Wed and Buried (Bed-And-Breakfast Mysteries (Paperback))

Rating:
Summary: The Bride Goes Over the Balcony
Review: Having read the other 11 books in this series, I was a little disappointed in this one. The book starts out well enough with the wedding of Judith Flynn's son Mike and his long-time girlfriend, Kristen. We have heard a lot about Mike in previous books in the series, but this is the first time he has actually appeared in one. While they are at the rehearsal dinner for Mike's wedding, Judith sees a man in a tux pushing a woman in a bridal gown over a balcony. When her policeman husband Joe is unable to find a body, Judith begins to doubt her sanity. Thereafter we are introduced to a parade of characters, who seem eccentric but somewhat disconnected. Judith, of course, continues her own investigation, trying to stay one step ahead of her husband. The plot is hard to follow and when the killer was revealed I almost didn't care any more. In her attempt to throw out red herrings, author Danheim just makes this book difficult to read.

Rating:
Summary: The Bride Goes Over the Balcony
Review: Having read the other 11 books in this series, I was a little disappointed in this one. The book starts out well enough with the wedding of Judith Flynn's son Mike and his long-time girlfriend, Kristen. We have heard a lot about Mike in previous books in the series, but this is the first time he has actually appeared in one. While they are at the rehearsal dinner for Mike's wedding, Judith sees a man in a tux pushing a woman in a bridal gown over a balcony. When her policeman husband Joe is unable to find a body, Judith begins to doubt her sanity. Thereafter we are introduced to a parade of characters, who seem eccentric but somewhat disconnected. Judith, of course, continues her own investigation, trying to stay one step ahead of her husband. The plot is hard to follow and when the killer was revealed I almost didn't care any more. In her attempt to throw out red herrings, author Danheim just makes this book difficult to read.

Rating:
Summary: Getting Worse Instead of Better
Review: Mary Daheim's 12th (I think) Bed-and-Breakfast Mystery is a BIG disappointment. I really try to support my fellow Washingtonians when they turn author, buying works which I freely admit are not always first-rate. I enjoy the local color and keep hoping they'll improve if we faithful readers keep them financially afloat. BUT...after a dozen books, Daheim is getting worse, not better, and I am pulling the plug! Wed and Buried lacks suspense, lacks humor, and lacks charm. Sleuth Judith Flynn is more than usually limp and brainless, cop husband Joe is boring and patronizing, and standbys such as Cousin Renie and Obnoxious Mom lack enough buoyancy to keep this leaden tome afloat. A Cozy Mystery, by definition, should have charm and chuckles. If it's played for farce, it needs the kind of wacky realism one recognizes in good screen comedy--real people caricatured to the point of hilarity. If it's played for satire, it requires a dry understated wit. Daheim, by contrast, has created a cartoon version of Luci and Desi--a charmless Desi and a whiny Luci. Cousin Renie repeatedly asks Judith why she's bothering to try to solve the mystery of the dead disk jockey, and long before the last page, I found myself wondering the same thing. Why bother, Judith, to solve this mystery? Why bother, Mary, to WRITE this mystery? Why bother, Dear Reader, to read this mystery? Never again.

Rating:
Summary: Getting Worse Instead of Better
Review: Mary Daheim's 12th (I think) Bed-and-Breakfast Mystery is a BIG disappointment. I really try to support my fellow Washingtonians when they turn author, buying works which I freely admit are not always first-rate. I enjoy the local color and keep hoping they'll improve if we faithful readers keep them financially afloat. BUT...after a dozen books, Daheim is getting worse, not better, and I am pulling the plug! Wed and Buried lacks suspense, lacks humor, and lacks charm. Sleuth Judith Flynn is more than usually limp and brainless, cop husband Joe is boring and patronizing, and standbys such as Cousin Renie and Obnoxious Mom lack enough buoyancy to keep this leaden tome afloat. A Cozy Mystery, by definition, should have charm and chuckles. If it's played for farce, it needs the kind of wacky realism one recognizes in good screen comedy--real people caricatured to the point of hilarity. If it's played for satire, it requires a dry understated wit. Daheim, by contrast, has created a cartoon version of Luci and Desi--a charmless Desi and a whiny Luci. Cousin Renie repeatedly asks Judith why she's bothering to try to solve the mystery of the dead disk jockey, and long before the last page, I found myself wondering the same thing. Why bother, Judith, to solve this mystery? Why bother, Mary, to WRITE this mystery? Why bother, Dear Reader, to read this mystery? Never again.

Rating:
Summary: Keep them coming!
Review: Yes, more please. I have introduced Mary Daheim and her Bed and Breakfast novels to many of my friends. They read and also beg for more. Keep them coming.

Rating:
Summary: Keep them coming!
Review: Yes, more please. I have introduced Mary Daheim and her Bed and Breakfast novels to many of my friends. They read and also beg for more. Keep them coming.