Rating: 
Summary: A Quirky Mystery
Review: A wonderful quick read, murder that happend or did it? A Bumbling set of fiends who are trying to save each other. Detectives falling over themselves. Mix it all together and we have you laughing, crying, and wanting to punch someone in minutes. Ms Holman keeps us on our toes trying to decide what next. A light mystery sprinkle with a hint a abuse. Looking for a little fun this is the book for you.
Rating: 
Summary: A murderously smashing debut!
Review: Alice Holman joins the select list of African-American female mystery writers with her fast-paced, page turner Last Days Murder List. Set in Denver, the story features an assortment of highly developed and recognizable characters linked to a complex mystery of murder, suspense and wonderfully developed twists and turns. The key protagonists, Billiemae and Pharoah are a wonderful combination of guts and guile, fun and frantic and an inner drive to be together, inspite of the obstacles. The tone and quality of the story are far superior to most debut authors and it is my sincere hope that we haven't seen the last of Billiemae and Pharoah. This is a must read for mystery enthusiasts and clearly explains why Alice Holman was the clear choice to win the 2001 Chester Himes award. Congratulations colleague. Please keep the stories coming!
Rating:
Summary: Who killed Amelia Benson?
Review: I never thought it was Pharaoh, but wonder if Maris had known about Rick and she did it.This was a great murder mystery book. A great book for book clubs. Can't wait to read Alice Holman next book.
Rating:
Summary: A Witty, Folksy Mystery
Review: Last Days Murder List is the first novel by author Alice Holman. Holman spins a witty mystery which transports the reader to Denver along with the characters. Last Days Murder List opens with the murder of Amelia Benson, next door neighbor and friend of Billiemae Waller, a wise cracking and tough talking cocktail waitress, who on occasion drinks too much. Billiemae elicts assistance from her ex-lover, Pharoah Blue (a brother with a Superman complex) to help her find out what caused Amelia's demise. Through their investigation, Billiemae and Pharoah uncover that the prudish appearing Amelia was far from the angelic senior citizen that she professed to be. In addition to Billiemae and Pharoah, readers meet Maris and Rick Lane. Maris is a non-assertive, people pleasing college administrator, stuck in an abusive marriage and struggling to find her voice. Rick is her abusive, adulterous husband, a "wannabe" social climber who only manages to be an underachieving mail clerk. Rick's abuse of Maris forces her to finally take a stand. These four characters are linked by seemingly unrelated string of events which build to a tension filled climax. There are a host of humorous, folksy characters in Last Days Murder List. Holman deftly deals with some weighty issues in a delicate and intriguing manner. Reviewed by: Diane Marbury (HonestD)
Rating:
Summary: A Witty, Folksy Mystery
Review: Last Days Murder List is the first novel by author Alice Holman. Holman spins a witty mystery which transports the reader to Denver along with the characters. Last Days Murder List opens with the murder of Amelia Benson, next door neighbor and friend of Billiemae Waller, a wise cracking and tough talking cocktail waitress, who on occasion drinks too much. Billiemae elicts assistance from her ex-lover, Pharoah Blue (a brother with a Superman complex) to help her find out what caused Amelia's demise. Through their investigation, Billiemae and Pharoah uncover that the prudish appearing Amelia was far from the angelic senior citizen that she professed to be. In addition to Billiemae and Pharoah, readers meet Maris and Rick Lane. Maris is a non-assertive, people pleasing college administrator, stuck in an abusive marriage and struggling to find her voice. Rick is her abusive, adulterous husband, a "wannabe" social climber who only manages to be an underachieving mail clerk. Rick's abuse of Maris forces her to finally take a stand. These four characters are linked by seemingly unrelated string of events which build to a tension filled climax. There are a host of humorous, folksy characters in Last Days Murder List. Holman deftly deals with some weighty issues in a delicate and intriguing manner. Reviewed by: Diane Marbury (HonestD)
Rating: 
Summary: Quirky Enjoyable Read....More like 3.5 stars
Review: Last Days Murder list starts a little slow but once it picks up steam you're in for an enjoyable ride. Alice Holman's debut novel is full of quirky humor and good characterizations. Two favorite characters are Billie and Pharoah both are very unique and well developed . Billie is a very caring and bright woman but works and a waitress and seems content to live in poverty. This case causes her to take a good introspective look at her life and the paths she has chosen. Pharoah is a guy who seems to have it all together;he's good looking, reliable, financially solvent but his love life is a complete mess. Working this murder with Billie puts him on the right track to getting love figured out too. Billie and Pharoah are a rather unlikely pair of amateur sleuths but I thoroughly enjoyed the insider view of their planning, plotting and investigating trying to find a killer that is
systematically murdering their friends and acquaintances. As they get closer to the truth a few unsavory things are uncovered, things you never imagined were taking place in this
quaint little city.
Rating:
Summary: Fun 3 1/2 stars
Review: Not many black folks lived in Denver. Of the ones that did, they all seemed to know each other somehow. They were relatives, past lovers, past spouses, or thinking of becoming lovers. Amelia Benson knew more about them than they would ever have believed. For that reason, she was killed and more would die. Billiemae had not killed Amelia. But the police sure wanted to point the finger at her. Pharaoh had been trying to help her find out who really did it and why. He was also trying to help out Maris, who was married to an abusive husband. Rick, the husband, knew of the past between Maris and Pharaoh. When Maris had enough of the beatings, she left Rick. Rick had too much falling apart around him and Maris's leaving caused his sanity to snap! *** A suspense filled murder mystery that will draw its readers into its twisted plot and keep them on the edge of their seats! I am hoping for a sequel! ***
Rating:
Summary: Full of Fun
Review: This is a delightful first mystery. The ditzy but good hearted heroine, Billiemae makes a mistake that drops her and her love interest Pharoah into a murder mystery. I really enjoyed this quirky, clever book. I'm now waiting for the next Alice Holman book. I want to see more Billimae! ...
Rating:
Summary: Not bad . . .
Review: This was my first murder mystery so my expectations may have been set too high. I expected to be engrossed in a novel that would keep me wondering "who-dun-it" right up to the very end. That didn't happen. I think the author did an excellent job of depicting the mother/daughter relationship and how it fed into Maris' abusive marriage. The chapter where the police mistakenly attack Billiemae made me laugh out loud and provided a very memorable visual. The writing was clear, the language easy to follow. At times, the narrative voice seemed to struggle with telling the story in standard/proper English versus a slang/Ebonics style. In some instances, the author attempted to mix the two styles of language, resulting in awkward sentences that lacked believability. I can appreciate the author's restraint with the use of extreme profanity and explicit language, however; given the novel's plot the absence of such colorful language dulled the story. This is a good first novel and I'll help spread the word.
Rating:
Summary: you'll laugh; you'll cry.
Review: What do you do when you think you've murdered your neighbor? When does the latest bruise become enough to make you leave your husband? Billiemae Waller and Maris Lane finds themselves in these predicaments in Alice Holman's first novel, The Last Days Murder List. Holman's novel is actually two genres in one: a murder mystery and a contemporary fiction piece about domestic violence. The two stories wrap around Pharaoh Blue, both women's former lover and current savior. While it's never clear exactly what Pharaoh does for a living, he seems to have plenty of time on his hands to help Billiemae and Maris. Billiemae is sure, downright positive, that she killed her friend and next door neighbor, Amelia, when she threw a jar of salsa at a buzzing fly? After all, Amelia was lying there in a pool of blood, not moving, staring straight ahead with dead eyes while a fly crawls on her nose. Surely somebody will find out she did it; sooner or later an awful stink is going to drift down the hallway. Begging Pharaoh for help is no easy matter. He's wrapped up in Maris' domestic problems. But Billiemae convinces him to go to Amelia's apartment with her. There they discover that Amelia is not lying dead on the kitchen floor, as Billiemae left her, but curled up in her bed with a bullet hole in her forehead. Now it's up to the Billiemae and Pharaoh to solve Amelia's murder. As the sleuthing begins, Billiemae and Pharaoh discover that Amelia is not what she seems, a nice, lonely, lady, eager for company and a bit of gossip. Amelia is into selling video pornography. How she comes by these tapes and their connection to Maris becomes all too clear as Billiemae and Pharaoh comb Denver for clues and suspects. Sometimes hilarious and over-the-top comical, sometimes poignant, The Last Days Murder List is an interesting work and a unique first novel. The title doesn't make any sense and some of the secondary characters get lost when they appear later in the novel, but don't let these minor infractions deter you from reading the first work from this promising new voice. There are twists and turns that I never saw coming and one that made me gasp out loud. You'll laugh....you'll cry....what else can I say.
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