Murder in a Nice Neighborhood (Liz Sullivan Mysteries)

Rating:
Summary: Something new and engaging in female detectives
Review: Author Lora Roberts has something new, to this reader at least, in her Liz Sullivan, a poverty-line writer who lives in her VW microbus and tries to keep a low profile as far as the Law is concerned (the police are those guys that tell you to move on). Liz values her privacy most of all, but her routines and vagabond lifestyle are threatened when the body of an abusive street person turns up under her bus,which was parked in the "Nice Neighborhood" of the title. Top points for character, plot and sense of place. This is the lead book in a new series, and should be read first.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Characters & Intriguing Mystery
Review: Liz Sullivan was innocently enjoying a pear and a book when Pigpen Murphy accosted her. Liz could just never get it through to Pigpen that she wasn't interested and never would be interested, bad smell notwithstanding. It is true that she had to be a little more forceful than usual, slamming the door shut on her home, her snug little VW bus, and Pigpen's hand just happened to be in the way at the time, but was that any reason for him to smash a fist through her window? Things just got worse when Liz woke up to find a very dead Pigpen underneath her bus the next morning.

Detective Paul Drake obviously regarded Liz as his prime suspect and a strong flight risk, due to her highly mobile "house." Liz greatly resented Detective Drake prying into her affairs and ripping apart her carefully constructed life in Palo Alto, CA. Liz liked living in the Bay area and didn't want to move, but she knew that it would only be a matter of time before her abusive ex-husband would show up. Still, she couldn't leave before the police investigation was cleared up, so Liz continued researching her new article, teaching a Senior Center Writer's Workshop, swimming at the local pool and helping out the temporarily incapacitated Claudia Kaplan. However, as Liz continued to maintain her innocence, more bodies began to pile up with another vagabond and a sweet old lady being murdered in the same manner. And Liz was the last one reported to see them alive...

Murder in a Nice Neighborhood was a thoroughly enjoyable mystery and a great start to a new series. I found the main character to be very interesting and unique in that she was homeless and what most would consider a vagrant, but she led her life in a normal fashion and had a good reason for traveling around. I also loved her views of the other characters in the book and the author really seemed to have fun with certain stereotypes such as Claudia Kaplan, an author who still mourned her husband's passing 10 years previously and was sharper than a tack; Vivien, a sweet, old retired lady just barely making ends meet, but still determined to live out her life the way she wanted; Delores Mitchell, the all too perfect loan manager who never had a hair out of place and was just so much fun to tease; Ted, the ambitious real estate agent who was ready to pour on the charm, anytime, anyplace; and Paul Drake, the constantly disheveled detective who seemed like a bumbler, but was really a great investigator and a host of others. I enjoyed reading about the characters more than learning about the mystery, actually. I didn't think the mystery was that difficult to solve and had suspicions pretty early on as to whodunit, but the book was still enjoyable and very well written. Recommended for fans of mysteries in the cozy genre.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Characters & Intriguing Mystery
Review: Liz Sullivan was innocently enjoying a pear and a book when Pigpen Murphy accosted her. Liz could just never get it through to Pigpen that she wasn't interested and never would be interested, bad smell notwithstanding. It is true that she had to be a little more forceful than usual, slamming the door shut on her home, her snug little VW bus, and Pigpen's hand just happened to be in the way at the time, but was that any reason for him to smash a fist through her window? Things just got worse when Liz woke up to find a very dead Pigpen underneath her bus the next morning.

Detective Paul Drake obviously regarded Liz as his prime suspect and a strong flight risk, due to her highly mobile "house." Liz greatly resented Detective Drake prying into her affairs and ripping apart her carefully constructed life in Palo Alto, CA. Liz liked living in the Bay area and didn't want to move, but she knew that it would only be a matter of time before her abusive ex-husband would show up. Still, she couldn't leave before the police investigation was cleared up, so Liz continued researching her new article, teaching a Senior Center Writer's Workshop, swimming at the local pool and helping out the temporarily incapacitated Claudia Kaplan. However, as Liz continued to maintain her innocence, more bodies began to pile up with another vagabond and a sweet old lady being murdered in the same manner. And Liz was the last one reported to see them alive...

Murder in a Nice Neighborhood was a thoroughly enjoyable mystery and a great start to a new series. I found the main character to be very interesting and unique in that she was homeless and what most would consider a vagrant, but she led her life in a normal fashion and had a good reason for traveling around. I also loved her views of the other characters in the book and the author really seemed to have fun with certain stereotypes such as Claudia Kaplan, an author who still mourned her husband's passing 10 years previously and was sharper than a tack; Vivien, a sweet, old retired lady just barely making ends meet, but still determined to live out her life the way she wanted; Delores Mitchell, the all too perfect loan manager who never had a hair out of place and was just so much fun to tease; Ted, the ambitious real estate agent who was ready to pour on the charm, anytime, anyplace; and Paul Drake, the constantly disheveled detective who seemed like a bumbler, but was really a great investigator and a host of others. I enjoyed reading about the characters more than learning about the mystery, actually. I didn't think the mystery was that difficult to solve and had suspicions pretty early on as to whodunit, but the book was still enjoyable and very well written. Recommended for fans of mysteries in the cozy genre.