The Well-Heeled Murders [Paperback]

Cherry Hartman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

When Sam Reynolds, the Portland (Ore.) cop investigating Dr. Lucinda Frazier's murder, asks, ``Anyone you know want to see her dead?'' her lesbian colleague Morgan McRain replies, ``I don't know any voyeurs.'' Seriously, though, neither Morgan nor Sam believes Lucinda was killed by the anguished fetishist she was treating, even though the patient insists on confessing to the murder. The perp could've been anybody in the Chandelier Club, Morgan's swingers' circle--five couples happily (?) entangled with each others' spouses (though, one of them insists, no gays or funny stuff). But the circle narrows when a second member is killed by somebody who seems equally fascinated with her footwear. Newcomer Hartman has a light touch--maybe too light--with sexual hang-ups of every stripe. Just listen to the killer on shoes: ``Nothing to tell really. I like them.'' Any questions? -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review

Portland, Oregon therapist Morgan McRain has a penchant for sleuthing, wise-cracking, and wearing comfortable shoes. When the members of a partner-swapping club are found dead and barefoot, one after the other, Morgan steps into action. Who would remove victims' shoes after murdering them and why? What is the connection between the crusty proprietor of Ye Olde Cobbler Shoppe and a group of middle-aged swingers with expensive tastes in footwear? Morgan, with the assistance of police detective Sam Reynolds, is determined to find out. -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Spinsters Ink Books; 1st edition (September 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883523109
• ISBN-13: 978-1883523107
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,084,728 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Amusing mystery for fans of the genre, December 18, 2000

By 

"kathrynlively" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Well-Heeled Murders (Paperback)

Morgan McRain is not a detective, but undoubtably she has seen enough episodes of Murder, She Wrote to know the basic routines of searching for clues and deducing the guilty party from a list of suspects. So when the office mate of a colleague is found dead and barefoot on her psychiatric couch--the victim of a very resilient pair of pantyhose--Morgan quickly shifts her therapy practice to the backburner, puts on her imaginary houndstooth cap and joins the hunt for the murderer, revealing in the process the seamier side of a few licensed professionals.

The Well-Heeled Murders could pass for a treatment of a politically-correct MSW script--had Jessica Fletcher been a lesbian with a life partner, daughter, and homosexual "brother-in-law"/nanny. However, the addition of a green detective, Sam Reynolds, with the hots for the male nanny (how convenient!) and a subplot involving the murderer's apparent shoe fetish and a tight-knit groups of swingers, and the story is given a twist of which would incite the envious natures of Aaron Spelling.

Morgan, having maintained some degree of civility with members of the exclusive swingers group (so exclusive it doesn't have a name) of which the victim was a member, agrees to assist Sam in tracking the killer, and eventually outshines the detective in both the brawn and brain departments. Hartman makes it clear that this is Morgan's case from the beginning--certain chapters even lend the possibility that Morgan is a bit more determined than the entire Portland, Oregon police force to catch the killer, and that Sam is just around to bounce off dialogue and flirt with the brother-in-law.

Hartman has the potential of creating an interesting mystery series with the Morgan McRain character--Morgan is witty, sensible, and has the same scrappy, down-to-earth charm that has endeared readers to the likes of Kinsey Millhone and V. I. Warshawski.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I can't believe I found this is in a toy store..., July 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Well-Heeled Murders (Paperback)

About a year ago, I was shopping in an area of Baltimore called Fell's Point. In a bin full of books in front of a toy store on Thames Street was a thin book that's shoe fetish theme struck me as funny. I gave them a dollar and bought the uncorrected proofs of "The Well Heeled Murders." It sat on my shelf for months until one day, bored out of my mind, I decided to open it up. It was amazing! I never read a mystery before, let alone a lesbian one, and I was very impressed. Buy this book. It is well worth it.