Resort to Murder

Carolyn Hart has such a command of language and pacing, developing the plot and building tension. She leant such color to this story with the setting in Bermuda. The texture and tones of the island seeped through and captured my imagination. As always, she delivered an interesting mystery. Most of all, I like her understated, but very knowledgeable view of human nature, which is how Henrie O is able to solve murders so well.

Carolyn Hart is, in my opinion, the most accomplished and the best traditional mystery writer today. Her two series, the Death on Demand series and the Henry O series, closely follow the "cozy" customs. Her sleuths, bookseller Annie Darling in the first and retired journalist Henrietta Collins in the second, are people you'd like to know. They are amateurs, characters who are fully developed and who often find themselves in peril. Through wit, ingenuity and creativity they solve the crime at hand. The emphasis in each story is the reasoning by the protagonist that leads to the eventual solution of the crime(s).In RESORT TO MURDER, Henry O joins her grandchildren and ex-son-in-law at a Bermuda resort for his wedding. The bride is a compulsive flirt, who can't seem to stay away from men. The groom is jealous. Stir into this mix a hotel owner whose husband may have committed suicide because of the bride-to-be, a granddaughter who dislikes the bride so much she threatens to kill her, a touch of blackmail and a roaming "ghost" and you have a story you won't want to put down until you finish it.Hart's strong point is puzzle solving. We follow Henry O's analyses, her interventions and consequences and her re-evaluations until right up to the conclusion. Then the story finishes with the classical confrontation scene that is almost a "must" in this kind of story.I've read all of Hart's books and eagerly await the next. If you haven't met Henry O or Annie Darling yet, put them at the top of your to-read list. You won't be sorry.

Henrie's daughter Emily asks her to accompany her two children to their father's wedding in Bermuda. The wedding is to be at the small hotel where the happy couple met. Unfortunately, the manager's husband died there the year before, in questionable circumstances, and the proposed bride, Connor, was supposedly the reason. The children dislike Connor, and her side of the family also seems less that pleased with the arrangements. A "ghost" is seen hovering around the tower and Connor's sanity seems to be crumbling. Soon, Connor is murdered and the proposed groom Lloyd is the suspect. Henrie O has to find out who really killed her for her grandchildren's sakes.The mystery was really very good in this novel. I had a very hard time figuring it out. I love Bermuda, and I enjoyed the little descriptions of the Island. I went there in May however, and the residents thought that we were crazy to swim in 75 degree water, I can't imagine sunbathing in January. It seemed especially wierd for people from Texas and Georgia to go to a colder place for a vacation. Henrie O's recovery from pneumonia was the only reason that I could figure that she changed from a very active older woman to Miss Marple. All criticisms aside, this is a very good mystery and I look forward to the old (that is, not OLD) Henrie O in the next novel.

It was Saturday, but I still woke up at the regular time. The pharmacy wouldn't be open for hours. I figured I could put down RESORT TO MURDER when the time came and finish it when I came home. WRONG! I didn't leave until after I finished. By the time I was almost there, the rain had started again. While I was walking through the parking lot, pea-sized hail was bouncing off my umbrella! Why hadn't I picked a duller book?Has Henrie O's former son-in-law made another mistake in picking the bride for him? Is Connor, his new love, a woman who just feels the need to have men admire her, as her older daughter says, or is she a man-trap who loves manipulating her conquests?Is the ghost of the hotel manager's late husband really haunting the tower? Is the ghost appearing so close to the first anniversary of his death because it was murder, not an accident?How far is Henrie's granddaughter willing to go to keep her father from marrying Connor?Is Connor really in danger? Is Marlow really a loving daughter who doesn't mind being outshone by her mother?Will the wedding actually take place? Should it? Would Connor be better off marrying her old friend, Steve?Has an innocent party been framed for murder? Henrie thinks so, but can she find proof? Can she figure out what's going on? Well of course she can, but will she be able to do so in time to prevent tragedy?It was nice to meet Henrie's grandchildren. The descriptions of Bermuda add to interest of the plot. Don't let the dustjacket fool you. The design may be pretty and peaceful-looking, but there are ugly passions stirring under the cover and not much peace to be found.Note to the publisher: chapter 20, p.266, full paragraph two, line one. That "Lloyd" should be "Steve". You might wish to fix that for the paperback.

Though she prefers to remain home, septuagenarian Henrie O recovers from pneumonia at a beautiful Bermuda resort. Actually Henrie accompanies her two grandchildren at the request of her daughter as they attend their father's wedding to the beautiful but needy Connor.The bridegroom Lloyd Drake looks forward to his second marriage festivities. Unfortunately his oldest child Diana dislikes Connor's selfish nature. His other daughter Marlow believes her dad should not marry the flirty Connor who craves other male companionship. However, neither one seems capable of actually harming or even frightening Connor to death, but someone appears to desire that to happen. Henrie begins making her own inquiries.A tired still ailing Henrie O has more energy than the average preteen, which is part of her charm. Carolyn Hart's heroine is spry, keen, and independent with a mind as sharp as ever and the guts of Rocky (without the punch drunkenness). In her latest tale, RESORT TO MURDER, she scores again as she turns the multi-layered plot into one of the author's greatest triumphs.Harriet Klausner