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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A MUST READ for Mystery Lovers!, July 31, 2008
"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 :-)
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
well bread & dead, February 13, 2007
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.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
torn on what rating to give, April 1, 2009
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.
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