Putt to Death

In Roberta Isleib's latest Cassie Burdette installment, Putt To Death, the vibrant, outspoken professional golfer takes it upon herself to solve a series of murders that take place at Stony Creek Country Club, the conservative, posh country club where she has recently accepted a position as "touring pro." Cassie literally stumbles across the first victim and then, when the victim's blood is found on one of her golf clubs, she feels compelled to investigate. Along with Cassie's amateur sleuthing activities, which eventually put her in considerable personal danger, Ms. Isleib continues to develop Cassie's romance with fellow professional golfer Mike Callahan and to amplify our understanding of the complexities of Cassie's character through her interactions with friends, family, and a psychologist she consults. Putt to Death is a fast-paced, compelling read with an appealing heroine who continues to engage our hearts, as well as our minds.

This is the third in a perfect series for those who golf by day and read at night. The character development continues to grow stronger, the insights into the world of professional golf are interesting and a who-dunnit to boot. Roberta Isleib cannot write fast enough to keep pace with the demand for the next installment.

PUTT TO DEATH finds pro golfer Cassie Burdette on hiatus from the tour, working as a pro at a snooty Connecticut country club. When two outspoken club members turn up dead on Cassie's first week on the job, she has to work overtime to figure out who's zooming who, who can be trusted and who might be out to implicate her in the murders. Cassie's problems with her neglectful father, her almost-boyfriend, Mike, and her new shrink are just as suspenseful as the mystery. In fact, the personal and the mystery plots dovetail neatly to provide a clever and satisfying ending. As always, the writing in this series is witty and full of pithy observations of human, and golfer, behavioir.

Roberta Isleib's PUTT TO DEATH, the third golf-lover's mystery after SIX STROKES UNDER and A BURIED LIE, follows the further adventures of Cassie Burdette. Cassie has taken a position as "touring pro" at a Connecticut private club to supplement her falling income as she struggles with her professional golf game. Less than twenty-four hours after she begins work, she discovers the body of one of the club's esteemed members floating in a water hazard. One murder sets the club on edge, but, when a second body is discovered, the members and staff fear for their safety. Naturally, our heroine Cassie is more curious than afraid, and, despite complicated personal issues that threaten to distract her, she buckles down to solve the mystery of the deaths.Isleib's pacing is genre-smooth - never rushed, never bogged down with unnecessary detail. Cassie has become even more likable in this newest addition to the series as her emotional baggage begins to weigh more than her golf bags. She is a gutsy, human character. The returning characters from previous titles - Mike, Joe, Laura - are equally memorable. Unfortunately, the characters specific to this mystery are less clearly drawn; they are identified primarily by name and position and less by who they are as people. With the exception of Cassie's roommate Megan and club member Elizabeth, the characters blend into one another, thus making it difficult for the reader to grasp the role each plays.Although the resolution requires far too much explanation than was adequately prepared for, the ride to get there is so much fun that it hardly matters. I couldn't put this book down. Easy to read and equally full of tense moments, this mystery makes great vacation or weekend reading. You don't need to read Isleib's previous efforts to enjoy this one, although it can't hurt.

Cassie Burdette is the new touring pro at Stony Creek Country Club on the Connecticut shoreline. The job description said she'd give lessons, schmooze with the members about the professional golf circuit and help out in the pro shop - in emergencies only. She'd hit some rough patches in the LPGA tour and her friend Laura had heard about this opening and pressed her to apply.When Cassie arrives, she meets Scott Mallory, the club's pro and Richie, the assistant pro. She also meets Elizabeth Weigel, the president of the ladies' group. Cassie is asked to go to the board of directors meeting that night as Scott and Rich are committed to a Connecticut PGA Section dinner. Then she meets her suite mate, Megan DonovannAt the meeting, she meets many people. Brad Latham presents a proposal to pursue Audubon Sanctuary Certification at the club. This is not met with much agreement by the board. Then Elizabeth Weigel speaks to suggest the board revisit the club's policies regarding gender equality. None of the board is very supportive of her suggestions either.The next day was the ladies' member-guest tournament. Cassie was stationed on the seventh tee. If a participant's tee shot reached the green, Cassie was to use their club to try to hit her own ball closer to the hole. If she couldn't do it, they got a sleeve of Lady Precept balls (hottest ball on tour). By mid afternoon, Cassie found herself still stuck at the seventh tee and she had an urgent need to pee. One foursome told her the next one had fallen a hole behind so she went behind some tall reeds to relieve herself. Then she discovers Brad Latham tangled in the underbrush. He was bloody. He had been beaten. He later dies on the way to the hospital.Cassie wonders who would want him dead. True no one was supportive of his proposal at the board meeting, but could someone have killed him for that?Many things start to happen. Then there is another death, this time of someone Cassie has gotten to know. She begins to really look into the members and who would have wanted these two people dead. She ends up putting herself and others in danger.I am not a golf fan, but I loved this book. Cassie is a great character. She has a lot of spunk but yet she has weaknesses too. The many additional characters in this book are all well written and really add to the story. The setting is great too. Having so many different types of people coming together in the club setting, and have the controversies they do, make it hard to know who could have done it.I look forward to reading more of her exploits in future books. I highly recommend this book.