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Summary: Compassion and Crime
Review: As usual, Jane Haddam delivers a very solid, enjoyable mystery with lively action and intellectual challenge. The plot is believable, extremely interesting, and impossible to predict. But she has added a very moving and believable component in Bennis Hannaford's illness and Gregor Demarkian's horror that a second beloved companion might die. By now Haddam's readers are involved in the lives of these characters. One complaint: After such a long wait, I'm greedy for the NEXT book!
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Summary: I'd rather they were in Philadelphia...
Review: Gregor and Bennis are bacK, and so is Jane Haddam's deft prose. No one fleshes out characters better than she - the twins in this novel are prime examples. They're so real they hurt. Story good, writing good - but I really prefer Gregor when he is in his element, on Cavanaugh St. with Tibor and George and Donna and the Ararat Restaurant. As an urban ethnic, I love that part of the books - the custom and ritual and general insanity that we eths bring to everyday life in the city.
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Summary: Great!
Review: I don't know how anyone can say this book is bad. This is the best Haddam I've read yet--and that's saying a lot.
Rating:
Summary: Skeleton Key worth the wait!
Review: I have been a fan of Gregor Demarkian since I first picked up one of Jane Haddam's books, and this is my all time, absolute favorite ~ number 15 in a series of delightful, classic mysteries that include the Armenian-American neighbors in Philadelphia.I have come to know and love all of Gregor's neighbors, ache for him in his relationship with Bennis, laugh at his confusion, and delight their discovery of each other, although I think Bennis WAS the one in charge here. Perhaps no more. I can also delight in being totally wrong about "who-done-it", because I never get it right, and Ms. Haddam's solutions are always better! Most of the series actually takes place away from Cavanaugh Street, and this trip is out into the wilds of Litchfield County, Connecticut. Roads with no names to frustrate poor Gregor. A killer on the loose. And with all the clues in front of me, I was STILL wrong again. I devoured this book, having waited so long for it, and now that I've finished it once, I'm going to sit down with it again - it's too good NOT to read twice!
Rating: 
Summary: Not one of her better mysteries...
Review: I usually enjoy Haddam's mysteries, so this one was not as satisfactory as usual. I enjoy her protagonists, Demarkian and Bennis. I also enjoy the view into the life of both the Armenian neighborhood in which Gregor and Bennis live, as well as the sarcastic analysis of those who are so class conscious. This book is just loaded with tidbits about Americans whose main purpose in life is to accumulate wealth and show off that wealth. This side story is probably the best thing about this book. I had no problem figuring out who the murderer was pretty much from the beginning. Haddam loads her story with plenty of possible suspects, but unfortunately most of the characters are not well-fleshed out. I actually thought the epilogue was written much better then the rest of the book, having to do with the reason why Bennis had to rush to the hospital. The dialogue between Gregor and Bennis, as well as those who live in their neighborhoods is more realistic and developed then the dialogue in the rest of the book. Again, it is difficult for any writer to maintain interest in characters after fifteen books. Karen Sadler, University of Pittsburgh
Rating:
Summary: She's writing with one hand tied behind her back
Review: I've always thought Jane Haddam was one of the best mystery series writers, and have been impressed with how she has kept the quality high through so many installments. In this one, though, she seeems to be trying to write a novel for which her series is not the appropriate vessel. As a result, it's one of her least successful outings. On a bright note, her social satire on the inhabitants of Lichfield County, CT, is among her best and most pungent. On the down side, the mystery (as another reader has pointed out) is pretty obvious, and her red herrings seem half hearted. The real problem is that she wants to turn Gregor and Bennis into tragic star-crossed lovers or, alternatively, into poster children for the American Lung Association. The problem is that she cannot transcend how she has used those characters in the past. As much as I have enjoyed reading about Gregor and Bennis, they remain two-and-a-quarter dimensional props to carry the mystery plot along. They can't bear the additional emotional weight she wants to pile on them here. It's like watching a semi-talented college theatrical troupe try to put on King Lear. I suspect that Haddam probably could write a well-rounded novel about the sorts of people and issues she was dealing with here. (Every one of her novels proves that she can populate a fictional community with interesting and varigated character types.) But the Gregor Demarkian novels inhibit her amibitions. She can't be Ruth Rendell (let alone Anita Brookner ) while trying to continue to be Jill Churchill at the same time.
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent and satisfying
Review: I've just discovered the Gregor Demarkian series and SKELETON KEY is definitely the book that will make me go back and read the earlier ones. Vivid characters, an intricate yet coherent plot, and a totally likable hero are all the ingredients that make mystery lovers sigh with pleasure. Not to be missed by those who appreciate a crackling good story.
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Summary: Good Book--long time coming!
Review: It feels as though we waited quite a while for this book while the author changed publishers, but it was well worth the wait. A good mystery and a well-written book. Jane Haddam's characters are better developed than most writers, in the genre or outside, and as a result I tend to read her books on two levels: to read a good mystery--hers are always meticulously plotted and written; and to see what's up with Gregor and the rest. In Skeleton Key, the mystery and the character development mesh nicely. It's always interesting to see the characters operate outside their own home grounds. Only thing is, now I have to wait a while for the next one.
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Summary: Bennis, Gregor, Sex, Death. Money and a Cough
Review: Jane Haddam does her usual brilliant job weaving the personal story of Bennis and Gregor (amazingly, finally together), crime and puzzle, with her real life sharply observant eye on human acts, human motives. Like a Japanese brush painter, she captures an essence in a few strokes. Litchfield county debs and country club denizens and old money and old money wannabe's and a Litchfield county women who doesn't have any money to be sick. Murders happen that couldn't and in the midst of it, Bennis gets sick.... Read it.
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Summary: Always entertaining and off-the-wall
Review: Oriana Papazoglou writing as Jane Haddam has always been one of my favorites, combining excellent plotting with off-the-wall observations and enjoyable characters -- this book lives up to my expectations. My only complaint: I miss Patience, Phoebe, Nick, Amelia, and all of the ditzy crew from her "romance writers" period. But, I'll take your unique style in any way I can get it. I agree, keep it coming, Jane.
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