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16th out of 113 books
—
24 voters
Life Without Parole: A Kate Conway Mystery
“Missing Persons will have readers eagerly waiting for show time on Kate’s next case.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch After the death of her ex-husband, things are finally returning to normal for Kate Conway—so normal that she’s gotten a little bored. Out of the blue, the television producer is offered a documentary gig about lifers in a state prison. Kate jumps at the chance. T...more
Paperback, 275 pages
Published
April 24th 2012
by Plume
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The second Kate Conway mystery picks up after the painful, complicated death of Kate's husband, which took place in the first book. It's seven months later and she's fooling herself into thinking she's recovering. My heart aches for the rather brittle, but likable Kate as she deals with her grief and her boredom with her job as a reality show television producer.
She's been doing decorating and makeover shows and becoming more jaded with each one. So she jumps at the chance to do something differ...more
She's been doing decorating and makeover shows and becoming more jaded with each one. So she jumps at the chance to do something differ...more
Life Without Parole was only okay for me. The book was well-written with interesting characters, but I didn’t quite understand the main character’s actions at times. I realized later that this book is part of a series and I haven’t read the first one, Missing Persons. I would suggest reading that first to get some background on Kate, the split from her husband and the circumstances surrounding it. I had a tough time understanding the relationship between Kate and Vera (her ex-husband’s mistress)...more
I received this through GoodReads Giveaway.
I have not read the first book in this series, so I read this as a stand alone story.
Kate is still recovering from the death of her husband who died just months after leaving her for his mistress. She is stuck in drudgery and has been content to live life on auto-pilot. However, she is starting to become annoyed with her stale life, current job as a tv producer for a budget makeover series when BAM! two things land in her lap to create some excitement....more
I have not read the first book in this series, so I read this as a stand alone story.
Kate is still recovering from the death of her husband who died just months after leaving her for his mistress. She is stuck in drudgery and has been content to live life on auto-pilot. However, she is starting to become annoyed with her stale life, current job as a tv producer for a budget makeover series when BAM! two things land in her lap to create some excitement....more
We first met Kate Conway, free lance television producer in Missing Persons, her soon to be ex-husband was killed and she was the prime suspect. Of course, she didn't do it.
In Life Without Parole Kate is actually a little bored as her life returns to "normal". Then she is offered two new jobs. One is a documentary about prison inmates sentenced to life without parole and the other is a reality show about a new restaurant.
She accepts both jobs and works out a schedule. Things go awry when one of...more
In Life Without Parole Kate is actually a little bored as her life returns to "normal". Then she is offered two new jobs. One is a documentary about prison inmates sentenced to life without parole and the other is a reality show about a new restaurant.
She accepts both jobs and works out a schedule. Things go awry when one of...more
I really enjoy the Kate Conway mysteries by Clare O' Donohue. They are well-written, smart mysteries and I'm never able to figure out the ending. Kate is a freelance TV producer, and unlike other mystery books where the heroines seem to stumble on murders, Kate's involvement in these cases makes sense. She's not a Nancy Drew wannabe, but rather a smart, savvy, producer with a critical mind who is adept at interviews. In this second book in the series, Kate is working on a documentary about priso...more
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I always like to read the stories in which a person that is not in the normal business of investigating falls into the position. In this case Kate Conway who is a television producer takes on a job to produce a show for the Business Channel. She accepts because she is offered a large amount of money. Unfortunately for her, when she shows up for the first day of shooting, her dead husbands mistress appears to be the one behind her hiring. From this moment on I was constantly asking myself "why ar...more
This was my first experience reading one of Clare O'Donohue's books. I actually got this book for free as a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. I entered to win the book because the premise sounded interesting. My curiosity was piqued when I saw that there was a lot of interaction between the main character and some prisoners serving life without parole sentences. Although this isn't the first Kate Conway novel, it works well as a stand alone book. Not reading the previous book did not detract from...more
The secret to O’Donohue’s Kate Conway character is that she is the antithesis of O’Donohue. The author writes with an energy and vivaciousness that the protagonist lacks. Conway is alone in life, settling into a disturbing trend of inertia and curt to the point of being rude. Even her appearance is downtrodden and dowdy. That she is getting over the sudden death of her husband who she discovered was cheating on her is a decent excuse.
In the second of the Kate Conway series, we find our heroine d...more
In the second of the Kate Conway series, we find our heroine d...more
Wow, what a disappointment. After her first Kate Conway mystery I couldn't wait to read this. The author introduced so many interesting characters and I figured after doing such a great job setting the stage in her first book, this one would develop these characters further while weaving them into an interesting mystery. Wrong on both counts. There is no depth to this book at all, and the mystery is just plain dull. It felt more like a check list of characters, Q & As, and clues to get throu...more
I like all Clare O'Donohues books. This was ok it dragged a little and I really didn't get the whole prisoner part of the story. The description said she used the inmates to help solve the crime I didn't feel like they provided any real insight at all. that being said it was an ok book. nothing earth shattering or memorable about it but it held my interest. yes I will buy the next book she puts out because I do enjoy her work.
This was an interesting mystery with Kate Conway producing a documentary about inmates serving a life sentence in the penitentiary. At the same time, she's been asked to produce a story about the opening of a New York City restaurant opening. When a murder occurs at the restaurant, she delves into the minds of killers to help solve the case. The book was good but not outstanding.
The first Kate Conway novel that I have read. I would probably read another but wouldn't seek it out. There were enough twists in the plot to keep me interested but it didn't keep me up past my bedtime. There was an opportunity for a really complex and interesting relationship between Kate and Vera but it was a little too nice and tidy as written.
This book was just okay. It isn't one that I'd necessarily go around recommending to people because it did seem to drag on quite a bit. Also, it was hard to follow Kate's investigation of the murders. I think it's nice to have a mystery but I wanted to be able to follow along better to make my own guesses as to who did what.
This is a fabulous new series. This one was a little harder to get into than her first book, Missing Persons, but after a few chapters, I was hooked. I really like (the character) Kate Conway. Can't wait for the next one.
Good book. I couldn't put it down at first but then it started to get a little bit unbelievable but I continued to read it. It was worth it.
**YA Staff Review / Tina
**YA Staff Review / Tina
I keep thinking I should like this series better than I do.
Takes a long time to read because I keep falling asleep and loosing my place.
Takes a long time to read because I keep falling asleep and loosing my place.
I really liked the book very much, I loved the way Kate got here self in messes trying to be nice, I also loved how a the friends had each others backs and was willing to go out on a limb for each other.
I now want to read the other books.
I now want to read the other books.
Overall, this book was just okay for me. I haven't read the first book in the series, but I wasn't lost in the plot for this one. I was mostly confused why this TV producer is playing detective, that certainly wasn't the strong point of the book. It's a fast easy read and kept my interest - not bad overall.
This book was o.k. I was expecting more in the way of character development but that was somewhat slow going. There were also many characters to keep track of. And, of course, everything was wrapped up with a bright red bow at the end.
Potentially great story line, but I didn't really care much about the characters
Kate Conway Mysteries, Book #2
Dec 10, 2012
Deb Zdenek
added it
I really liked this second Kate Conway book. The characters are charming, and there's just enough twists to keep you guessing. I really like this author.
I love Clare O'Donohue's books. Kate is a very true to life character.
I won this book through the First Reads giveaway. I can't wait to read another book by the author. The plot was engrossing and I found myself sneaking a few pages here and there at work.
Ending does leave you hanging but she is moving toward living life!
Clare O'Donohue's "Life Without Parole" contains an intriguing group of characters, widely varied in their backgrounds, ranging from people with wealth to people in prison, making for a book that provides an interesting read. The dilemmas that Kate Conway faces intrigue me enough to make me want to search out "Missing Persons"--the book that introduces Kate to the world.
O'Donohue is a great writer, and I loved the first book in this series about Kate Conway, a producer of reality TV shows. However, this book just didn't make me jump up and cheer the way the first one did. It felt a bit unfinished. Maybe the next book in the series will provide more closure.
The 2nd book in the series and in my opinion fell short of the first. Kate was stronger and more in control in the first, in this book she was manipulated by several people and lacked confidence.
The prison story was not interesting to me and fell flat.
The prison story was not interesting to me and fell flat.
I liked the first one in the series, so I was waiting patiently for this one to coem out. I really like the protagonist. She's a bit hardboiled, which I enjoy from my days of Mystery Fiction in college. (Best class ever!) Looking forward to the next one.
Another winner from Clare O'Donohue. I love this series! The characters are interesting and complex and the plot was amazingly full of twists. I never knew who done it until it happened. Highly recommended!
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Clare O'Donohue was born in Chicago, Illinois, the youngest of four children. Her parents, John and Sabina O'Donohue, were both born in Ireland. They met in London and moved to the US and settled on Chicago's South Side where she was raised.
She always knew she wanted to be a writer and in fact wrote her first novel when she was 15. It was a mystery. After college she worked as a newspaper reporter...more
More about Clare O'Donohue...
She always knew she wanted to be a writer and in fact wrote her first novel when she was 15. It was a mystery. After college she worked as a newspaper reporter...more
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“I sometimes think heaven is walking out into the sunshine with the day ahead of me and no idea what would happen. I'd probably spend most of it in the library, so I guess it don't matter if the sun shines or not.”
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