WEIRD MYSTERY WITH A FEW LAUGHS
580579
A weird romp with elements of mystery, intrigue, and dark comedy.  A good evening of pure escapism !
1995
Seldom do I remember laughing aloud at ghoulish humor . . . but this book caused me to do so several times.

While most of the novels in this distinguished series feature the mannerly side of Victorian England, Resurrection Row shifts its focus to an unusually intriguing mystery.  Out of the fog, a seemingly drunken hansom driver looms.  Upon further inspection, the "cabbie" turns out to be a "deadie" . . . a recently unearthed corpse.  Why would anyone do that?  From that premise, the mystery deepens in tantalizing ways.

In the background, Ms. Perry also looks more closely at the plight of the working poor and the upper class hypocrisy towards the poor and sexuality.

Many readers have come to depend on finding a central role for Thomas Pitts' wife, Charlotte, in this series.  Charlotte is clearly off center stage in this one. Her main connection is to her former brother-in-law who becomes a potential suspect in the case.

The story meanders a bit away from the mystery through long red herrings in the book's middle.  Had that part been edited down, I would have thought this was a five-star mystery.

As it is, Resurrection Row is great fun . . . unless you don't enjoy any aspect of ghoulish humor.
1775514
Good for entertainment, it got missing coffins, big bad guns, grandma Mazur all crazy and a big blue buick that destroys everything but get only a scratch.
I have a lot of moments when I laugh out loud and I think the book must be good, at least for spending some funny time.
The story itself is nothing extraordinary, the mystery is not very complicated and Stephanie is the same lucky girl that attracts problems and the bad guys.
We see more Morelli in this book, which is good, I enjoy this two together.
So, if you to want to laugh and spent some good afternoons reading, I think this is a good book.
4120503
The heroine is Bailey Ruth Raeburn a "spirit" or "ghost" who is sent from "Heaven's Department of Good Intentions" to help people out.  Bailey and her also deceased husband reside in Heaven.  She and her husband, Bobby Mac, were lost at sea when a storm his their cabin cruiser.  They died in the latter part of the 20th century.  They had lived in Adelaide, Oklahoma that has a population of just over 16,000.  As Bailey is lounging around on their boat in Heaven, a telegram from her boss, Wiggins, appears telling her that "skulduggery" is a foot in Adelaide and to come at once and so she does.

She learns that a woman, Kay Clark, who was once an enemy of hers is in danger.  She is living at "The Castle" that the Humes family owns and is planning on writing about them.  However, her investigating is bringing out people who are afraid of what she might find out.  As Bailey discusses the new project with her boss Wiggins, an emergency down there arrives and she is quickly sent off via the Rescue Express.

While much of the story and mystery is interesting, I found the flavor of the story and attitude of Bailey Ruth to be too much humor and not enough substance.  I usually enjoy fun mysteries such as those by Carol Higgins Clark but this was too much fun and not enough serious character development for me.
2385802
Unfortunately, I am not in the 99% of the target group for this series, but book still had some twists and splashes of humor to carry it along. Given the youthful mannerisms of the protagonist together with the more abundant romance than I favor I'm not terribly surprised this is categorized as a cozy read and I would probably think it ideal for people whom enjoy chick-lit. I'd give it 3.5 stars rounded up.
4535217
Odd, occasionally funny.  Not a lot of suspense. Adequately engaging.
3164695
Once again there's trouble brewing in Caerphilly, Virginia. Rob Lanslow feels something is amiss at his computer game company Mutant Wizards. So he convinces his sister Meg Lanslow - blacksmith and amateur sleuth - to sign on as temporary receptionist, hoping she can uncover the problem. Sure enough, Ted - the office practical joker/pain in the neck - is soon murdered as he rides around on the automated mail cart.

The Chief-of-Police, who pays minimal attention to evidence, arrests Rob for the murder. So Meg, convinced her brother is innocent, jumps into action to investigate. Mutant Wizards employs a full array of oddball characters as well as sharing their premises with a group of psychotherapists, so there are plenty of suspects. Also on hand are Meg's dad, who enjoys a spot of sleuthing himself, and Meg's fiance Michael, who calls in his admonitions from an acting gig in California.

As Meg uncovers a variety of clues several possible motives present themselves. Did someone murder Ted to get his living quarters in housing-deprived Caerphilly? was Ted a blackmailer?  was Ted involved in a harmful lawsuit? Meg has to find out.

The murderer is revealed in a finale that's mildly amusing but so drawn out that it becomes a bit tiresome.

This is an entertaining light mystery with fun characters, my favorites being George the one-winged Buzzard who eats microwaved mice, and Spike the bad tempered dog who bites anyone within reach.
2885395
This is a truly funny book, but I am not certain that it was intended to be.  The main character is a former (and reestablished) crime reporter, Jimm Juree.  She was highly thought of even though she was a woman.  Crime reporting is not a truly proper occupation for a woman in Thailand, but she does such a good job that her bosses decide to look the other way as long as people read her articles.  For reasons that are not wholly understood by Jimm or other members of her family, her mother decides to pull up roots and move to a small town in the south of Thailand.  This is not good for her career, but if her mother moves, then everybody in the family moves.  As I continued through the book, I realized that Jimm's mother is not the only eccentric person in her family.  As the book continues to progress, it seems that there is not a single character in the whole town who is other than eccentric.  That includes Jimm, herself.

In spite of all of the weird characters in this book, it is still a murder mystery complete with dead bodies and lots of blood.

This book is well worth the read.
3515712
A good mystery somewhat marred by florid writing and even silliness. Ms Grimes style has this reader continually flipping back a few pages to find out who's talking. However it's worth getting to the end and see how the mystery unravels.
2956499
This book was strange and put together funny. Some of the word choices are strange and out out of context.
60027
I really don't know how to pigeon-hole this one. An odd story set in an odd universe, the book really does not go anywhere. It offers up plenty of laughs, a great deal of chuckles, while being liberally sprinkled with head scratching "wha?". Frankly there is little point to the story other than offering some comedy, but that might be what the author was going for. I think this one might be "you either get it....or you don't" Maybe I just don't, but I would still recommend you read this oddball for yourself. I guess bottom line for me is, I enjoyed it and was glad I read it.
3944355
Conda Douglas's new mystery revolves around a desperate search for a rare necklace, which can make several of its quirky characters solvent, for the time being anyway, until this ghost of a company mining town can get its tourist act together. Seems everybody has a crazy relative, is linked with an eccentric suspect or has a mysterious background, so nobody know who's telling the truth. An inept sheriff tries to replace an old timer who just wants to get out of Dodge but knows too much.  At times this nutty world is laugh-out-loud funny, with showdowns on the roof, in the haunted hilltop mansion and with a geezer lady who only feels comfortable when parading around naked.  If I say more, I'll just spoil the fun. If that's what Idaho's's like these days, I'll have to get myself up to those parts for a look-see. Come to think of it, my wacky-funny mom was born in Lewistown, Montana. Figgers. Get it and read it! You'll be glad you did. Peter H. Green
4503405
This was very funny at times, but it is also a good mystery.  I really liked the main character, but I was unhappy with the ending which is quite ambiguous.  Worth reading, though.
3989890
Recommended by a relative, I read it, but didn't love it. It is sort of a low-paid detective working his clients type of story, and the A for Alibi and so forth stories are more interesting and funny. One or two laugh-out-loud moments in this one.
4438435
A "South Florida" novel about a guy who transfers to Tampa with his company, and starts meeting all sorts of strange Florida neighbors who are nut cases.  He finally ends up killing someone inadvertantly, and the dead man's brothers start to come after him.  And there are so many other strange subplots that all meet up at the end.  Very funny, but very weird...
1981627
This book was incredibly strange and had zero relation to the rest of the series. That being said, I think I liked it better than the first two in the series because it was so unrepentantly weird. Joanna has been conscripted into delivering a Schiaparelli dress to a wedding; the dress is on loan from a museum, and it's never clear how or why Joanna was even involved in this transaction. But whatever. It's just an excuse to drop our protagonist into a secluded surrealist themed hotel (I would love to stay in a surrealist themed hotel -does that exist anywhere?) and then trap her there while murders start happening left and right. It is such an old school murder mystery premise that I had to love it; it really did smack of Agatha Christie or even The Shining. The characters were stock stereotypes and not a single person in this book did anything even remotely resembling a thing an actual human being might do in this situation. But it was a fun read, a brain dead read, but fun
3553297
I thought this book was very odd, but I was entertained and kept looking forward to reading it. The plot is ridiculous. There are way too many coincidences and unlikely happenings for almost any of it to ring true. But it's funny. At one point the main character takes some medication and her reaction is trippy and hilarious. The characters felt cartoonish at times to me, which wasn't necessary given the quirky plot. There is some sexual tension and more, so if that's not your thing, you may not want to read this.

So, if you're willing to not take a book seriously, and you're okay with it being a little racy, then you'll probably enjoy Making Waves.