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427th out of 725 books
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1,558 voters
Withering Heights (Ellie Haskell Mystery #12)
Ellie Haskell---the formerly plump girl turned Thin Woman and happily married mother of three---is also a sometime sleuth and a Gothic romance addict. When her husband's young cousin, Ariel, turns up unexpectedly and begs Ellie to come to the Yorkshire moors to investigate some strange events at the house that her family has recently bought with their lottery winnings, Ell...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
April 3rd 2007
by Minotaur Books
(first published 2007)
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Jan 29, 2011
Lisa (Harmonybites)
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
No One
Recommended to Lisa (Harmonybites) by:
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Ultimate Reading List
Admittedly, I've found that the so-called "cozy mystery" isn't my cuppa. Particularly in a series. Agatha Christie is so clever in plotting, I can forgive that her Miss Marple stumbles into one homicide after another. I'm less forgiving with other books featuring amateur detectives and including cute cats or delicious recipes isn't enough.
No particular gimmick that I could note graces this series featuring interior decorator Ellie Haskell "blissfully married to the handsomest man outside a goth...more
No particular gimmick that I could note graces this series featuring interior decorator Ellie Haskell "blissfully married to the handsomest man outside a goth...more
Ellie Haskell has shipped the kids off to their grandparents and is looking forward to a little private romantic time with her husband, but things rapidly take another turn. She and Ben have a tiff, her cleaning lady Mrs. Malloy has a feud to resolve, and a stray cousin shows up expecting help.
It seems that Ben's cousin has won the lottery and bought an old historic home complete with a mystery. Ariel, the cousin's daughter, is convinced FOUL PLAY is at work and needs Ellie to come and hold her...more
It seems that Ben's cousin has won the lottery and bought an old historic home complete with a mystery. Ariel, the cousin's daughter, is convinced FOUL PLAY is at work and needs Ellie to come and hold her...more
I haven’t read any of Dorothy Cannell’s books before but I must say I found it a lighthearted and sometimes laugh out loud change of pace. I completely enjoyed the book, however implausible it may be, that is part of the fun. Ellie obviously has a rich imagination and a problem with drifting off into her own scenarios in her mind with the slightest trigger, into a world of gothic romance fiction with herself as the main character. Her partner in crime solving is the irrepressible and ever helpfu...more
Jun 10, 2010
Kendra
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I know it's a murder mystery, but my favorite part was the fact that the husband and wife in the story still know how to show their love to each other after having 3-4 children. The author describes a simple glance across a crowded room with a smile and my heart flutters like it did when Justin and I were dating. :)The murder mystery part of the story was not fantastic, but it was okay. I'd read another book by this author just because of the sweet relationships she describes.
This is the first book I've read by this author, and it's pretty awesome! Entertaining, funny and had quite a lot of suspense. This book is quite different from the other Young Adult's Fiction books that I usually read, somehow it feels "vintage-y" (I don't really know how else to describe it!), if you read it you'll probably understand what i mean.
I'll definitely read more books by this author. :) Highly recommended, it's different than the usual books.
I'll definitely read more books by this author. :) Highly recommended, it's different than the usual books.
These books, for me at least, our like literary snack food. Delectable, tasty, and fun to consume. I agree with the quotes on the book jacket: "thoroughly entertaining", "wickedly witty, good bubbly fun", and "sparkling wit and outlandish characters". Ellie Haskell, the main character, is delightfully human with all her insecurities and foibles. The interplay between Ellie and her housekeeper/partner Mrs.Malloy, is absolutely delightful. There is a bit of romance in these too. Ellie is married t...more
I bought this book online because I wanted to try out a book by one of the Bronte sisters. You can imagine the confusion that ensued when I started reading and found out it was a different book all together. It was a little slow starting, but I ended up really liking it. I hadn't read a mystery in a really long time, and this was a good one. It's a great book for a rainy day.
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Meh. I didn't care about the characters, and couldn't get into this book. I think the Aunt Dimity series does a better job of doing the quirky English mom-turned-sleuth thing. And will someone please spare me from the tired 'wife feels frumpy and suspects husband of cheating when they meet up with his ex-girlfriend' plot line? I'll say it again - Meh.
Another comfortable installment in the Ellie Haskell series...no wonder they are called "cozies". Ellie, Ben, and Mrs. Malloy head of to the moors of Yorkshire to help Ben's cousin and his wife solve a little mystery...what happened to the previous owner of their home?
This book was completely entertainment, but clean and enjoyable entertainment. The writing was sound. The characters were interesting. The plot was easy to follow and somewhat surprising. I love the process of guessing. I would read more books by this author.
Another Ellie Haskell mystery. Ellie and her housekeeper and sometimes detective partner mrs. Malloy are involved in another mystery involving a missing man suspected of being murdered, as well as other murders. There are many overlying plotlines involving a cousin and his family of Ellie's husband Ben and various things happening at their large estate home, the cousin's first love, the winning of the lottery, and Mrs. Malloy and her sister who haven't spoken to each other in 40 years.
There is t...more
There is t...more
Dorothy Cannell's sense of humor is the most redeeming feature of this mystery, as it's definitely a bit thin and obvious from the beginning
as a whodunnit. Her sleuths are funny and the heroine is certainly a
charmer, but it just didn't have enough plot for me.
as a whodunnit. Her sleuths are funny and the heroine is certainly a
charmer, but it just didn't have enough plot for me.
At first, I did not like this book at all. I don't know if I was just not in the mood or what, but I almost stopped reading it. Anyway, it turned out cute, but I don't think I would put it on a list of favorites.
I do enjoy the Ellie Haskell mysteries, but I wish she was a bit more trusting in her husband! Just because he's studly and thus attractive to other women doesn't mean he's not committed to her! Argh.
I love Dorothy Cannell - She is so clever and does a lovely job with the cozy mystery. Withering Heights was not as easy for me to get into as her others, but it was still fun and a very nice diversion.
Jan 09, 2010
Jessica
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
100-books-in-2010,
mystery
I was excited about this book in the first 2 chapters, but then the author failed to keep my interest. I may try another book from this series if one can be found at the library, but otherwise I'm not too keen on keeping up with this authors books.
This was a pretty dopey book. It's a cozy mystery, trying to be cute. The puzzle part was okay. The characters were shallow, except for the paranoid protagonist.
It was a British mystery and it was interesting but I didn't care a whole lot for it. it was clean and sweet but I am just not into mysteries.
It's a very wordy bubbly story. The characters are interesting.
Ellies trying to hide some jealousy and wants to trust her husband. Her husband however is holding out not sharing a past he had with Val. A guest at the Lottery winners home.Val is staying with the family across the street from where they are staying. Parents of Ariel, that Ellie met a couple years earlier at her inlaws with her perternial grandmother. Ellie often bought books and sent them to Ariel. Ariel has a "wicked" step mother...more
Ellies trying to hide some jealousy and wants to trust her husband. Her husband however is holding out not sharing a past he had with Val. A guest at the Lottery winners home.Val is staying with the family across the street from where they are staying. Parents of Ariel, that Ellie met a couple years earlier at her inlaws with her perternial grandmother. Ellie often bought books and sent them to Ariel. Ariel has a "wicked" step mother...more
A delicious mix of family feuds and counterplots. You won't want to out this one down--it is a fast-paced cozy with lots of laughs.
When I heard about this book I didn't realize that it was the 12th in a series. There were a lot of shorthand remarks referencing previous stories so it made things heavy going. The plot idea sounds fun but I think I'd have to start the series from the first book....
I love the Ellie Haskell books - None of them are as fun as the first in the series, The Thin Woman, but they all are quick, snappy reads. Highly recommend the series.
This ia a Ellie Haskell mystery. They are fun books with a little bit of spookiness and plenty of fun quips.
I enjoy the Ellie Haskell mysteries, but I wish that occasionally we would see good relationship between Ellie and Ben. So often, Ellie is jealous of someone that Ben knows and they are not getting along. I would like to see Ben and Ellie getting along and solving the mysteries together.
I love the way she writes her characters. They are so recognizable in everyday jaunts.
Besides being a mystery, there is a little romance, and a lot of humor. The book is fun.
Very light, sometimes silly, but still fun. Probably won't read her again, though.
Good mystery for a cold and stormy day
depressing
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(from Fantastic Fiction online)
Dorothy Cannell was born in London, England, and now lives in Belfast, Maine. Dorothy Cannell writes mysteries featuring Ellie Haskell, interior decorator and Ben Haskell, writer and chef, and Hyacinth and Primrose Tramwell, a pair of dotty sisters and owners of the Flowers Detection Agency.
(from Internet Book List)
Dorothy Cannell, a mother of four, grandmother of te...more
More about Dorothy Cannell...
Dorothy Cannell was born in London, England, and now lives in Belfast, Maine. Dorothy Cannell writes mysteries featuring Ellie Haskell, interior decorator and Ben Haskell, writer and chef, and Hyacinth and Primrose Tramwell, a pair of dotty sisters and owners of the Flowers Detection Agency.
(from Internet Book List)
Dorothy Cannell, a mother of four, grandmother of te...more
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“Oh, woe to the woman who sticks her nose in a book and forgets that real life is not always destined for Happily Ever After.”
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