Heart-Shaped Box

Truly a great read! So many suspects, each with a strong motive. I could not stop reading until I found out who was guilty.

Class of '79. The cheerleader, the wannabe, the brainiac, the murderer. Murderer? In this third installment of April Henry's Claire Montrose series, Claire and her dashing boyfriend, Dante, embark on a weekend trip to Claire's 20 year high-school class reunion. Upon arriving, Claire is flattered to receive a handcrafted heart-shaped box lined with her old yearbook photo from an anonymous admirer--well, flattered until popular ex-cheerleader Cindy Sanchez is found lying dead in the parking lot with a similar heart-shaped box in her hand. Ms. Henry expertly guides us through clever twists and turns as Claire's lingering adolescent insecurities give way to an emerging self-confidence and savvy which just may keep her alive.Anyone who has ever pondered attending a school reunion will enjoy this classy mystery lightly seasoned with '70's nostalgia and Ms. Henry's trademark humor.

This is the first book I've read by April Henry, and I liked it so much that I will buy her first two mysteries now. The character of Claire Montrose is very appealing, and her boyfriend, Dante, is interesting too. Setting the action of the book at a high school reunion weekend is inspired. The interactions of all the high school personalities, 10 years later, is both funny and pretty much right on the mark. Anyone who has been to a reunion will get a kick out of this aspect of this book. The mystery is good too. I, for one, did not figure out who the killer was until the end. There were several good suspects, and I kept going back and forth between them, not sure who was the most likely culprit. Overall, a great read, and I am looking forward to reading more of April Henry's work.

Can't help but like the heroine, Claire Montrose -- so real and down to earth -- the kind of person I'd love to have for a friend right now. I adore all of her insecurities, and am delighted by her ability to see the humor in even the most mundane of situations.I had the murderer pinpointed early on, but with several twists and turns in the story line, kept thinking that I had been wrong.Totally enjoyable, I had a hard time putting the book down. Thanks to Claire (or rather April Henry), my uneventful weekend turned out to be most enjoyable.

The first Clare Montrose book left me wanting another and 'Square in the Face' delivered - as has 'Heart-Shaped Box!' Clare is an interesting, sympathetic character not prone towards doing the awfully dangerous,irritating things some amateur sleuths do. 'Box' is set at Clare's 20 year class reunion and we see all the people we went to high school with in the cast of characters.Unfortunately, one and then another are found dead - and the clue that seems to tie the deaths together is a heart-shaped box, just like one Clare and some other women anonymously received before the reunion. The Clare Montrose books are somewhat cozy (which I like) but mainly written from a very 'real world' standpoint. If you enjoy character-driven mysteries, you'll enjoy this and the other Clare Montrose mysteries. The vanity license plates at the end of each chapter are an added treat!

After receiving the invitation to attend the Minor, Oregon class of '79 twentieth reunion, a hesitant Claire Montrose thinks back to the nondescript seventies. She fit perfectly in a decade that offered nothing except closure to the sixties, as she was far from popular. However, those liabilities in high school like being too tall or too smart are assets for a thirty-seven year old person. She decides to go to show off herself and her even more gorgeous boyfriend Dante.At the reunion, Claire learns a prime law of physics. In spite of Dante and receiving a heart shaped box with her picture inside it, Claire's high school insecurities return threatening to engulf her. Before she can hide in a chem lab, someone murders another attendee who received the same type of box as April. Other coeds also were given the identical gift. Attendee police officer Kyle Kraushaar investigates the homicide while former vanity plate checker Claire does likewise.THE HEART SHAPED BOX, the third entry in the Montrose amateur sleuth series, is a humorous who-done-it. The story line is fun and amusing, especially the vanity tags at the end of each chapter and Claire's outlook on life. The investigation follows mostly Kyle around, and in all honesty, the audience will feel we know Claire; he's no Claire. There are a plethora of suspects, but readers will easily hone in on the killer's identity. Still, Claire clearly remains a wonderfully insecure lead character making this novel enjoyable though not quite at the level of its predecessors.Harriet Klausner