Sweet Death, Kind Death: Amazon.ca: Amanda Cross: Books

Product Description

When a suspicious death occurs in an exclusive women's institution, Kate Fansler, Professor of Literature and amateur sleuth, is called in to probe the seemingly peaceful surfaces at Clare College.

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Patrice Umphelby of Clare College had everything to live for. That was why her suicide by drowning shocked everyone. Kate Fansler was among those puzzled by her death, and her instincts led her to investigate. "Another splendid whodunit."--Susan Isaacs, author of Shining Through. HC: Dutton. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

3.8 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars A different view of middle age, Jun 20 2004

By	Mary E. Sibley (Carneys Point, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sweet Death, Kind Death (Paperback)

Kate Fansler attended the memorial service for Patrice Umphelby, a professor at Clare College. At the time she did not think that she knew Patrice but later she learned from Patrices's biographers Herbert and Archer that she had met her once in Scotland.

Kate is someone who evades memories. Her husband Reed works in the office of the DA notwithstanding the fact that most people over forty pursue other legal careers. By the end of the book it is learned that Reed plans to begin teaching at Columbia Law School.

Kate is asked by the president of Clare College to serve on a board of advisors for an institute being set up by her friend Madeline, a psychoanalyst, and to investigate the death of Patrice. Patrice wrote in a journal that the human mind has trouble taking in aging.

Madeline is of the opinion that Patrice was appreciated insufficiently at Clare College. She was eccentric but sane. Clare College it is charged was not receptive to the unorthodox. Indeed, foul play is uncovered by Kate Fansler evidencing professional jealousy and a different view of middle age. The book is a nearly perfect mystery story. The views of the issues and the personalities are expressed in interesting and cogent language.

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3.0 out of 5 stars OK, April 27 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Sweet Death, Kind Death (Paperback)

I have read most of the series. This was interesting but not her best.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but not very mysterious, Oct 8 2001

By	Tess (MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sweet Death, Kind Death (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the first Amanda Cross mystery I've read. I did enjoy it, but I must agree with the previous reviewer, who said that it was a good book but not much of a whodunit. The mystery really takes a back seat to literary discussions and character analyses. (And the ending, while fun, emerges out of the blue.) I also found that, especially towards the middle and end of the book, the characters all tended to speak in a mannered way that I found slightly improbable-- as though they're all declaiming instead of just talking.

I picked the book up because it dealt with a women's college; as a student at a women's college, I'm always curious to see how they're treated in literature. I found Cross' view interesting, although nothing like my own.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Witty, but poorly constructed
If you read this book as a series of witty conversations about age, women's colleges, lit crit, etc, it's a lot of fun. As a mystery, however, it is a complete failure. Read more

Published on April 16 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars The Kate Fansler Series: Mysteries to Learn By
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST IN READING THE REMARKABLE AMANDA CROSS MYSTERIES Run, don't walk to the Amazon Store, and COLLECT the Amanda Cross Series. Read more

Published on Oct 19 1997 by Omnibus