Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Bayport Public Library | MYSTERY GUT | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake) | MYSTERY GUT | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Oakdale Library | MYSTERY GUT | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove) | MYSTERY GUT | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | MYSTERY GUT | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
The New York Times bestselling author of More Than You Know, Leeway Cottage, and Death at Breakfast delivers the second installment in her clever romp of a mystery series combining social comedy and dark-hearted murder--a novel set at a girls' boarding school in a picturesque Hudson River town with more than its share of secrets.
Since retiring as head of a famous New York City private school, Maggie Detweiler is busier than ever. Chairing a team to evaluate the faltering Rye Manor School for girls, she will determine whether, in spite of its fabled past, the school has a future at all. With so much on the line for so many, tensions on campus are at an excruciating pitch, and Maggie expects to be as welcome as a case of Ebola virus.
At a reception for the faculty and trustees to "welcome" Maggie's team, no one seems more keen for all to go well than Florence Meagher, a star teacher who is loved and respected in spite of her affliction--that she can never stop talking.
Florence is one of those dedicated teachers for whom the school is her life, and yet the next morning, when Maggie arrives to observe her teaching, Florence is missing. Florence's husband, Ray, an auxiliary policeman in the village, seems more annoyed than alarmed at her disappearance. But Florence's sister is distraught. There have been tensions in the marriage, and at their last visit, Florence had warned, "If anything happens to me, don't assume it's an accident."
Two days later, Florence's body is found in the campus swimming pool.
Maggie is asked to stay on to coach the very young and inexperienced head of Rye Manor through the crisis. Maggie obviously knows schools, but she also knows something about investigating murder, having solved a mysterious death in Maine the previous year when the police went after the wrong suspect. She is soon joined by her madcap socialite friend Hope, who is jonesing for an excuse to ditch her book club anyway, before she has to actually read Silas Marner.
What on earth is going on in this idyllic town? Is this a run-of-the-mill marital murder? Or does it have something to do with the school board treasurer's real estate schemes? And what is up with the vicious cyber-bullying that's unsettled everyone, or with the disturbed teenaged boy whom Florence had made a pet of? And is it possible that someone killed Florence just so she'd finally shut up?
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Prospects look bleak for once-proud Rye Manor School for Girls in Rye-on-Hudson, N.Y.-and that's even before a teacher's body is discovered at the bottom of the pool-in Gutcheon's amiable if overly chatty sequel to 2016's Death at Breakfast. Fortunately for fledgling head of school Christina Liggett, retired New York City educator Maggie Detweiler, one of the members of the Independent School Association evaluation team on campus to determine the institution's fate, dabbles in detection, and before you can say "Jessica Fletcher," she and her partner in crime solving, socialite Hope Babbin, are on the case. Leveraging their curiosity and extensive social networks, the enterprising pair swiftly discover more suspects than Range Rovers in the wealthy hamlet, including trustees with unsavory conflicts of interest and a staffer's emotionally disturbed son, not to mention the victim's overbearing and under-alibied spouse. Plotting, unfortunately, isn't Gutcheon's strong suit-with the exception of a surprising and elegant denouement. Still, fans of caviar cozies will find much to savor. Agent: Emma Sweeney, Emma Sweeney Agency. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
In this second mystery following two retiree friends with a knack for sleuthing (Death at Breakfast, 2016, etc.), a favorite teacher is found dead at a historic Hudson River Valley private school.Don't let the YA-inspired cover fool you. This is about how very serious and adult problems can be cultivated in the most innocent of settings. Complications are aplenty for the Rye Manor School for Girls, currently undergoing evaluation for possible closure, when art history teacher Florence Meagher goes missing. Former New York City private school head Maggie Detweiler is already on the premises as part of the evaluation, and she's quick to start her investigation and also to tell her friend Hope Babbin what's going on. When Florence is found dead in the school's Olympic-size pool by diving star and board-member daughter Lily Hollister, Hope leaves her book club in Boston to join Maggie on the hunt for clues. Everyone at the school is apparently aware of Florence's "affliction"she was incapable of shutting upbut using this as a motive for murder seems thin considering readers get only a moment's exposure to it. Gutcheon wastes no time delving into other areas of suspicion, however, namely Florence's marriage to her insensitive husband, Ray, whose alibi for the evening doesn't check out. There's also her mentorship of troubled student Jesse, who has a tendency for violent behavior. The story is brimming with people in desperate situations, from school trustees to local business owners to students at their emotional limits. This second installment is a noticeable improvement on the first in terms of character development, but as Maggie and Hope home in on the individual they feel most likely to have silenced Florence for good, major plotlines get thrown by the wayside. The secretive affairs of Rye-on-Hudson are undoubtedly compelling, but don't expect conclusions for each downcast individual.A cozy grounded by realistic horrors, though the true affliction here is the untidy number of loose ends. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Humor and suspense in equal measure make for a delightful read in this second outing (following Death at Breakfast, 2016) for the well-heeled duo of Maggie Detweiler and Hope Babbin. Taking a break from her studies of Koine Greek at the New School, retired headmistress Maggie has undertaken the evaluation of a girls' boarding school on the Hudson River. Florence Meagher, a celebrated art-history teacher, has the Affliction she cannot stop talking. Really! The school and its cozy little town are rife with resentments and secrets, and when Florence's body is found in the campus swimming pool, Maggie needs Hope and her uncanny way of reading people to determine who killed Florence to shut her up. Hope has been yawning through Silas Marner for her discussion group and is happy for an out. These women have extraordinary, often unexpected, ways and means. They even score tickets to see Hamilton. Recommend this to readers who like their detectives feisty and mature, in the tradition of M. C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin and the Rosemary & Thyme TV series.--Murphy, Jane Copyright 2017 Booklist
