- Hardcover: 400 pages
- Publisher: Ballantine Books (Sep 30 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 034544972X
- ISBN-13: 978-0345449726
- Product Dimensions: 24.3 x 16.1 x 3.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 653 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,204,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
What's a girl to do when an article she writes provides an opportunity for a killer to strike or so she thinks? Well, if it's Molly Blume, Krich's Orthodox Jewish true-crime reporter and author, making her second smart, exciting appearance (after 2002's Blues in the Night), she'll investigate the crime herself until justice is meted out. When community members in several Los Angeles districts attempt to impose HARP (Historic Architectural Restoration and Preservation) status on their neighborhoods, effectively preventing the rebuilding and renovation of houses that don't comply with historic architectural standards, anger flares and some buildings are vandalized. Molly thinks she has found a pattern in the attacks, and despite pleas from local officials, includes much of her theory and findings in one of her weekly columns. To her chagrin, the next hit results in the death of an elderly man with Alzheimer's whom Molly has befriended in a fire that police classify as arson and that's the clincher that soon puts her on guard as she, too, becomes a target. With sensitivity, passion and an investigative approach that's on the money, the rebellious and independent Molly displays an uncompromising resolve to unearth the truth. Krich provides just enough clues in just the right places to keep readers on their toes, waiting for the resolution while hoping the mystery won't end quite yet.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Molly Blume is the first to admit she is nosy, impatient, and stubborn. But her character serves her well in her chosen profession: true-crime writer. Molly's radar bleeps when the death of a confused elderly man appears to be related to a rash of vandalism that she's been investigating. Good thing she's curious, as the death turns out to be murder, and the connection to the vandalism fades into the background in the face of the man's family squabbles and the strange disappearance of his daughter, Linney. Molly's ties to her Orthodox Jewish family (and to her new boyfriend, Zack, an Orthodox rabbi) seem especially strong juxtaposed against Linney's sad family history, and they add an extra element of reality to Molly's character, showing how she manages to derive pleasure and solace from both her work and her faith. There's an unusual neighborhood feel about this L.A. crime story that gives a strong sense of people living in a real community. Even readers unfamiliar with Molly's previous adventures can enjoy this one. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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First Sentence
IF YOU HAD ASKED ME BEFORE I HEARD OF MAGGIE Reston whether a house could be a magnet for murder, I would have automatically thought of The Dungeon, which is what we've always called the coal-gray house on Martel. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
IF YOU HAD ASKED ME BEFORE I HEARD OF MAGGIE Reston whether a house could be a magnet for murder, I would have automatically thought of The Dungeon, which is what we've always called the coal-gray house on Martel. Read the first page
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
SUPERB READING,
By
This review is from: Dream House (Audio Cassette)
Remembered for her splendid performance of "Blues In The Night," actress/voice performer Deanna Hurst gives an equally listenable reading of Ms. Krich's latest.When does an act of petty vandalism become an evil act? That's the thread of this compelling mystery starring Molly Blume, ace reporter of true crimes. Privileged residents of a luxe Los Angeles neighborhood are more than a little annoyed when pranksters (?) heave a pumpkin through windows and pitch eggs at front doors. Homeowners in this area expect the best, and are already ticked off at the preservation boards that prevent them from remodeling their pricey digs. Then, more terrifying than annoying, fire breaks out on Fuller Street at the home of Margaret and Hank Reston. The ensuing flames take the life of Margaret's elderly father. To Molly, arson doesn't fit the pattern of thrown eggs and pumpkins. Furthermore, Margaret is missing. Last seen in her garden some five months before she seems to have vanished leaving only a trace of blood. The police are stymied, and so is Molly. But she doesn't stop. "Dream House" is a unique crime story sure to entertain and enthrall.
5.0 out of 5 stars
SPLENDID VOICE PERFORMANCE,
By
This review is from: Dream House (Audio Cassette)
Remembered for her splendid performance of "Blues In The Night," actress/voice performer Deanna Hurst gives an equally listenable reading of Ms. Krich's latest.When does an act of petty vandalism become an evil act? That's the thread of this compelling mystery starring Molly Blume, ace reporter of true crimes. Privileged residents of a luxe Los Angeles neighborhood are more than a little annoyed when pranksters (?) heave a pumpkin through windows and pitch eggs at front doors. Homeowners in this area expect the best, and are already ticked off at the preservation boards that prevent them from remodeling their pricey digs. Then, more terrifying than annoying, fire breaks out on Fuller Street at the home of Margaret and Hank Reston. The ensuing flames take the life of Margaret's elderly father. To Molly, arson doesn't fit the pattern of thrown eggs and pumpkins. Furthermore, Margaret is missing. Last seen in her garden some five months before she seems to have vanished leaving only a trace of blood. The police are stymied, and so is Molly. But she doesn't stop. "Dream House" is a unique crime story sure to entertain and enthrall. - Gail Cooke
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good golly! Miss Molly!,
By
This review is from: Dream House (Hardcover)
Molly Blume doesn't like loose ends. Her career as a crime novelist free lance journalist involves making sense out of horrific bits and pieces taken from police blotters and weaving them into cohesive investigative reports. When the pieces don't fit, she wants to know why. A series of seemingly random acts of malicious vandalism in LA's exclusive Hancock Park catches her attention, and an initial swing through the neighborhood provides her with a first hand introduction to the kind of fiery dissension pro and anti-HARP (Historic Architectural Restoration and Preservation) forces have created in that area, an impression which is reinforced after she attends an acrimonious meeting where both factions are present. Her involvement with the dispute deepens and becomes more personal due to a chance encounter with former professor of architecture, Oscar Linney, whom she finds wandering the street in a mental fog and takes home to the house he once shared with his daughter Margaret and his irascible son-in-law Hank, thus precipitating her directly into the affairs of the troubled Reston family. Here are puzzles galore. It seems Margaret vanished without a trace five months ago, and now the house is up for sale. Inexplicably, a few days later, it burns to the ground with Linney trapped inside. While the police opine a case of HARP-related arson with tragic but accidental consequences, Molly's sense of order insists that there must be a connection between Margaret's disappearance and her father's death. Establishing it puts her right in the line of fire as she turns up enough missing links to eventually form a horrifying picture of greed, graft and corruption, point the police in the right direction to catch a clever and ruthless killer and write - 30 - to her story.I think Molly Blume is one of the most thoroughly satisfying, utterly delightful new sleuths to come along in ages. "Blues in the Night" hooked me, but "Dream House" sold me. I always expect rock-solid, off-beat plotting and expert craftsmanship from Rochelle Krich, but the mysteries that really ignite the fan impulse in me are novels of character. And Molly is such a wonderfully complex one! She's smart, caring, feisty...and fun! Lagniappe? Ms. Krich does such a superb job of delineating Molly's deep commitment to her Orthodox Jewish faith that her on-again-off-again romance with her rabbi boyfriend adds still another dimension of depth and humor to her adventures. I think James Joyce would be very happy with 21st century Molly...I know I am.
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