The Chelsea Girl Murders

It's a very funny, but overly fantastic,mystery set in Manhattan in the Chelsea Hotel (with a lot of Chelsea Hotel history thrown in). The adventures are too wild to be believable. I buy all Sparkle Hayter's and all Janet Evanovich's, but I have to admit that Evanovich is better. Hayter tries too hard to make every character eccentric, zany or wacky in every way but maybe that's the way Manhattan is. The Trenton characters are more grounded in reality. I find that Robin Hudson comes more vividly to life whenever her background in Minnesota intrudes (which it doesn't in this book). Incidentally I noticed a reference to checking mail for anthrax (page 20 of the paperback) and this has a 2000 original publication date.

It is a mystery, but the characters, especially Robin Hudson, spend most of their time working on other problems. Robin, the protagonist, has her apartment burned, moves into the Chelsea Hotel where her friend Tamara has an apartment, and discovers one of the strangest groups of people in the world. Tamara is out of the country through most of the book but her circle of friends are at the center of the weirdness. Tamara's revenge-seeking girlfriend and her underground railroad for lovers make for an interesting life for Robin--and a fun read for us.This is not serious mystery, this is fun--seeing people in a slightly cynical 20's view, and experiencing the angst of trying to create a relationship in a world which seems set on making all relationships fail.I'm not sure I solved the mystery before Robin did, but mostly because I lost track of the mystery and got involved with the characters. Read it for fun and don't get hung up on the plot.

A peculiar murder mystery with excellent relationships between the characters. The events in it are absurd but the emotions and insights ground it and give it true depth. I don't understand the lukewarm reviews. This book gave me my first laughs since my mother died.

Once again Sparkle Hayter invites readers to share a slice of zany life with Robin Hudson, her sleuth-cum-TV-newsie. Forced from her apartment by a fire, Robin and her tabby cat, Louise Bryant, find sanctuary at the Chelsea Hotel. Naturally the stay is not uneventful, what with a man dying at Robin's feet, a young woman who appears, then vanishes, and a host of characters, each with their own odd agendas, each of whom seems a likely suspect for murder, mayhem and more. Of course Robin tries to solve the murder, find the missing girl and tie up the tag ends of questions galore, all against the backdrop of the storied hotel. Sparkle Hayter sprinkles tidbits of the hotel's history like tasty croutons, painting a vivid picture of a special place to live and dream. I wont give away the scene with the nuns, or the trek through Central Park, you'll just have to laugh your way through them yourself. The witticisms and brilliant "wish-I'd-said-that" lines sprout like the poison ivy Robin likes to grow for protection from burglars. When I finished this book, I was disappointed to look up and find I did NOT live in the Chelsea after all. If you've ever lived in NYC, this book will evoke the good memories; if you haven't, you'll feel as if you did, cursing at cabs and mingling with the sidewalk masses."The Chelsea Girl Murders" is a good-humored escape from the boring Monday-Tuesday-Wednesdayish reality most of us face daily. Luckily Sparkle Hayter and Robin Hudson provide the Maximum Daily Requirement of laughter and fun. If you have not read the previous Robin Hudson books, start here and work your way back. You will not be disappointed.

It's always such a pleasure to read Sparkle Hayter's witty, fast-paced prose and heroine Robin Hudson's quirky, irreverent commentary on the world around her. This is one of the few authors I rush out to buy in hardcover as soon as the book is released, and I've yet to be disappointed.