Mystery/Thriller Book Reviews
Page Two of FiveHanging Hannah by Evan Marshall
Kensington, May 2000Hardcover, 320 pages.
ISBN: 1575665506.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
Literary agent and widowed, single mom Jane Stuart
landed in People magazine after her last outing as an
amateur sleuth. Ready to return to a normal life,
Jane dives back into her world of cranky authors and
difficult editors. But then a mysterious woman is found
hanged in the woods near the inn where her son's birthday
party is being held. When editor Holly Griffin gives
Jane the chance to represent pop superstar Goddess,
Jane is thrilled. But Goddess turns out to be a real
handful, and Holly is found murdered at a launch party.
Now Jane has two murders to investigate, and a third
is not far behind. With the help of her tortoiseshell
cat, Winky, and the hunky Lt. Stanley Greenberg
of the Shady Hills PD, Jane must find a murderer who
is about to strike again.
This is the second installment of Evan Marshall's delightful mystery series. Jane's foray into the pop world with youthful superstar Goddess is hilarious, and Jane herself is always fun to watch. The inhabitants of Shady Hills are a lively and interesting bunch, especially the members of Jane's knitting circle who hide a multitude of secrets beneath their knitting patterns and needles. Marshall keeps the pace quick and lively, and his take on the New York literary scene is slyly funny.
--Claire E. White
Evan and Elle by Rhys Bowen
St. Martin's Minotaur, February 2000Hardcover, 224 pages.
ISBN: 0312252447.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
Constable Evan Evans, of the tiny town of Llanfair
in North Wales is more used to sorting out local
village problems than conducting a sophisticated
arson investigation. But when an English couple's
house is burned down and a Frenchwoman's restaurant
is also torched, it looks as if Evans will have to
assist obnoxious arson inspector Peter Potter in his
investigation of what appear to be hate crimes by
someone determined to rid Wales of foreigners. When
the body in the burned restaurant turns out to have
been stabbed before it was burned, the investigation
takes Constable Evans and Sergeant Wilkins to England
and to France in order to
discover the identity of the body. They discover that
Madame Yvette Bouchard has a few skeletons in her
closet and must rush home in order to prevent another
tragedy.
Spending time with Constable Evans and the inhabitants of Llanfair is like spending time with old friends. The inhabitants of Llanfair, from the fair Bronwyn Price, the schoolteacher, to the hotheaded Evans the Meat (the butcher) to the dueling pastors of rival churches, are all enormously diverting. The local Welsh scenery is vivid and makes one want to book a trip to Wales immediately. Rhys Bowen's series is charming and funny, and extremely well-executed. Fans of the village mystery will enjoy making the acquaintance of Evans and the other inhabitants of the quaint village Llanfair.
--Claire E. White
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