.

Bridge players and amateur sleuth fans will find the UNKINDEST CUT a riveting mystery. The protagonist has come a long way in the six months since her performance ON THE SLAM as she still grieves and has difficult coping moments when she misses her beloved spouse, but it is her knowledge that her husband would expect her to move on that enables her to do so. The support cast is quirky with bridge being nirvana while the whodunit is fun to follow although Emma has no reason to sleuth (the amateur sleuth bane). Still Honor Hartman writes an engaging amusing mystery as Emma tries to trump a killer.

Harriet Klausner

The Unkindest Cut is a cute bridge cozy set in Houston, TX. It involves interesting characters that you care about. The author also gives bridge tips and sample hands. Enjoyable for a mystery fan who is also a bridge player.

After reading the first novel in this Bridge Mystery series, I expected more with the second. I was disappointed. Too many weird characters (hard to keep track of who was who without a score card), and when they kept going off to play bridge, why didn't they show some hands and add that to the storyline as a side benefit? This time there was too much sitting around in hotel rooms trying to figure things out (last time it was too much coffee drinking). I would like to see Emma get into trouble more and a little more character development. Will I read the 3rd in this series? Doubtful--Three strikes says out.

The combination of mystery and bridge in this book was irresitible. As an avid mystery reader and a member of a bridge club, I was curious to see how these two would work together. My curiosity was rewarded with a delightful read. And to top it off, the mystery is set in the Texas Hill Country--another favorite.

Emma Diamond (what else?) is the curious amateur sleuth who, recently widowed, has the time to indulge her curiosity. The murder occurs at a weekend brige retreat, so it has that Agatha Christie Mousetrap feel to it. Emma has an outgoing personality that encourages others to want to talk to her, so she is able to discover significant clues. However, as any bridge player can tell you, you never know what's going to happen until the hand is played out. So it is with Emma and her curiosity: she has to follow first one clue, then another, until the last one reveals the mystery.

Bridge players will enjoy this book because there is enough bridge playing to provide some helpful tips. Emma also provides additional tips at the end of the story. This is the second book in this series--I now want to go back and read the first book, On the Slam.

by Penny Appleby

for Story Circle Book Reviews

reviewing books by, for, and about women