Christietown

Kandel is amazing at her talent to bring back the dead author that has stopped writing. You finish all the pages of your favorite mystery author, there is a sadness when you've read every book they have written-and since they are dead all they will have ever written. Kandel takes back our favorites. Now Cece Caruso Mysteries are becoming my favorite. Keep it up! Christietown is no exception to the fun that continues in this tribute to Agatha Christie.

I enjoyed Christietown. The story was good and the main plot definitely had a Christie flavor to it. Cece and her family and friends continue to be people I think would be fun to know. It was nice that the author chose to make Cece like her ex-husband's fiancee and soon to be mother-in-law, it would have been easy to fall into the trap of making it a bitter relationship. I found the reconstruction of Agatha Christie's time when she was missing and the conclusions about it interesting. The only thing that I had a problem with was the wrap up of the smaller sub-plot with Silvana, the Christietown resident. I don't understand what exactly happened or why, even after repeat readings of the section.

As if that horrid THE CHRISTIE CAPER (by Carolyn G. Hart) wasn't enough, here comes another newfangled novel trying to coast on the reputation on England's greatest mystery writer. In theory I have enjoyed all of Kandel's books so far, with their intriguing main character, a biographer of Golden Age Detection notables forced to confront crime in her private life, but in practice her plots are disappointingly resistant to the spirit of whomever her heroine, feisty, loveable Cece Caruso is writing about. Her Hammett book is exactly like the Christie book, and the biography storyline seems thrown in as mere decoration. However that's not to say that by themselves, Kandel's books aren't jolly good entertainment for those who love Janet Evanovich and Sue Grafton, for indeed if you had a magic formule and could toss a half dozen Evanoviches into a blender and top them off with an equal number of Kinsey books, you would have a Kandel smoothie. Her heroine with the attractive lug boyfriend reminds me, not only of Evanovich and Grafton, but that feisty, loveable Karen Pelletier in Joanne Dobson's academic mysteries like THE RAVEN AND THE NIGHTINGALE. In Dobson and in Kandel, the heroine's sexiness and allure isn't lessened by her grandma status, no way, men just go wild for a seasoned woman. in CHRISTIETOWN, Cece is writing a play based on the Miss Marple novels by Agatha Christie, which will be the centerpiece of the opening of a residential development of tract homes newly carved out of the California desert by Ian Christie, a collateral descendant of the famous writer. By chance Cece is wrestling with the last chapters of her new biography, this one of Agatha Christie, who must be quite a biographical nightmare with her penchant for secrecy on the one hand, and for spreading false publicity about herslef on the other. Cece is given one week to solve the central mystery about Christie, the facts behind her famous 1926 disappearance. These are the two parts of the book that I had most trouble swallowing. One week isn't very long, and I think Kandel wanted to induce some phony suspense into her story (can Cece break the 80 year old crime in 7 days?) and it feels terribly trite. And also, is it remotely possible that the Christie estate would authorize a gimcrack tract home development run by a bunch of crooks with CHINATOWN-like back stories involving poisoned water? I think not. They're controlling, but you can sympathize with them in this one case. Kandel had to change the title of her last book to appease the Hammett estate. Wonder how this one slipped under the radar. Otherwise, i enjoyed it, though the killer is obvious after chapter 3.

Cece Caruso's latest project is a biography of Agatha Christie. Unfortunately, her publisher seems to think it needs more work. Specifically, Cece is told to beef up the section on Agatha Christie's mysterious disappearance during December of 1926. She has a little over a week to rework that section and get it back. As if Cece doesn't already have enough on her plate. She's supposed to be planning her wedding to Detective Peter Gambino and a baby shower for her daughter. Her ex-husband and his new fiancee are in town for that last event, causing more conflict in Cece's life. Additionally, she's in charge of the opening day festivities for Christietown. Christietown is a retirement community based around the works of the famed mystery author. The subdivision resembles a small English town complete with Vicarage and Pub. Unfortunately, the play doesn't go well when the woman set to play Miss Marple disappears only to turn up murdered by poison. Is someone going too far with the Christie theme? Why was the woman murder? This is another book that will please Cece's many fans. Cece and her family and friends are always fun to spend time around, and this book is no exception. The main mystery seems a bit slow at times due to the various sub-plots, but for those who love the characters, this isn't an issue at all. Along the way, we get snippets that offer one theory on what really happened during Agatha's real life disappearance. Cece never fails to entertain, and this book is no exception.

Cece Caruso writes biographies of mystery writers. Her backlist includes Erle Stanley Gardner (see I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason), Carole Keene (Not a Girl Detective) and Dashiell Hammett (see Shamus in the Green Room). Her current assignment involves the opening gala of Christietown, a housing development duplicating a Cotswold village where else but in California; her plan is a Miss Marple theater production. However, Liz "La Duchesse de Danse" Berman, who is playing the starring role, vanishes. Since Cece wears the same dress size she is expected to replace Liz. Instead Cece accompanied by her fiancé Detective Peter Gambino searches for the missing thespian. They find Liz except she will no longer perform on this stage unless a corpse is needed before she is buried; someone murdered her. The latest homage to the greats of mystery writing, CHRISTIETOWN is a delightful whodunit. Cece is her usual self, stealing the technique of the author she honors; this time being Dame Agatha. However, like in some Christie novels, clues that the reader will immediately know are shams slow down the plot at times. Still with Cece performing as Miss Marple, the audience will appreciate this fine mystery that provides insight into the great Agatha Christie. Harriet Klausner