Tagged for Murder: A Molly Doyle Mystery

This is the second book in the Molly Doyle series. An antique dealer at a show dies from an apparent heart attack. There are many suspects in this story. Which puts an even greater tension between Randall and Molly. This book is a joy to read. The description of the stores, the resturant and Bitsy's home are well done. Emma and Tiger are a great addition to the series. This book is a great way to end a day.

Elaine Flinn's second book in her antique mystery series is even better than the first! "Tagged for Murder" (love the title) again features antique dealer, Molly Doyle, as she continues to rebuild her reputation in the posh community of affluent Carmel, CA. Mayhem erupts when local antique dealer, Trudy Collins, abruptly dies from an apparent heart attack at the Carmel Antiques Show. When Molly's sister, Carrie, suddenly arrives that day with her daughter after a 15-year estrangement, Molly once again fears her sister is being deceitful. Carrie swiftly and unceremoniously leaves her daughter, Emma, with Molly and takes off to pursue a "legal career" overseas. As fake antiques and additional murders begin to surface, Molly attempts to piece together who is behind these acts - against her better judgment and certainly against the wishes of Police Chief Randall. The result is a great mystery and terrific development of wonderful characters. Flinn has a wonderful series going! The dialogue is written in a realistic manner as to the verbiage that individuals actually use. Any "dangling participles" are included to make the conversations realistic and engrossing as, let's face it, most speech patterns and dialogues are not always in complete grammatical sentences. To change this would change the whole rhythm of the characters. The addition of Emma was absolutely brilliant! This kid brings such a new dimension to Molly and others. I thought that Flinn VERY ACCURATELY AND REALISTICALLY did not have Emma enrolled in school. Only about 2-3 weeks have elapsed (not months!) and Molly has started the legal process to have Em remain with her. She has arranged for a tutor, but for Molly to enroll Em in school, only days after being abandoned by her mother and before any decisions were made by the State, WOULD have been unrealistic. Likewise, Molly's relationship with Chief Randall is currently being defined. Randall cares greatly for Molly, but sternly masks his fear as he is trying to rein Molly in when she insists on putting her life in jeopardy. From the first book, "Dealing With Murder," we have learned that Randall is often jaded and rather acerbic in nature- as is Molly at times. Randall gives Molly a difficult time as she KNOWINGLY hides evidence that she wants to look over. Good grief - the argument that she gives Randall about "forgetting about certain evidence" is an excuse that they both realize is fabricated. However, she can't very well say, "Randall, here is the evidence that I deliberately withheld from you while I attempted to discern how involved my sister is in this matter!" And finally, Molly's sister has not been arrested because she is out of the country. They have just that night discovered the extent of her involvement. Although the next book may indicate that she may be extradited back to the States for trial, law and customs officials may "have bigger fish to fry" and not pursue it. "Tagged for Murder" is a wo

I wondered how Elaine Flinn could possibly top her first book, the multi-award nominated, Dealing in Murder, but she's done it. I just flew through Tagged for Murder. The characters are rich (you'll hate her sister!) and so well textured that they jump off the pages. The book flows so fast that you can't put it down. The writing is first rate, and the story is another home run. Elaine has really established herself as one of the leading authors in the mystery field. You'll love this book.

Elaine Flinn has done it again. Another winner! Molly Doyle is an antiques dealer in Carmel. Trudy Collins dies from an apparent heart attack at a local show. One night Molly's sister Carrie, whom she hasn't seen or heard from in years, shows up at her place with her twelve-year-old daughter, Emma. A couple days later Carrie leaves Em with her. Soon it is discovered that she isn't coming back. At first Molly is shocked, but as she gets to know Em, she is delighted. She still finds it hard to always remember she has a child to keep an eye on, but overall she is enjoying it. Kenneth Randall, chief of police, tells Molly that Trudy was murdered, but that he doesn't want very many people to know. They meet with Daria and Lucero, the D.A., at Daria's restaurant. She has a back room they can talk in. Daria has Emma taken to the kitchen to see how it works while they talk. Randall tells Molly to not do any investigating. But, Molly can't help herself. Unbeknownst to Randall, she has Trudy's office paperwork and plans to look through it. Once she finds Carrie in some of the pictures, she has a real quandary. How can she turn this over to Randall, as she knows she must? She doesn't want him to know Carrie is involved until she can determine what exactly she is involved in. Molly soon discovers that Trudy's antiques business was not all on the up and up. She worries Carrie may have been involved in that side of her business. She must investigate but keep Emma safe. Not always easy to do. This is a fantastic cozy series. Molly is such a likeable character. And now the addition of Emma is wonderful! I really like how they work together. Of course the tension is still there between Molly and Randall. Emma thinks they should get together. Not sure what Molly and Randall think yet. Bitsy's role in this mystery is not as big, but she's still very much a part of the story. I really like her character a lot. I highly recommend this book. It is the second in the series. You don't have to read the first to understand this one, but I do highly recommend you read it. They're both great.

Fans of Elaine Flinn's Molly Doyle mystery series rejoice: her latest antique-store mystery, "Tagged For Murder" was as engrossing, absorbing and enjoyable as her first book, "Dealing in Murder." Molly Doyle, a New York transplant is beginning to feel completely at home in Carmel, Ca -- she's picked up the pieces of her life, adapted completely to the more low key pace here, found some good friends, and has completely recovered from her the murder investigation she had gotten entangled with, when (wouldn't you know it) she finds herself coming face to face with another unexpected death, this time that of friend and fellow antique's dealer, Trudy Collins. Found face down on her desk at the Carmel Antiques Show, everyone initially assumes that Trudy had suffered from a heart attack at the show. But Carmel's chief of police's, Kenneth Randall, behaviour makes Molly believe that there is something more to Trudy's death. However, the unexpected appearance of her deceitful long-estranged younger sister, Carrie, soon distracts Molly from the mystery of Trudy's death. Especially when Carrie saddles Molly (permanently) with her 12 year old daughter, Emma, and disappears. Struggling to absorb the latest change in her life, and to ensure that no lasting damage has been done to her clever and sweet natured niece, Molly's composure takes a further knock when she makes the discovery that Carrie knew Trudy and that they were both involved in something shady. Should Molly share her fears with good friend police chief Randall? Or should she try to figure out exactly what Carrie and Trudy were involved in and to try cover Carrie's tracks for Emma's sake? Torn between protecting her sister and doing the right thing, Molly soon finds herself neck deep in murder once again, and dodging yet another determined killer... Once I started "Tagged For Murder" I simply had to finish it in one go -- it was that engaging and absorbing. Tautly paced and with quite a few interesting plot twists, I was happily engrossed from beginning to end. The storyline was a very intriguing and interesting one, and Ms Flinn's brilliant and believable character portrayals added to the overall excellence of the novel. And adding to the overall enjoyment to the book, was the wonderful manner in which the authour painted in the quiet charms of Carmel. My advice, if you enjoy absorbing and quiet cozies, that is, is to unplug the 'phone and settle into your favourite chair, "Tagged For Murder" is a read to be savoured and enjoyed without interruption.