A Puree of Poison

Rating:
Summary: Civil War reenactors and mysterious deaths
Review: Everyone is getting ready for the 133rd anniversary of the Battle of Hemlock Falls. Quill is getting the Inn ready, but her sister, Meg, is more concerned about her fiancé, Dr. Andy Bishop.

Recently three people died at the hospital. He was their physician. All three were sick, but what brought them to the hospital should not have killed them. Meg is quite concerned about Andy and how he is taking all of this. Then it is discovered that all three dined at the Inn before going to the hospital.

Quill interviews the families of the three dead people to try to determine what each person ate, who they interacted with, and what they did while they were at the Inn. She is trying to keep the fact that they dined at the Inn before dying away from her sister Meg. She knows she would not take this news well.

There is also controversy about who really won the Battle of Hemlock Falls. This puts the town in turmoil. The Chamber of Commerce, of which Quill is the secretary, tries to iron things out with the reenactors.

The many characters that live in Hemlock Falls are so well constructed. I feel as if I know each one. I enjoy the books in this series and always look forward to reading the next book.

Quill always finds a way to get herself in the middle of the murder investigations. She often finds herself in danger, and many times brings her sister or a friend along with her.

Hemlock Falls is the type of town you'd like to vacation in and the Inn at Hemlock Falls is a place you'd want to stay, except for all the murders! Even so, I'd vacation there in a heartbeat if I could.

I highly recommend this book.




Rating:
Summary: One of the Better Ones of this Series
Review: I was impressed with this entry in the long-running Hemlock Falls series. There were some interesting subplots: Meg, the chef sister, sometimes comes off as a caricature but not in this book; Miles may be disappearing for about a year on a secret mission...
I was also surprised to see some quite current relevant mentions in this book; e.g., Enron, Iraq.
A group of Civil War reenactors swarm into the inn at Hemlock Falls ready to reenact the 133rd anniversary of the Battle of Hemlock. Meanwhile, three of Meg's boyfriend's (Andy, a doctor) patients have died mysteriously and he asks Quill to help find out what happened. The two plots are interwoven quite nicely and also wrapped up quite satisfactorily.
I hope to see more of this series as I find it one of the more enjoyable ones out there (with the exception of just one or two earlier episodes).

Rating:
Summary: A Sunny Beach Read
Review: My Mystery Book group read A Puree of Poison for our January selection and everyone hated it! In a word, it was just silly! We thought that Meg had a case of arrested development with all the tantrums she threw.The other quirky characters seemed more annoying than engaging. We all agreed that Dina, the receptionist, had a big mouth and major attitude problem which no employer in his right mind would have tolerated. I kept hoping for The Donald to pop up and say "You're fired!!!"

I had read the first three books in the series and had really enjoyed them, but Puree was a big disappointment.Also, I think that Claudia Bishop may have lifted the Civil War idea from the TV show "Ed." This season "Ed" had a similar episode about the reenactment of a Civil War battle which Stuckeyville had supposedly won but actually had lost. Coincidence? Who knows? Just save your time and money and pass on this puree.

Rating:
Summary: PLEASE - pass the puree!!!
Review: My Mystery Book group read A Puree of Poison for our January selection and everyone hated it! In a word, it was just silly! We thought that Meg had a case of arrested development with all the tantrums she threw.The other quirky characters seemed more annoying than engaging. We all agreed that Dina, the receptionist, had a big mouth and major attitude problem which no employer in his right mind would have tolerated. I kept hoping for The Donald to pop up and say "You're fired!!!"

I had read the first three books in the series and had really enjoyed them, but Puree was a big disappointment.Also, I think that Claudia Bishop may have lifted the Civil War idea from the TV show "Ed." This season "Ed" had a similar episode about the reenactment of a Civil War battle which Stuckeyville had supposedly won but actually had lost. Coincidence? Who knows? Just save your time and money and pass on this puree.

Rating:
Summary: A Sunny Beach Read
Review: Oh, come C.O. Steffen. You are being harsh and ridiculous. Once again Bishop has come up with an entertaining tale to wile away an afternoon at the beach or wherever. Always clever and fun. Would recommend any of Claudia Bishop's books for an afternoon of escape.