Customer Reviews

Well Bred and Dead: A High Society Mystery

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Well Bred and Dead" by Catherine O'Connell is a very well written book. I couldn't put it down (another mystery book that I just had to have the answers to)! I read it in a day!

The story is about Pauline Cook. She lost her husband about 10 years ago and never remarried. She lives in a penthouse with windows on all 4 sides and a magnificent view of Chicago. Pauline is used to living a "rich" life, but lately her money has been drying up. And when Pauline finds her best friend Ethan dead, the cost of his funeral and solving the mystery behind his death causes her to end up broke.

While attempting to solve the mystery of her best friend's death (and life!), she meets Terrance. Could he be the new love of her life? If so, she'll have to give up her young stud, Sean. Terrance helps Pauline find the answers surrounding Ethan, travelling to places such as London, England. Uh-oh ... Did Ethan kill someone?

There are twists at every intersection, taking the story in a new, presumably predictable direction. But wait! There's another twist you weren't even looking for!!

I VERY highly recommend this book! This story is very well told and very entertaining!

- 1smileycat :-)

I loved this book; it was like a breath of fresh air in the cozy world. Hey, even Frank McCourt endorsed this book :) I really hope there is a sequel. The plot was convoluted, but one could still follow along pretty easily. I loved Pauline. She was shallow yet likeable, and the book contained some great moments where she learned that the poor and rich have more in common than she once thought.

The book was humorous in its take on the wealthy, but I think, at times, there was too much observation and not enough action. It's a hard line to toe from mystery to social critique, but the book did a great job overall.

I am having a hard time rating "Well Bred and Dead." On the one hand, it is an extremely good mystery, one that draws you in and keeps you guessing. On the other hand, Pauline Cook is one of the most awful heroines I've ever read about. I kept waiting for her to get her comeuppance and experience some sort of redemption, but in the end when she does, it is only minor improvement. Pauline is a condescending snob. She's primarily interested in appearances (both of wealth and beauty), she's not nice to anyone she doesn't deem her social equal (and even then she's not particularly nice), she's judgemental and she's a phony. And I get the sense the reader is supposed to admire this person, despite her horridness as a human, because she has a fabulous penthouse and wardrobe, comes from a society family, and "endures" her reduced financial circumstances because her parents and husband didn't leave her a big enough inheritance! But, as I said, the mystery is a really good one, full of false identities, inheritances and dead ends. However, I would have enjoyed the story much more if Pauline started out awful and then developed through circumstance into a more likeable version (or if her attitudes had been treated more satirically.) I've purchased the next in the series in hopes that she does turn a bit nicer.

This book reminds me of Dominick Dunne's take on NY's 'Fifth Avenue Society' but with a sense of humor that's triple sec. O'Connell really captures the Gold Coast of Chicago, and her wry sense of humor and unique observations are a delight to read. She's created a really unique kind of narrator - this wealthy socialite, who pays as much attention to the kind of linen she's bound and gagged on, as to what the murder weapon might be. Very clever, very funny, a truly different voice. I highly recommend this book, and I totally agree with Frank McCourt's assessment on the book cover; "O'Connell is a hell of a storyteller, and a tart observer." Can't wait to read her next tart.

A High Society Mystery

Chicago's society landscape is littered with new money, old money, and the "I have no money, but I have the pedigree.' Newly widowed Pauline Cook loves her position in Chicago's high-society, but she is pretty well near the bottom of the 'cash barrel.' And that's a problem. She may not have money, but she's beautiful in that 40-ish sort of way, and she has her best friend and writer, Ethan Campbell to keep her company.

When Ethan appears to have taken his own life, it is up to cash-strapped Pauline to give him the proper burial (one fitting her station in life). But Pauline questions Ethan's suicide. It really appears more like murder. And when she discovers several birth certificates in Ethan's possession, she embarks on a quest to discover the truth about her best friend. Her investigation just might get her murdered.

O'Connell writes a fun (and stereotypical) take on society and the people who inhabit the small world the rest of us only view through photographs and gossip items. This has the markings of a series.

Armchair Interviews says: If you like cozy, amateur sleuth mysteries, you might enjoy Well Bred and Dead.

It's so well-written with a fast, easy-to-read pace. And really, I liked the heroine, Paulie Cook. Sure, she is a rich socialite with quite a few annoying habits, but I'm sure the author created this character with some satire, some caricature, & quite a bit of fondness. After all, many women would dream of being a rich attractive independent woman dining at fancy restaurants & buying designers suits...if only for a week! And Pauline does have financial woes, hidden from her friends (of course, in that circle you have to put up appearances!) which gives it a sense of reality. The mystery is intriguing, & while sometimes it stretches credulity, the elegant writing makes one overlook that (except at the very end, it becomes a little too convoluted, that's why I gave 4 rather than 5 stars). Is it serious literature? Of course not, but a really enjoyable treat. I am looking forward to reading her next book.

Pauline Cook, a widowed Chicago socialite, likes the finer things in life. Her stunning Chicago penthouse with 360 degree views of the city, the latest fashions, her classic car and high society luncheons. Pauline is hiding a secret though- her money is running out. Her husband, who passed 10 years before, didn't leave Pauline with the millions she thought, and a few bad stock market choices have left her drying out. But Pauline's troubles worsen when she finds her friend, Ethan, dead in is apartment. Suicide, the police say, but Pauline thinks something more is at stake. She follows her instinct, which leads her to Ethan's double identity, past murders, and a whole lot of trouble. Pauline's life is threatened when she finally uncovers the big secret, and a final twist in the plot ends this classy mystery.

I really enjoyed Well Bred and Dead by Catherine O'Connell. At first I had trouble liking the heroine- who continues to shop and live luxurious when she is about to go broke. But after a few chapters go by, I started to like her for her sense of loyalty, especially to the deceased Ethan. There are enough plot twists at every turn to keep you guessing the final reveal until the very end. O'Connell's writing fits perfectly with the heroine and her upper class ways, and this truly is a "high society novel." I look forward to reading more of Pauline's stories!

It is a great girls summer read. It is both funny as well as a mystery.

The narrator, Pauline, equates nonstandard grammar with lack of breeding. At first, I thought her own frequent grammar errors were a subtly ironic comment on her hypocrisy. These errors include "lay" for "lie" (at least six times), numerous dangling modifiers, and incorrect pronoun case. However, the use of "reigning" for "reining" and "while" for "wile" made it clear that the errors were unintentional. Errors such as these can slip into anyone's writing, but a published work should have been more carefully edited.

A sparkling plot could have overcome the language problems, but the story is ponderous and unengaging. Had I not been reading the novel for a book club, I could have put it down at any pooint with no sense of loss. On the other hand, the characters are interesting and complex. They deserve a better story.

Yes, there were a few editing errors (Oscar MEyer, should be MAyer), but they did not take away from the enjoyment of the story. This was a different type of cozy and I think the heroine, Pauline, was the reason why. She was sophisticated, worldly, and almost broke, but still continued her quest to find out what happened to Ethan. And I felt she did this because she truly cared about him and wanted to lay him to rest with the truth being known. She had a good heart, too trusting of a heart at times, and learned a few things along the way about how others live and how the world is outside of her usual comfort zone. She knew right from wrong, and made sure the bad guy got what he deserved in the end no matter how painful that may have been for her. I look forward to the next in this series. Highly recommend this book.