Customer Reviews

Wreck the Halls

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am a fan of this series, and have very much enjoyed the four preceding books in it. This one, however, was a disappointment. First and foremost, the author has developed an extremely quirky use of colons. This may sound unduly fussy on my part, but the appearance of the colons is more than just a misuse of a punctuation mark: the author uses colons in this book as a substitute for appropriate paragraphing and sentence structure. The ubiquitous colons make the work read in a very fragmented manner. I prefer paragraphs and complete sentences; the colons seem almost lazy, and prevent the language from having any flow to it.

Second, the characterizations and the plot were both fragmented. Like a Russian novel, numerous characters were introduced, but without enough about them to enable me to remember who they were between appearances. Perhaps this problem is related to the first one I mentioned, in that the abrupt writing style of this book distracted me from the content.

I am looking forward to more books in this series. Coming out so soon after the fourth in the series, this one might have been a bit rushed (releasing it in the summer would have been infelicitous). I am more than willing to forgive this lapse in an otherwise very enjoyable series.

Jake and Ellie arrive at Faye Ann Carmody's house and things are suspiciously silent. Worried, they enter the house to find a sea of blood. They fear the worst, Faye Ann's violent drunken husband has finally killed her. They are relieved when a dazed Faye Ann appears from under a pile of comforters. Unfortunately, she is covered with blood. When Jake enters Merle's butcher shop to see who is actually dead, she finds him, neated chopped up and wrapped in butcher paper. Jake and Ellie need to find out who killed Merle, because Faye Ann is not capable of either the crime or defending herself.

This was a little more grisly that the usual Graves mystery, but very good. The author introduces us to even more of the unusual characters of Eastport, and life in a Maine seaside town in winter. Very Very good mystery!!!!

I have enjoyed each of her books. They are well written and have good plot development. One can easily imagine the setting of each situation.

This humorous mystery was a delight to read.

Graves does well in the complexity of the plot and hair-raising scenarios. Grusome without going too far. An array of interesting characterters you will care about.

Although I pride myself in figuring out mysteries, I didn't guess the ending in this case.

This book is a BUY.

This book, in my opinion, was not as well written as the previous books in the series. It seemed very disjointed at times. I also was puzzled by Jake's statement that her ex husband(Victor) was almost 40 years old-yet the couple have a college aged son and she mentioned that she spent her honeymoon in the e.r. waiting room while her husband was performing neurosurgery(at 20-22 years old!!)-quite a stretch, even if he was a genius. Maybe it was an editing mistake, but this and other inconsistencies in the book added to the lack of flow. Hopefully the next book in the series will have the warmth and continuity the previous books had.

The sense of place is so beautifully drawn in this clever little cozy, that I'll excuse the mystery that gets rather lost going down dark alleys and dashing about chasing red herrings in the sleet and the snow. The language is as crisp and cool as the Maine winter. The landscape on the island of Eastport in Washington County, is simply wonderously set out - and is a place I actually was blessed to spend some time last summer. Having a peek during the chill of winter had me turning up the air conditioning, brrrr! Jacobia and Ellie are quirkily charming characters, who easily become very real and dear friends. A fun approach to life and a witty sense of humor come through each page. The rest of the population seems to be made up of hard working, salt of the earth, good to the bone locals -OR seamy, unsavory, irritating characters (including a loathsome ex-husband who isn't to be completely written off). Even the animals have their charms. Well, not the skunk.

I will absolutely have to have some more of Jake & Ellie, and thoroughly look forward to a return visit. Actually, Ms. Graves nearly had me packing up for a more extended stay on the coast of Maine, to join my dear friend who "ran away" almost exactly like Jacobia did.

A terrific mystery with lots of twists and turns, keeping you guessing until the final pages. Its filled with some likeable chatacters and you get a feel for what its like to own a big old home on the coast of Maine. Its a mix of some scarey moments, some real laughs, but mostly a tale of two women who care enough to risk a lot to help a friend blamed for a crime, they feel she didn't commit. I thought it was a wonderful cozy that kept my interest from the first page to the last.

LOVE THAT THE AUTHOR COMBINED TWO OF MY FAVE THINGS, MYSTERIES AND HOME IMPROVEMENT. RECEIVED QUYICKLY AND IN GREAT CONDITION!

Surely gives you the feeling of being cold in Maine in the winter. Sleuth is a home fix it girl, solving crime with friends and family.

This is a wonderful series. The setting, a small island vilage off the coast of Maine, is really special, and so are the characters. Graves' sleuth is a successful carrer woman and single parent who left New York after her divorce with a solid financial situation and the need for some peace and quiet. But that is not to be what with corpses turning up all the time. I'm so happy to have discovered this series, and I hope there will be many more books to come.