Exiles on Main Street

Rating:
Summary: She Wanted a New Life, But Found a Murder
Review: EXILES ON MAIN STREET opens with Zoe Szabo walking up to a snow covered car in the mall parking lot in Greymont, Massachusetts. The Cambodian immigrant woman in it had a little blood frozen on the corner of her mouth. She had been repeatedly stabbed. She was very dead.

Zoe, who had been working for Rolling Stone Magazine and had moved from the Rock scene in LA to get away from the fast and wild life, is seeking a small town normal existence, because her musician husband had a drug problem. Hopefully she could raise her kids quietly and her husband could stay clean in New England.

But the killing takes over her life, as she's first and foremost a reporter. She'd done some stories on the Cambodian community in Greymont and that gives her an edge in her investigation into the crime. And there are several theories. Was the woman killed by the boyfriend who broke off their engagement? Or had she been the victim of a hate crime? Was she murdered by someone in her family for breaking with the old Cambodian ways? Or was she killed by a Khmer Rouge assassin?

Zoe uses her contacts in the Cambodian community to chase what she believes is the story of a lifetime. However she's got plenty of other stuff to worry about besides a story. She has to find time for her kids and her husband, who wants to form a band and jump back in to the rock and roll lifestyle. And all the while she's getting closer and closer to the killer.

This is an excellent book that will both open your eyes to how hard it is for many immigrants to assimulate into their new country and entertain you as you race through the pages to its exciting climax.

Reviewed by Stephanie Sane

Rating:
Summary: Maybe the Perfect Town isn't so Perfect, After All
Review: Greymont, Massachusetts is the perfect place to raise a couple small children, the perfect place to have a normal life. At least that's what rock journalist Zoe Szabo thought when she'd moved her family to the small New England College town. No more chasing after her musician husband as he toured with his band, plus away from that life would make it easier for him to stay clean.

Once settled, Zoe got a job on the Greymont Evening Eagle and went about the business of making her dream of normalcy come true. She'd been working on a story about the Cambodian immigrant community and how difficult it is for them to fit into the new England lifestyle, when she discovers the body of a Cambodian woman in a snow covered car in the parking lot of the local mall. She may have moved away from the big city, but she still knows a story when she sees one and she knows right of the bat that there is more to this murder than the cops might think.

Her instincts lead her down a trail that soon has her thinking that maybe the safe, small town she'd moved her family to isn't the safest place to raise her children, after all?

EXILES ON MAIN STREET is an engaging mystery filled with the troubling undertones of racial discrimination, stereotyping and a deep awareness of cultural differences. That said, it's a book I stayed awake with till the wee hours of the morn, a book I thoroughly enjoyed and one I think you will too.

Sara "Babe" Hackett, Girlfriend from the Darkside

Rating:
Summary: A riveting read
Review: I wasn't sure if I would like this book or not, but once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. The book is set in Greymont, Massachusetts, where a former rock editor, Zoe Szabo and family, have moved after living the fast life. Zoe is a reporter for the local paper writing features and such. When Zoe discovers the body of a young Cambodian woman who is murdered, Zoe follows the case.

Given Zoe's previous ties to the Cambodian community, she is able to identify the body before the police and becomes deeply involved with covering the story and also solving the murder.

I thought the author did a great job of tying in the Cambodian immigrant situation into the plot. And also, I enjoyed the interaction throughout the book with Chram's (the murdered woman) family.

Also enjoyable was the give-and-take Zoe had to juggle being a mom, a reporter and a wife. Her husband and kids were adorable and the family added a nice piece to the storyline.

Overall, I enjoyed the book immensely. It kept me interested and entertained. I would recommend this book highly to all.

Rating:
Summary: A Beautifully Crafted Mystery - I couldn't Put it Down
Review: It is rare to find a mystery that manages to combine a richly defined cast of characters with a well constructed plot that keeps you turning pages long after you know it's time for bed. But that is exactly what you'll find in Exiles on Mainstreet.

The whodunit facets of this tale are extremely well designed. There are twists and turns to the plot that catch you just when you think you know what is going on and make the story that much more compelling. The characters are fully developed and have distinctive voices. The setting is perfectly described.

This is an author who can hold her own with authors of detective fiction like Martha Grimes and Lawrence Block who create vibrant characters in distinctive settings and let them lead the reader through emotionally and mentally satifying mystery labyrinths. My only complaint is that I yearn to read more from this author but so far this is her only book!

Rating:
Summary: Pursued by a relentless past
Review: Small-town reporter Zoe Szabo is juggling a shaky marriage, motherhood and a radical lifestyle change from her rock and roll writing past when she encounters the body of a murdered Cambodian immigrant. Deftly combining her knowledge of the problems facing the members of this community in exile from their war-torn land with skillful plotting, Kleinholz has created a fascinating story of the ways in which we carry our past with us. Zoe is a very human and likeable protagonist, and I look forward to her next adventure. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating View of Another Culture
Review: This was an excellent, enjoyable story. The close-knit Massachusetts community, engaging news reporter heroine, and focus on Cambodian refugees made for an engrossing, fast read. I could not guess whodunit and was swept along in sleuth Zoe's quest for the truth. In particular, I loved the references to Lois Lane. I used to read Superman in my younger days, so I understood Zoe's admiration of Lois's courage. I'm looking forward to another absorbing story by this author.

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing
Review: When reporter Zoë Szabo and her rock and roll husband move to a small town in New England, Zoë thinks that her wild and dangerous days are past. As they settle in to their new community, Zoë completes a series of articles on Cambodian refugees and when a young Cambodian woman is murdered Zoë is assigned the story. As she investigates she begins to find out information that immerses her in the dangerous world of the Khmer Rouge and the deadly secrets that members of the Cambodian community have tried to forget. This is a fascinating look at the Cambodian refugee culture and an interesting mystery to boot. Exiles On Main Street is recommended for mystery lovers.

Rating:
Summary: Smart modern mystery
Review: When reporter Zoë Szabo and her rock and roll husband move to a small town in New England, Zoë thinks that her wild and dangerous days are past. As they settle in to their new community, Zoë completes a series of articles on Cambodian refugees and when a young Cambodian woman is murdered Zoë is assigned the story. As she investigates she begins to find out information that immerses her in the dangerous world of the Khmer Rouge and the deadly secrets that members of the Cambodian community have tried to forget. This is a fascinating look at the Cambodian refugee culture and an interesting mystery to boot. Exiles On Main Street is recommended for mystery lovers.

Rating:
Summary: genuine whodunit
Review: When Zoe, a small town reporter clad in punk fashion, mother of two tots and married to a former rock star musician, stumbles upon the corpse of a Cambodian refugee, she is determined to find the killer. Along the way, she must grapple with her loyalty to supporters of the

Cambodian refugees and to her profession as she juggles family and career.

Rating:
Summary: A First Rate Small Town Mystery
Review: Zoe Szabo and her family have moved away from a rock and roll lifestyle in LA, seeking a normal life in quiet college town Greymont, Massachusetts. She has a couple small children, a boy and a girl, and a rock and roller husband who is struggling to stay clean, so Zoe has to go to work to support her family. In her old life she reported for Rolling Stone Magazine, in this new life she takes a job at the Greymont Evening Eagle, however, she manages to preserve a bit of her old self, sporting platinum hair with a pink streak and wearing clothes that are more appropriate for a wild night on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard than in Greymont, with it's New England Yankees, college students and a growing number of Cambodian immigrants.

While covering a story at the local mall, Zoe stumbles on the body of a young Cambodian woman in a car in the parking lot. She sees that the woman has been brutally murdered, stabbed several times, and begins to gather information. She goes through notes and photos of a Cambodian wedding ceremony she recently covered and figures out who the dead woman is.

As Zoe gathers more information about the victim's last days, both her ethics and her marriage are tested, but the reader's desire to finish the book is not. Lisa Kleinholz has delivered a mystery that both entertains and informs. A story that never gets too bogged down in detail, delivers just the right amount of clues and will maybe open your eyes a little bit about the plight of new immigrants in the good ole' US of A.