Rating: 
Summary: Not Up To Par
Review: Perhaps this cozy mystery has more to offer to the long-time readers already acquainted with the numerous characters. Family dynamics might have been amusing to someone more familiar, but were simply an irritation to this reader. Replacement hips, broken shoulders, deafness, dementia and free loading 30-year old kids simply are not amusing. Too many characters, living and dead, that just kept popping up throughout the book made it almost impossible to keep up with the story, the chatter was over the top, but not delightfully so, and the mystery was so very convoluted I really didn't CARE who had done it - I was just ready for the book to end. Where Ms. Danheim REALLY lost me though, was when a character was calling the airlines to check on passenger manifests. There should be SOME reality in a cozy mystery, some clever twists, and a lot more of setting and research by my thinking. This was a senseless hodgepodge.
Rating: 
Summary: Lame and Inane
Review: Perhaps this cozy mystery has more to offer to the long-time readers already acquainted with the numerous characters. Family dynamics might have been amusing to someone more familiar, but were simply an irritation to this reader. Replacement hips, broken shoulders, deafness, dementia and free loading 30-year old kids simply are not amusing. Too many characters, living and dead, that just kept popping up throughout the book made it almost impossible to keep up with the story, the chatter was over the top, but not delightfully so, and the mystery was so very convoluted I really didn't CARE who had done it - I was just ready for the book to end. Where Ms. Danheim REALLY lost me though, was when a character was calling the airlines to check on passenger manifests. There should be SOME reality in a cozy mystery, some clever twists, and a lot more of setting and research by my thinking. This was a senseless hodgepodge.
Rating:
Summary: Not Up To Par
Review: This once enjoyable series is starting to lose its steam.Judith has turned into nothing more than a simpering, annoying buttinsky. All she has to do is simply smile, use a compassionate tone of voice, and tell people how much she loves people and BOOM! - they spill their guts to her. Oh, they complain and tell her to butt out and mind her own business, but they spill it all anyway, even when she's following them around town or showing up in their hospital rooms. Why, even airline employees give her passenger manifests over the phone, which everyone knows is just not done. The supporting cast is also starting to wear thin. Renie's antics used to be amusing, but it's gone beyond the point of silly when she's crawling into a kitchen cabinet because all three of her kids have suddenly decided to get married out of the clear blue sky. Even Gertrude seems to have lost her sharp edge. The premise of this series has always been cute, but how many murders can happen at a B&B before word gets out and people stop staying there? Or the B&B Association no longer endorses the property? This series has gone on long enough. With the more enjoyable "Alpine" series still going strong, perhaps Ms. Daheim should concentrate her efforts on that and just let everyone at Hillside Manor retire in peace.
Rating:
Summary: where is my cousin
Review: what happened to the banter between the two cousins??? for years judith and renie have been solving mysteries together but since their husband's retired all of a sudden all four are involved in crime solving. Bring back the cousins and help us laugh again..
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