Caught Dead in Philadelphia

Amanda Pepper #1

by Gillian Roberts

Librarian note: an alternate cover for this edition can be found here.

Anthony Award winner for Best First Mystery Novel -- the debut of the Philadelphia-set Amanda Pepper
series.
Amanda Pepper, English teacher at Philly Prep, does not hate her life. But when a fellow teacher who's engaged to a senate candidate, begs for rest on Amanda's couch, then dies, things could be better. Then the police suspect her of murder, she begins her own investigation, and ends by teaching a certain blue-eyed cop a thing or two....

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Cozy, Crime, Humor

208 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 16, 1987

Reviews

[Kwoomac · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story really dragged on. Not much happened except Amanda and her boyfriend the detective rehashing the details without getting anywhere. I didn’t care about any of the characters and thought there was no chemistry between Amanda and C.K. Surprisingly, the whole murder plot could have been interesting, but the story was choppy, the dialog was stilted. Just not well executed, in my opinion.

[Angie Engles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recently I have been re-visiting a book journal I kept all through the nineties and I decided to see if Caught Dead in Philadelphia (which I first read and wrote about in my journal over 20 years ago) is as good as I remember. It is not only as good as I remember it, but better...delightfully written, laugh-out-loud funny and very engaging. I am not as big a mystery fan as I used to be, but I would be so happy to see Gillian Roberts with new mysteries out today. She is phenomenal!!

[Jen Hasse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book would be more fun

[Srividya Vijapure · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book! It started off very well and it definitely had some funny moments. However, for the most of it, the book dragged! Despite being a really short one, it dragged. There was nothing happening and that annoyed me most of all! I like my detective stories with some kind of action - it could be either physical or mental, but this one disappointed me on all counts! There was no brilliant deduction and neither was there any physical search for evidence - it was all one big bumbling and stumbling, literally!! The end disappointed me completely! Firstly the detective stumbles upon the murderer and then - well forget it, I don't even want to talk about that end.. totally disappointing and without any meaning!

As for the characters, well I really want to say that I liked Amanda Pepper but honestly I can't! Oh yes she had some brilliant moments with her wit etc but for most part, she was one whiny character who did not know what to do or how to react! I hate the damsel in distress routine and she seemed to have it done to perfection! As for C.K. Mackensie, he was an idiot! Firstly, I don't know what is the big deal about the mysterious first name and why it should even be part of a murder plot! I understand its a cozy mystery but still there are some things best left until later! As for the chemistry between Amanda and Mackensie, it felt so forced and out of place that I was literally gagging throughout the whole thing! It had no place in the story, other than to add some frivolous element to the tale.

All I can say is that the plot could have been dealt with in a better manner, for as a plot it was good. However, it wasn't and the end result was a mess, something that can be avoided! It's part of a series but I don't think I am going to continue this one!

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to know his name! What does the CK stand for? Amanda Pepper must have guessed at least a dozen C names, not hitting on the right name for her detective. I don't think I could have come up with the assorted names that she did. I wonder if his name is Clifford or Christopher or Conway? Does the name game continue through the remainder of the Amanda Pepper series?

Other than the mystery of the great detective's name, there was also the little trouble of who killed Liza, the sometimes teacher at Amanda's school. Amanda makes a great amateur sleuth because she doesn't quit her day job as English teacher extraordinaire. She doesn't appear to rattle too easily, yet has the same fears as most normal people. She doesn't stick her neck out too far to try and find clues, but stumbles over pertinent facts that she passes on to her new found interest, CK.

I'm looking forward to reading more of the Amanda Pepper mystery collection by Gillian Roberts. Maybe the detective's name is really Clayton?

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amanda Pepper is a bit annoyed when a fellow teacher from Philadelphia Prep arrives, wet and dripping, on her doorstep one morning. She's also a bit confused--after all, she and Liza Nichols aren't exactly bosom pals. Liza, a part-time actress & part-time instructor, is beautiful and well on her way to becoming the full-time wife of a scion of one of Philadelphia's wealthiest families. Liza isn't too coherent about her purpose, but swears all she needs is some sleep--could she please take a nap on Amanda's couch until she's supposed to meet Amanda's class in the afternoon?

But Liza doesn't show up for the discussion of Macbeth and Amanda is definitely annoyed with her morning visitor when she heads home for the day. She figures Liza stood her up to go shopping for bridal clothes or something. But when she gets home she finds her door unlocked and Liza is lying on the floor, dead. Once the police arrive, Amanda is in for another shock...she seems to be a suspect. The handsome detective in charge of the case, C. K. Mackenzie makes her believe he thinks she ran home on her lunch break to shove Liza violently against fireplace.

True to cozy mystery tradition, Amanda decides to do a little sleuthing on her own--to clear her name and to clear up a few other mysteries. Like--who was the Winnie-the-Pooh necklace intended for? Why did Liza really come to her house? Why did Liza tell everyone that she and Amanda were best buddies? Why did she tell her mother and her fiancee that she was spending weekends and overnights at Amanda's house? Why does everyone connected with the case think that Amanda knows more than she's telling? And most importantly--does the killer think Amanda knows something dangerous? By the time Mackenzie crosses her off his suspect list, they've figured out that their relationship needs a little investigating as well. But Mackenzie will need to find a killer before the killer crosses all the victims off of his (or her) list....and before he gets to Amanda.

Winner of the Anthony Award for Best First Mystery (1988), Caught Dead in Philadelphia is, indeed, a very good debut novel by Gillian Roberts. Caught Dead caught my eye because of its cozy academic spin and it kept me reading because it's a nicely done, fast-paced read. Amanda Pepper is a feisty protagonist who still has quite reasonable fears and wobbly legs when confronted with murder. I enjoy her interactions with C. K. Mackenzie (and her efforts to learn his disguised first name) and I look forward to continuing the series to see how their relationship develops.

Roberts give us a good mystery plot with an abundance of suspects and motives--enough to keep armchair detectives guessing and waiting for the next clue. Mixed with humor, it makes for an enjoyable, light read.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.

[ElaineY · Rating 3 out of 5]

REVIEW OF SECOND LISTEN; AUDIOBOOK; OCTOBER 17, 2022
Narrator: Diane Warren

I'm still of the same opinion after my second listen. I still feel the story was not very well told. Lots of time going over the same ground and no one getting anywhere in the murder investigation. The only thing I enjoyed was Amanda's and Mackenzie's relationship - starting off as adversarial then becoming friends. Eventually her boyfriend.

The book felt very disjointed and I had a hard time with the flow and the part each character played in the overall plot. Amanda and Mackenzie was the only people I got a sense of.

At the end of the book I felt that the author was trying to make her murder story more sophisticated but ended up overdoing things, perhaps intentionally muddying the waters and characters so that the book doesn't come off as a simple, one-dimensional story. As in if the reader doesn't quite understand everything then my book is cleverer.

I loved the narrator, though. Diane Warren sounds like a less husky Barbara Rosenblad but without the awful heavy breathing. It's a pity she has narrated only 3 books

[WhatShouldIRead · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book as I think the author has a wonderful sense of humor and some of the one-liners had me chuckling. Amanda Pepper is a fun character to know and seems to have a good, if tentative, head on her shoulders by not rushing foolishly into danger and thinking things through.

What I didn't like about the book was the apparent rushed ending with some dangling threads. Plus the how and the why of the criminal/crime along with capture was just...phfft! And I didn't really care about the detective on the case, he never really had a separate personality from the detective in himself.

I will look for the next in the series though as I enjoyed my time with this book (well, till the end).

[Nicky]

Wow, found this book by chance. If you like reading books by ignorant bigots who like calling people "retards" and other horrible names then this book and writer is for you. I can imagine what she thinks of children with learning disabilities, spectrum autism and down syndrome. Hope that she was never really a teacher. Her self aggrandizement and superiority complex is nauseating and complete. Skip unless you want to scrub yourself clean from the mean girl snotty thinking and behavior of the writer.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

What does it say that a story set--and written--in the 1980s--is a "period" piece. The 1980's were not an era; they were shoulder pads and hairspray. I started to enjoy it more when I considered the narrator in a setting similar to Kinsey Millhone of Sue Grafton's alphabet series. Then it became fun: No calling 911 or Googling basic information.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was thrilling and had me at the edge of my seat for the whole book. It's always predictable that she makes it out alive, because there's more books, so I knew she would live. But it's still fun reading how the author makes the book come to life!

[Eva Cg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly fun. Predictable in the usual whodunit fashion, but it's not too obvious right from the beginning, and the whole story is really enjoyable. Humorous, not too grisly, interesting love story, and a good twist to the storyline. I liked it and plan to read more from the same author.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read these before and enjoyed them. Look! Now there are more, so I am starting the series again as my light in-between reads. Amanda Pepper is a one-liner Queen of Sarcasm. Great beach read.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favorite mystery series. The height of the "in-between reading" genre.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms. Roberts had a wonderful sense of humor.

[❂ Murder by Death · Rating 4 out of 5]

If only more cozy authors wrote this well. An excellent read from an author who knew what she was doing.

Full review: http://jenn.booklikes.com/post/760853...

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not my cup of tea. And it took forever to get finished with it. I'm not planning to read any more of Ms. Roberts mysteries.

[Linda Rowland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read some time ago and all I remember is that I enjoyed it. Don't think I knew at the time it is a series.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pure fun fluff. Just keep reading the series.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Gillian Roberts's Caught Dead in Philadelphia, the first installment in the Amanda Pepper mystery series, this debut will keep you in suspense and laughing at juicy tidbits of humor. For Amanda Pepper, she was a high school English teacher in Philadelphia, when she discovered her friend's Liza Nichols's dead body in her home. From there, she kept wondering who would've done such a thing to Liza, who had everything going right in her life. Then she met a sweet-talking Southern police officer named Detective C.K. Mackenzie, who was assigned to the case. At first, they didn't get off well in the first hitch, when he accused Amanda of being a prime suspect. But Amanda did some sleuthing of her own and dug closer into her social life on stage as a local theater actress and also in her personal life. Who would do such a thing to her? But when someone wanted to talk to her about her murder, things turned awry when he wound up dead in his home. Now, Amanda's a bit shaken and needs Mackenzie's protection, because she believes she's next. While she continued to guess what the C. stands for in his initials, they get to know each other better as they put the pieces together and laid it out in front of them. But when she thought she had figured out with a death threat and then a scare at the local fair, she came across the one person who she didn't suspect and learned why her friend died by a seneless death in the end.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this wasn't the best mystery book I've read, but it wasn't the worst. I did enjoy it, and there were moments where I literally laughed until I hurt. The mystery itself is a bit dragged, but still entertaining. To me, it seemed to pick up around the middle of the book, or at least that's when Amanda really started getting into the mystery.
I did love the scenes between Amanda and CK. Their attraction could have been a bit more believable, but I enjoyed them nonetheless. The further the book went on, the better their relationship became, at least to me.
The ending was a surprise. I thought I had the murderer figured out, but I was wrong. Though, I wasn't off by too much. I'm just saying. LOL.
I did read this in one sitting, and I would like to read more of Amanda's adventures and see how her relationship with CK progresses.
Really enjoyed it, and recommend, if you want a cozy type mystery, as this wasn't hardcore to me. Since this was the first of a series, I'm assuming Roberts was tying to find her feet with it, and you can tell, but she did very well, and I'm looking forward to more!

[Peter Tapio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amanda Pepper is an English teacher in Philadelphia. One morning her colleague Liza Nichols, soon to marry a senator candidate Hayden Cole, visits her surprisingly. Amanda allows her to stay when she herself goes to work, but regrets it when returning her home she finds Liza murdered, and herself in a middle of a murder case. Luckily, she has with her Detective C.K. Mackenzie, a man from South, who Amanda thinks is handsome in the moments he is not irritating or preoccupied with solving the case.

This was a very solid 1980s amateur sleuth mystery, where the mix of humor, suspense, mystery, romance, and the seriousness of crime was well balanced. Also, Amanda Pepper is a multifaceted protagonist, and Mackenzie is a good sparring partner, and more, for her. This is a start of a series that lasted for 14 books and 20 years, and for me this might become a series I read more of.

NOTE: I read this as part of The Amanda Pepper Mysteries: Bundle #1, that includes first three mysteries in the series.

[Marty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amanda Pepper is a 30 year-old unmarried English teacher at a private school whose students aren’t really excited to learn and teachers must realize that the student tuition is providing their salary. ... Amanda is really a good teacher and makes the curriculum relevant to the students, but their lack of effort is a draining wound on her morale. Although she is not overly friendly with the faculty, a fellow young female teacher knocks on her door one rainy morning asking if she can just stay at Amanda’s home for awhile before she has to teach her afternoon class. The request was a bit strange, but Amanda agreed – but Lisa needed help and Amanda. Lisa didn’t show up for her afternoon class and when Amanda arrived back home she found Lisa had been murdered in Amanda’s living room. ... ----- Amanda is of course a suspect and got involved in solving the crime. ............. I guess the book was a success because there were many Amanda Pepper books that followed. I just didn’t find it that interesting

[tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the most average mystery book I have ever read. Gillian is very articulate and has an amazing choice of words that describe character behaviors and scenery in ways that few authors can, but that's pretty much where the appeal of this book ends. There wasn't much of an attempt at character developement, I reached the end of the book without really developing much of an idea of who Amanada is other than her job, and deductions made by the other main character. The pace is slow, the middle 50% of the book is dedicated to trying to overload the reader with possible clues without providing an enjoyable means to this end. The conversations between characters are uninspired and lack personality. All that said the book wasn't actually unpleasent in any real sense, it merely lacked any content that has me wanting to read it again.

[Beppie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Caught Dead in Philadelphia" by Gillian Roberts caught this southern Jersey girl's attention when I noticed that a very large apple was blocking much of the Philly skyline that graced the cover's photo. Being a teacher of almost 40 years, as well as a fan of all things Philadelphia for much of my life, my interest was tweaked.

To consequently discover that Miss Amanda Pepper, the main character, erstwhile heroine, and amateur sleuth extraordinaire was in fact an English teacher in Philly, as the saying goes "sealed the deal!"

Then to learn by a little sleuthing of my own (thank you Google!) that this was actually the first in a multi-novel series...well, I am a happy, happy reader!

[Zee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the 9th book in this series about 8 or 9 years ago and enjoyed it. Promptly forgot the author and the series, tbh. However, I stumbled across the series recently and purchased the first 3. Up through #14 is on my wish list.

This was very good, The language wasn't over and beyond, very down to earth. It didn't try to be anything but who the characters were. I was clueless to who the murderer was until the end, when they were revealed. It was quite the shock!

I have the next 2 books already and will fit them into my reading challenge as it goes.

[Alton Motobu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amanda doesn't do much sleuthing; instead she sort of sits back while events occur around her, then the killer emerges at the end in front of her. She is surrounded by unlikeable characters, including a meddling mother who constantly nags her about finding a husband, a handsome cop who refuses to tell her his name other than his initials, as well as an irritating little niece named Karen who acts like the "Karen" of the future made famous in Tik Tok and YouTube.

I have read three of the Amanda Pepper books and they are all awful. I quit.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I own Gillian Roberts' You CAN Write a Mystery and have since I was a kid. I've long meant to read her Amanda Pepper series to see how they match up. We have some of the series through Overdrive (although only a handful, which is kind of a bummer but kind of not). I thought the novel was enjoyable and the prose was strong. I liked Amanda Pepper. The book felt a bit dated and I had some trouble focusing on it but it was an incredibly stressful week.

[Bobbi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, entertaining read not far from where I lived near Philadelphia. Amanda Pepper is an entertaining participant when she discovers the murder of her friend; CK McKenzie plays a southern charmer as the detective on the case. I’m guessing the CK stands for Clark Kent- Amanda kept trying C names on him with no luck. I plan to continue to read the series hoping to find out. (And to continue this light-hearted fun, ohh, that involves a murder.)

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Main Line Mystery

English teacher turns amateur sleuth when a co worker is murdered in her home. Doesn’t hurt that the detective assigned to the case is easy on the eyes and spouts a southern charm.
It is an easy, cozy mystery that will have you traveling all over the Main Line of Philadelphia.