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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fantasy Within a Fantasy or Just Improbable Writing?, 17 July 2004
Twelve-year-old Emma Graham is the heroine of this detective novel. Her life is a lot like Cinderella's except that her mother is still alive.In this story, Emma does her usual waitressing and food preparation chores at the Hotel Paradise while solving three deaths. To complicate matters, her mother, business partner and business partner's daughter all go away on a vacation leaving Emma to cook for the resident guests and to pine for Florida. She creates her own fantasy vacation while they are away. To take some of the sting out of being left behind, she pulls little tricks on a grumpy guest and spends more time investigating. After I finished reading the book, I couldn't decide if Ms. Grimes intended the detection to be a fantasy as well (delusions of a deluded person) or just decided to ignore reality as a writer. In either case, the book didn't work for me. Let me explain the problem. Emma's mom is supposed to be short of money. Emma gets her money from tips, but the hotel seems to only have 2 or 3 guests. How much can she earn in tips? Presumably, not very much. Yet, Emma is constantly racing around in taxis, taking trains, having lunch in diners, and buying expensive supplies. She spends much more pocket money daily than I do as a management consultant. As another dimension of this problem, Emma is able to get an attractive young man (who is a poacher) to drive her around and help her check out an old house whenever she wants. Neither Emma nor anyone else is worried about them heading off together in a car. Really? Many of the characters seem to think that Emma isn't all there mentally. Are they right, or just myopic? Emma also comes out succeeding in some pretty over-the-top ways at the end of the story. Fantasy or overly imaginative writing? The mystery itself isn't a particularly intriguing one. If you like the idea of Cinderella as a detective rather than going to the ball, you will probably enjoy this story. If you like your mysteries to have more realism in them, pick one of the Richard Jury novels that Ms. Grimes writes so well instead. Where does personal fantasy begin to undermine the ability to function? How can you guard against this? Take a cold-eyed look around you!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Grimes returns without Jury!, 28 Mar 2001
By A Customer
If you're looking for another Richard Jury mystery, this isn't it. Period. However, that said, this is Martha Grimes writing as Martha Grimes, and an excellent job she does, too. (There's no compelling reason all her books have to be about Jury & the Long Pid Gang--much as we wish they were!) In "Cold Flat Junction," Grimes returns to the scene, as it were, from an earlier book (which did involve Jury) called "Hotel Paradise." In an interview in October, 1999, Grimes explained that she was returning to that scene, not that she was tired of Jury, but that she felt that this story needed to be told, as well. Here, we find young Emma Graham, 12 years old (and most curious!), and a sleuth in her own "write." The setting is small town America (Grimes is, surprisingly, American) and picks up some three weeks after "Hotel Paradise" ends. Emma, precocious that she is, sets out to investigate not one, bu three family murders. Sound like too much? Surprisingly not. Grimes, truly, is in good from here (yes, yes, get on with it: it's NOT Richard Jury!) and with the precision of a talented, if not competent, surgeon, she makes "Cold Flat Junction" a worthy read. Grimes' style is fresh, filled with good literary allusions and at times a sharp wit. While the book, granted, is not her masterpiece (maybe "Jerusalem Inn"? Yes--it's Jury!), Grimes holds her own--and she commands a large literary field--with this one. Read it with an open mind. Besides, she also stated that Richard will be back!
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Fantasy Within a Fantasy or Just Improbable Writing?, 7 May 2004
Twelve-year-old Emma Graham is the heroine of this detective novel. Her life is a lot like Cinderella's except that her mother is still alive. In this story, Emma does her usual waitressing and food preparation chores at the Hotel Paradise while solving three deaths. To complicate matters, her mother, business partner and business partner's daughter all go away on a vacation leaving Emma to cook for the resident guests and to pine for Florida. She creates her own fantasy vacation while they are away. To take some of the sting out of being left behind, she pulls little tricks on a grumpy guest and spends more time investigating. After I finished reading the book, I couldn't decide if Ms. Grimes intended the detection to be a fantasy as well (delusions of a deluded person) or just decided to ignore reality as a writer. In either case, the book didn't work for me. Let me explain the problem. Emma's mom is supposed to be short of money. Emma gets her money from tips, but the hotel seems to only have 2 or 3 guests. How much can she earn in tips? Presumably, not very much. Yet, Emma is constantly racing around in taxis, taking trains, having lunch in diners, and buying expensive supplies. She spends much more pocket money daily than I do as a management consultant. As another dimension of this problem, Emma is able to get an attractive young man (who is a poacher) to drive her around and help her check out an old house whenever she wants. Neither Emma nor anyone else is worried about them heading off together in a car. Really? Many of the characters seem to think that Emma isn't all there mentally. Are they right, or just myopic? Emma also comes out succeeding in some pretty over-the-top ways at the end of the story. Fantasy or overly imaginative writing? The mystery itself isn't a particularly intriguing one. If you like the idea of Cinderella as a detective rather than going to the ball, you will probably enjoy this story. If you like your mysteries to have more realism in them, pick one of the Richard Jury novels that Ms. Grimes writes so well instead. Where does personal fantasy begin to undermine the ability to function? How can you guard against this? Take a cold-eyed look around you!
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