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Blood in the Water (Gregor Demarkian Mystery #27)
by
Jane Haddam
Gregor Demarkian returns in a mindbending case of death and disappearance amongst the wealthy suburban elite.
In Waldorf Pines, a very rich, gated suburb of Philadelphia, ostentation and pretension are the order of the day. But even by the local standards, Martha Heydrich is a stone cold pain. She’s the stay-at-home wife of a very rich husband, drives a pink sports car ever...more
In Waldorf Pines, a very rich, gated suburb of Philadelphia, ostentation and pretension are the order of the day. But even by the local standards, Martha Heydrich is a stone cold pain. She’s the stay-at-home wife of a very rich husband, drives a pink sports car ever...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
March 27th 2012
by Minotaur Books
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I like the Gregor Demarkian series, and while he's gotten a little crankier, and the dialog between him and Father Tibor has gotten to be more of a set piece, the plots are still good. I saw the where the twist was going by oh, about 2 paragraphs after the first hint of it appeared, but it was nonetheless interesting watching the various characters get there. I also like the new character who shows up at the end, Old George's great-nephew (or something like that), Steve Tekemanian, who is studyi...more
I haven’t read one of these books in a long while. So long in fact, that I don’t have any idea of which ones I have read or where I left off in the series. Gregor Demarkian has remarried? Did I know that? I have no idea at this point in time.
My memory (which obviously can’t be trusted in terms of details) seems to recall this series as well-constructed, complex and an involved mystery series. This latest in the series seems to live up to this memory.
Gregor is a former FBI agent that now works o...more
My memory (which obviously can’t be trusted in terms of details) seems to recall this series as well-constructed, complex and an involved mystery series. This latest in the series seems to live up to this memory.
Gregor is a former FBI agent that now works o...more
Apr 20, 2012
Sheila Beaumont
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
adult-fiction,
mysteries-suspense-thrillers
The solution to this whodunit was obvious pretty early on, but the real enjoyment in reading a Gregor Demarkian mystery is in the author's engaging, somewhat exaggerated character depictions. This time she takes on a gated community and its varied assortment of affluent residents. I also love reading about former FBI agent Demarkian and his Armenian-American neighborhood in Philadelphia (but I do wish we'd get to see more of Father Tibor than we have in the recent installments).
If you expect a w...more
If you expect a w...more
The author Jan Haddam has definitely defined the mediocrity of a very rich, gated suburbia community in "Blood in the Water". The community gives a false sense of security. Everything is in order until a murder happened and everyone in the community is not who they seemed. Martha Heydrich was eccentric with the color pink, disappeared on the day Michael Platte and an unknown body were found burned beyond recognition. The body was assumed to be her until the DNA results came back. Ex-FBI agent Gr...more
This was the second on I've read. Fascinating because of its location in the area where I live (Philadelhia and its "Main Line"), but the book as a whole missed the mark.... I didn't really care who did the murders, and I couldn't figure out if Gregor liked his wife or not. That role was a little too casually drawn, if she is a serious part of the series (she is his second wife and I can;t tell how long they've been married...)(and why is the Armenian restaurant lady barging into his house with...more
I've read most of Jane Haddam's Gregor Demarkian books, although I am not sure I actually read the first few...gonna get them from the local library just to make sure I haven;t overlooked any! As usual, her writing is superb -- she's one of the best contemporary authors that I've ever read. But the plot was dismal. I knew who-done-it and why before the end of Part 1. And this was the flimsiest excuse for a murder mystery I've seen lately. Loose threads and red herrings all over the place, and as...more
This was disappointing. Very dull, ended up skimming a lot of it. Mystery was obvious by the first third of the book. All characters come across as very two dimensional, even those that weren't meant to be that way. Sadly, most seem to have been drawn this way intentionally -- when done humorously, this can work, but here, the humor is so heavy handed, so without affection, it just comes across as nasty and misanthropic. The author saves her love for the culturally quaint and somehow dishonors t...more
It's not great Haddam, but it's still better than most mysteries. With this one I figured out both mystery and murderer within the first fifty pages, which is unusual for Haddam. It also seems shorter than usual and somewhat rushed--lots of loose ends at the end (what about the missing husband? what about the awful guy's wife? etc.). Usually, Haddam finishes some of these threads off, but this time she just leaves them hanging. I love Haddam--she's one of my autobuys, but if you're just starting...more
Mar 18, 2012
Sherri Huntley
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommended to Sherri by:
Goodreads
Shelves:
first-reads
I won this book from Goodreads and I enjoyed every minute of reading it. I would highly recommend it to others. Blood in the Water is a mystery set in the gated community of Windsor Pines. Windsor Pines is filled with upper middle class who aspire to be seen as the wealthy elite of a suburban town outside of Philadelphia. The families of Windsor Pines have hidden secrets that are slowly revealed once two murders are committed in the community pool house. The twists and turns of the plot keep you...more
Behind the walls of a gated community, these things aren't supposed to happen. A drug dealer, an arson, a double murder. The inhabitants are seriously offended; except for the husband of the missing Martha Heydrich, and he is awaiting trial for murder. In some very nice plot twists, out of jail Arthur Heydrich comes, and Gregor is brought in to sort out which of the many secrets behind those gates are serious enough to kill for.
Alas, the next Gregor Demarkian mystery doesn't come out for another...more
Alas, the next Gregor Demarkian mystery doesn't come out for another...more
I won this book in a first reads contest.
The Good: I really enjoyed the mystery in this book. I kept thinking I had solved everything, only to be thrown another curve. It really kept me guessing until the end.
The Bad: This was the first book I had ever read by this author, and it is the 27th book in the series. This means that the main character has already been really fleshed out, and most readers have a vested interest in him, that is unless this is the first book you are ever reading about hi...more
The Good: I really enjoyed the mystery in this book. I kept thinking I had solved everything, only to be thrown another curve. It really kept me guessing until the end.
The Bad: This was the first book I had ever read by this author, and it is the 27th book in the series. This means that the main character has already been really fleshed out, and most readers have a vested interest in him, that is unless this is the first book you are ever reading about hi...more
My problem with this book is that I figured out the major piece of the puzzle - the identity of one of the murder victims - on the last word of Chapter Two, and since I've never read any of this series before, I'm not invested enough in Gregor Demarkian & Co. to be interested in watching him try to figure it out. Which, since I flipped to the end to check that I was right, I learned that he doesn't even do until very close to the end. Color me Not Impressed By This Plot.
Plus, skipping to the...more
Plus, skipping to the...more
This review is based on a free copy of the book received from the publisher through the Goodreads Advance Reader process.
Arthur Heydrich is rich and powerful but even that doesn’t deflect the police from arresting him for murdering his wife and lover found burned in their pool house. The only problem is that when the DNA analysis of the burned beyond recognition body comes back from the lab the results say the body is male. They can’t identify who it is but it is definitely not a woman.
So Arthur...more
Arthur Heydrich is rich and powerful but even that doesn’t deflect the police from arresting him for murdering his wife and lover found burned in their pool house. The only problem is that when the DNA analysis of the burned beyond recognition body comes back from the lab the results say the body is male. They can’t identify who it is but it is definitely not a woman.
So Arthur...more
Police arrest Arthur Heydrich for murdering his wife and her reputed lover, but must release him when the DNA tests on one of the bodies reveals something that deepens the mystery around the deaths. Cue the entry of consultant Gregor Demarkian, who can't decide whether he detests some of the local officials or the gated community, Waldorf Pines, more. He soon finds that more than one of the people in Waldorf Pines have secrets, and also may have motives.
'Blood In The Water' is the first Jane Haddam novel I have read. This was an unusual mystery novel in the way it was written. The novel is well written and it revolves around people's hidden secrets and how these secrets affect their lives and the lives of others. I don't often smile and have a little laugh when I read a mystery novel. I did with this novel. I enjoyed Jane's humorous characterization and her depiction of life today.
All Jane Haddam's novels are really good. This one was no exception, even though the basic puzzle was apparent early on. In this, as in most of her Demarkian novels, she relieves the reader from the awfulness of the suspects with the affection shown by the neighbors on Cavanaugh Street. The people on Cavanaugh Street are some of my favorite fictional characters.
I was seriously struggling with this book and when the due date for the return to the library approached I was quite happy to return it without having finished it. I just couldn't get into it. While I found the part that played at the gated community entertaining enough I got bored whenever the attention shifted to the detective in his own community. I think they were meant to come across as a quirky bunch, but I found them just weird and couldn't relate to them. I just wasn't interested in wha...more
Apr 26, 2012
Sally Barnett
added it
I don't believe I ever read a novel based in the Armenian American community. Interesting insight into a little known culture. Gregor Tamarian, the detective is a somber hero. He investigates the murder in a "posh" gated community and soon sees the deception involved. The ending was a distinct twist. I will probably look for another Jane Haddam title.
Another good Demarkian yarn. This time, the question is 'who killed 2 people in the poolhouse of a very exclusive community, and why?'. The characters are quite fun, and parts of the solution were fairly obvious, but it was still a fun story. I will definitely be going back to catch up on the parts of this series that I missed.
Apr 23, 2012
Nancy
added it
Gregor Demarkian is called to Waldorf Pines, a rich suburb of Philadelphia to consult on the murder of two people in a pool house. It is finally discovered that Arthur, whose wife was missing, was the murderer. His wife had earlier had a sex change and was being blackmailed. Arthur killed both the blackmailer and his wife.
While the delightfully overdone characters of Blood in the Water promise an intriguing (and wildly entertaining) mystery, Haddam simply doesn’t take full advantage of their quirks.
Read the full review at http://www.nightsandweekends.com/arti...
Read the full review at http://www.nightsandweekends.com/arti...
Another good Gregor Demarkian murder mystery. Two murders in the pool house at an exclusive residence complex, one in the pool, the other badly burned. And there is a missing woman, one of the more eccentric of the community. It had an interesting conclusion.
This is the first book I have read by this author and it’s pretty bad. I did not need to read the whole book to figure who was killed and why it happens to him. Lot of red herrings in this book and some loose threads that go no where.
I didn't finish this book. Hated the one dimensional characters. The ex-FBI agent was the only interesting person. I love mysteries, but I need to care somewhat for the people and I didn't here.
The author has such a talent for depicting the vilest characters (not just the perpetrators).
Unfortunately, in this book, the vile were not balanced with the more pleasant inhabitants of Cavenaugh Street.
Unfortunately, in this book, the vile were not balanced with the more pleasant inhabitants of Cavenaugh Street.
I only recently found this series. Gregor is a fascinating character and the Armenian community is a world about which I know nothing, so that is really interesting.
Apr 04, 2013
Jackie
added it
It was by accident that I chose this book at the library. I love the character of Demarkian and am looking forward to reading them from the beginning.
slow to simmer, great characters, tight plot...and through it all, the complex thoughts and ponderings of private detective Gregor Demarkian
I love this series, but didn't find this to be one of the best. However, I always enjoying reading these mysteries, even the average ones.
A pleasant classic whodunnit. I figured out the murder in the first 100 pages, so it had the added effect of making me feel smart.
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Aka Orania Papazoglou
Jane Haddam (b. 1951) is an American author of mysteries. Born Orania Papazoglou, she worked as a college professor and magazine editor before publishing her Edgar Award–nominated first novel, Sweet, Savage Death, in 1984. This mystery introduced Patience McKenna, a sleuthing scribe who would go on to appear in four more books, including Wicked, Loving Murder (1985) and Rich,...more
More about Jane Haddam...
Jane Haddam (b. 1951) is an American author of mysteries. Born Orania Papazoglou, she worked as a college professor and magazine editor before publishing her Edgar Award–nominated first novel, Sweet, Savage Death, in 1984. This mystery introduced Patience McKenna, a sleuthing scribe who would go on to appear in four more books, including Wicked, Loving Murder (1985) and Rich,...more
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