- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (Feb 11 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 031230501X
- ISBN-13: 978-0312305017
- Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 14.7 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 445 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,966,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Mark Manning, the star of Craft's long-running gay sleuth series (Hot Spot, etc.), and his nephew, Thad, who's performing in one of Claire's plays at Desert Arts College in Palm Springs, Calif., lend a hand in the second whodunit to feature the illustrious theater director (after 2002's Desert Autumn). The author metes out just enough hints to give the astute reader an idea of who killed wealthy collector Stewart Chaffee, a lecherous octogenarian with any number of enemies, including his estranged niece and insolent, euthanasia-supporting nurse. As usual, gay characters and assorted odd couples, such as the 50ish Claire and her 20-something boyfriend, behave just as humanly as more conventional people. In the end, Craft shows that proving one's innocence can be as important as finding the guilty.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Description
After 30 some odd years of success as a director on Broadway, Claire Gray has accepted her first academic position - that of a theatrical director at the richly funded Desert Arts College in Palm Springs. Having lived a largely peaceful life in Manhattan, she is stunned to find herself in the midst of the second murder - and murder investigation - in a matter of months in Palm Springs. This time it's a local aged and ailing collector - who frequently lends pieces to local charity events or dramatic productions - found dead shortly after Claire's friend and neighbor Grant Knoll was there. With Grant a suspect in his murder, along with several others with equally good motives for wanting him dead, Claire decides to look into the circumstances of his unfortunate death.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Stewart Chaffee heaved a derisive grunt. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Stewart Chaffee heaved a derisive grunt. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Even Better Than the First Claire Gray Mystery,
By A Customer
This review is from: Desert Winter: A Claire Gray Mystery (Hardcover)
Having enjoyed the first Claire Gray mystery, of course I was looking forward to this second novel in the series. This installment fleshes out the characters introduced in the first novel, and I enjoyed it even more than the debut. The mystery is first class! The ending will suprise you!Mark Manning & Thad "guest star", and it is great to see them interact with the characters in this series. I hope Thad hangs around!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Continues to Stump,
By Jeffrey Goodall (Dickson City, PA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Desert Winter: A Claire Gray Mystery (Hardcover)
Michael Craft does an amazing job of charachter and place description. I feel that I know these charachters. And they are all quite likeable. As is the 2nd Claire Gray mystery. I found it to be better than the first with its twists and turns that keep one guessing to the end. I highly suggest you read this one!
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Winter's Tale for Any Season,
By
This review is from: Desert Winter: A Claire Gray Mystery (Hardcover)
Graham Greene, C. S. Lewis, and Tolkien are writers who divide their work between "serious" and "entertaining" literature. My time constraints are such that I normally limit my focus to the former category, which has already expanded beyond the reading capabilities of any mortal in the course of a single lifetime (thank goodness, the amount of guilt does not grow in proportion to the books remaining to be read). Books from the latter category, I've always consoled myself, are primarily escapist narratives that can be enjoyed equally, and certainly more efficiently, in the medium of film. In spite of my principles, I found myself alone in a room with Michael Craft's "Desert Winter" and enough time to read the first page. Bad mistake--especially for addictive personalities such as mine. The theme of murder hits you in the first sentence with cinematic forcefulness, then quickly yields to a POV that would be impossible to capture in a movie: a Christmas ornament in the form of a meticulously described, watchful cherub blowing a trumpet. On whom? I immediately ask myself. The narrator plays with this motif through the end of the chapter, employing it in comical and suggestive ways that could never be translated to film. And the narrative, moreover, practically makes a case for its own integrity when, still in the first chapter, an allusion to "Laura," both the film classic and its literary antecedents, calls attention to the more realistic but also more obvious and less playful status of the film version. By this point I'm hooked. Normally, reading for me is a form of "work," with chapter endings representing welcome respites. Not so this backstage mystery story. With its colorful cast of characters, sharply observed descriptions, and playful plotting, I found it hard not to get ahead of the author's game. My advice: Don't try to match wits with Claire Gray unless you're absolutely assured you have the self-discipline not to peek ahead.
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