When Ellie Haskell arrives at the Chitteron Fells Library meeting, she discovers the librarian's corpse sprawled next to an open copy of The Dream Lover and must unmask the killer before she meets her own untimely--an unromantic--fate. Reprint.
How to Murder the Man of Your Dreams
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From Publishers Weekly
The sleuthing is lightweight in this seventh Ellie Haskell story (following How to Murder Your Mother-in-Law), but Cannell's energetic style, loquacious storytelling and subtle humor are firmly in place. After the death of the local librarian in Chitterdon Fells, the recently married milkman adopts her rambunctious dog and the Library League decides to place a bust of the deceased woman in the library. Ellie, who has just hired an au pair for her twins, agrees to contact romance paperback model Karisma to ask if he will appear in a fundraising event. Karisma consents, but, before he arrives, the portly milkman meets an undignified end, suffering a heart attack while trying to wrestle a piece of steak from his new dog. Then, in an apparent accident, Karisma meets his maker in the library. Ellie doubts that the rash of deaths in her small community is just bad luck and, setting her mind to it, finds no shortage of murder suspects. While readers will relish Cannell's witty intelligence, some may wish that this tale, with no clear murder until near the end and little active detection, placed more emphasis on its mystery elements.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
Ellie Haskell, happily married to a former paid escort, finds herself absorbed in her twin toddlers, romance novels, and the idea of a career in interior design. Also distancing her from her handsome hubby are events in Chitterton Fells: the town librarian dies under mysterious circumstances, Ellie's nemesis cousin descends on her, and the Library League invites Ellie's fantasy, Karisma?a hunky paperback cover model?to a fundraiser. While told with tongue firmly and dramatically in cheek, the plot loses some humor to often viciously articulate prose and recherche detail. For series fans (e.g., The Widow's Club, Bantam, 1988).
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By audrey
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I've read four books by this author, three of them about Ellie Haskell, resident of Chitterton Fells and member of the Library League. In some ways I thought this was the best of them all -- Mrs. Malloy is hysterical here and the premise revolving around romance fiction is funny as well. But there are also minor problems. The mystery itself is confusing -- lots of people die, but not necessarily of unnatural causes, and the tension never really builds; the depiction of the village's two librarians is lazy and stereotypical; and two of Cannell's best characters, Freddy and Jonas, are not here -- they are away on a camping trip!
Despite the problems this is a fun book. I would recommend it if you are a fan of the author, but not if you are mainly interested in reading a challenging mystery.
By norska
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is a cozy-style mystery: written about the happenings in a small village, with a lot of emphasis on the characters. It has a good deal of dry humor - sometimes so dry you almost miss it. I managed to slog thru the whole book, hoping it would get better, but it really didn't. The pacing of the story was very slow, and there was no real sense of suspense or building towards a climax. The high point was barely a bump in the road. There were just too many subplots and points that distracted my attention, most of which didn't have enough of a payoff in the end when the threads tried to come together (and many of them didn't link at all) I suppose some of the plotlines were intended to be red herrings, but it is overkill when you're completely distracted and bored by long tangents that have no satisfactory resolution.
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Dorothy has done it again! Even though my spouse looked at the book on nightstand and then promptly announced he'll be sleeping on the couch it was worthwhile! It permitted me to stay up late into the night reading like you will laughing out loud as Elie stumbles across a librarian mysteriously and meeting her demise in the city library, then finds herself vis-a-vis with "Karisma" the hunk of hunks from her favorite romance novels coming to town. Karisma becomes endangered by possibly the same entity that caused the librarian to have a meeting with the grim reaper and Elie finds her own life endangered unless she finds the mysterious presence of Chitterton Fells Library. Don't miss this especially if you're a Dorothy Cannell fan!
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3.2 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enchanting, delicious, wild ride
I just finished this book, which was the most light-hearted, inventive, delicious read I've had in a really long time. Read more
Published on Oct 1 2000
1.0 out of 5 stars
An acquired taste, maybe?
Satire is perhaps the most difficult form of humor to do well, and this one is definitely not to my taste. Read more
Published on Jun 30 2000 by Denise
1.0 out of 5 stars
Insipid, derivative, and NOT A MYSTERY!!
<<AVOID THIS THING LIKE AMOEBIC DYSENTERY>>
I finished this "novel" feeling as though I had slogged through fifteen miles of day-glo swamp. Read more
Published on Mar 12 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
Didn't want to put it down!
This book almost made me late for Mass, something which Ellie Haskell would probably have understood. Read more
Published on Aug 27 1998
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