Death and the Joyful Woman

Rating:
Summary: Repetitive from the first in the series.
Review: Ellis Peters is a very good author, so I don't understand why she would have used the same trick in each of the first two books in the George Felse series. Also, I thought that this series was a George Felse series, but both of the first two books have his young son Dominic as the key character and the one who actually solves the case in each instance. This book also exposes poor Dominic to an adolescent crush that seems to take over the plot of the story. Needless to say, I was very disappointed with this book. I do hope that subsequent books in the series have different plots and a little less of a certain adolescent boy. In this book a rich business magnate is found brutally murdered in his brand new ballroom in his brand new hotel. The police seem to be at sixes and sevens throughout the book, and it appears that this murder is just "too complicated" for them to solve, but it was easily figured out by Dominic. Disappointed (and that's the first time ever that I've said this about Ellis Peters).

Rating:
Summary: "Death and the Joyful Woman": Rediscovering the Felses
Review: Is vulgarity grounds for murder? Alfred Armiger had antagonized many with his greed and crass acquisitiveness. So when the ruthless beer baron is discovered dead, his head beaten in by a magnum of champagne, there is no shortage of suspects. But all of Comerford is shocked with Detective George Felse arrests Kitty Norris, the daughter of a rival beer baron, the last person to see Armiger alive, and the main beneficiary of his will! But Kitty, charming and popular, has an unexpected advocate in Felse's young son, Dominic, who secretly adores her. Passionately convinced of Kitty's innocence, Dominic sets out to find the true culprit, a hazardous undertaking that might well cost him his life!

Best known for the Brother Cadfael mysteries, Ellis Peters actually wrote the Felse series first, but until recent years, these appealing books have been out of print in the United States. "Death and the Joyful Woman," which received an Edgar Award, deserves a warm welcome from American readers. Peters has told not only an engaging mystery but a sensitive coming-of-age story as well. Characters and relationships are sharply delineated--Dominic is a highly likable teen sleuth and his interactions with his parents, especially his father, are both amusing and touching. And a subplot concerning a struggling young couple and an unusual painting--the Joyful Woman of the title--proves just as involving as the main storyline. Readers of "Fallen into the Pit," Peters' first Felse mystery, may notice that the method Dominic uses to flush out the murderer is similar to the one he employs here, but this is a minor quibble in an otherwise excellent novel. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: "Death and the Joyful Woman": Rediscovering the Felses
Review: Is vulgarity grounds for murder? Alfred Armiger had antagonized many with his greed and crass acquisitiveness. So when the ruthless beer baron is discovered dead, his head beaten in by a magnum of champagne, there is no shortage of suspects. But all of Comerford is shocked with Detective George Felse arrests Kitty Norris, the daughter of a rival beer baron, the last person to see Armiger alive, and the main beneficiary of his will! But Kitty, charming and popular, has an unexpected advocate in Felse's young son, Dominic, who secretly adores her. Passionately convinced of Kitty's innocence, Dominic sets out to find the true culprit, a hazardous undertaking that might well cost him his life!

Best known for the Brother Cadfael mysteries, Ellis Peters actually wrote the Felse series first, but until recent years, these appealing books have been out of print in the United States. "Death and the Joyful Woman," which received an Edgar Award, deserves a warm welcome from American readers. Peters has told not only an engaging mystery but a sensitive coming-of-age story as well. Characters and relationships are sharply delineated--Dominic is a highly likable teen sleuth and his interactions with his parents, especially his father, are both amusing and touching. And a subplot concerning a struggling young couple and an unusual painting--the Joyful Woman of the title--proves just as involving as the main storyline. Readers of "Fallen into the Pit," Peters' first Felse mystery, may notice that the method Dominic uses to flush out the murderer is similar to the one he employs here, but this is a minor quibble in an otherwise excellent novel. Highly recommended.