Death Club (Detective Inspector Carol Ashton Mysteries)

Rating:
Summary: Keeps the reader guessing until the very end of the story
Review: A native Aussie, Claire McNab, now living in Los Angeles, is the author of thirteen Detective Inspector Carol Ashton mysteries and two Denise Cleever mysteries, Murder Undercover and Death Understood. Her next Denise Cleever mystery is due out in the fall of 2001 and is entitled Out Of Sight. Claire McNab presently teaches fiction writing in the UCLA Extension program in Writing.

As its title implies, Death Club, the latest mystery featuring Carol Ashton as lead crime fighter, is set at the Whitlew Country Club. Gussie Whitlew is throwing a huge golf tournament entitled The Whitlew Challenge. Gussie Whitlew is a fashion designer who is fantastically wealthy and is used to her own way. When her leading challenger, Fiona Hawk, is found dead on the fourth hole of the course, the tournament is thrown into disarray. Carol is on the case, and her special gift for tracking that reveals clues and draws out witnesses other officers would miss:

"Carol smiled. 'I don't scream,' she said. 'It doesn't go with my position.' He made an amused sound, then said, 'You can call me Vinny, if you like. I haven't been Vincent Goss for a long, long time.' He raised one hand to knock his knuckles gently against the side of his head. 'Scrambled,' he said. 'Before I had problems, I was a university lecturer. Economics. Isn't that a laugh?'"

Indeed, one of Claire McNab's strongest suits is her development of character. She has an uncanny understanding of human nature. It reminds this reviewer of Jane Marple's statement that people are "not so very different." Death Club proves this point over and over, as Carol Ashton instinctively ferrets out the bare details of the case. McNab is wonderful at keeping the reader guessing until the very end of the story. Carol does most of the dirty work herself, including the postmortem, wiring herself up, and even placing herself in danger for a final denouement.

McNab leads her readers on a merry chase. Her style is sassy, fun, and is full of chills and spills. She knows her craft, and isn't afraid to stretch a little to flesh out her characters. Carol Ashton is steady, takes no nonsense from those around her, but isn't afraid to have doubts about herself and her relationships. She is a strong woman with keen insight who keeps us glued and guessing.

Rating:
Summary: McNab's Back on Track!
Review: Another good mystery from McNab. Detective Inspector Carol Ashton is back in Australia after her adventures in Washington. She called in to investigate the murder of a professional golfer at Australia's premiere women's golf tournament. As Bourke, Ashton's associate, says, "We have a victim who has more enemies than friends, a suspect list that's growing, and a wide-open time of death, so that practically everyone seems to have had the opportunity to do murder." But Ashton and her team painstakingly investigate each clue as it's presented to them until Ashton finally figures out who committed murder. I was pretty smug because I had it figured out who the murderer was about half way through. I remained smug right up to the moment Ashton revealed who the real murderer was - and, of course, McNab had not tricked me at all - she had only written a villanous character who I was willing to lay the murder on. McNab got off course a few books back, but she's back on course and writing good procedurals. Her characters are well drawn and keep growing, her plotting is excellent and she's even writing better than she had been. This is an excellent read!!

Rating:
Summary: Time to bury this body...
Review: Detective Inspector Carol Ashton is a protaganist who has outlived her plot. This story's ending was so abrupt and illogical, it left this reader feeling disappointed and betrayed.

And speaking of betrayal, ever since Carol parted ways with her better half, Sybil, several episodes ago, this series has been heading down hill. It would be merciful if McNab would wrap up this project and put it to rest. That would leave her more time to develop her other series starring Denise Cleever who, unlike Carol, still has a heart.

Rating:
Summary: Time to bury this body...
Review: I gave this book two stars because it's Clair McNab whose prose is beautiful and dialog crisp and believable. Her books are easy to read. Yes, Clair McNab can write. I just wish she would. Solving the mystery relied on interviewing one lying suspect after another until Carol solves the murder through grinding police work. I will admit to being kept guessing until the end as to the identity of the murderer. And I was thankful that we were not subjected another scene of Carol blundering into the perpetrator and nearly being killed as she was in her previous two outings.

With regard to Carol's arid personal life, this book like her last two before it was flat. There has been little in the way of character development of Carol's latest love interest. Leota Woolfe who was introduced in the previous book, "Under Suspicion", shows up in Australia for the perfunctory love scene (read sex without much emotional impact). I have yet to discover what Leota sees in Carol or vise versa. Yet, ...Leota proclaims her love for Carol. Huh? And it seems that Carol continues to have "feelings" for her former lover, Sybil, but never acts on or even muses over them. I am very tired of this unresolved and un-addressed non-relationship. But McNab seems content to let this old love hang like clouds over Sydney harbor. I had hoped for more.

Rating:
Summary: Same Old Same Old
Review: I gave this book two stars because it's Clair McNab whose prose is beautiful and dialog crisp and believable. Her books are easy to read. Yes, Clair McNab can write. I just wish she would. Solving the mystery relied on interviewing one lying suspect after another until Carol solves the murder through grinding police work. I will admit to being kept guessing until the end as to the identity of the murderer. And I was thankful that we were not subjected another scene of Carol blundering into the perpetrator and nearly being killed as she was in her previous two outings.

With regard to Carol's arid personal life, this book like her last two before it was flat. There has been little in the way of character development of Carol's latest love interest. Leota Woolfe who was introduced in the previous book, "Under Suspicion", shows up in Australia for the perfunctory love scene (read sex without much emotional impact). I have yet to discover what Leota sees in Carol or vise versa. Yet, ...Leota proclaims her love for Carol. Huh? And it seems that Carol continues to have "feelings" for her former lover, Sybil, but never acts on or even muses over them. I am very tired of this unresolved and un-addressed non-relationship. But McNab seems content to let this old love hang like clouds over Sydney harbor. I had hoped for more.

Rating:
Summary: Let Carol Ashton Die with Dignity
Review: I hate it when a good character gets boring, and that's what has happened to poor Detective Inspector Carol Ashton. I think this series either needs to retire or be reborn. Actually it could have stopped several books before. What happened to Carol? She use to be intriguing, multidementional, not to mention sexy. Now we the typical Niad 200 page, spit out another of a series of watered down (maybe edited out), over priced piece of junk. My hope is when number 14 shows up I have enough sense to hold on the my money.