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Wanting Sheila Dead (Gregor Demarkian Mystery #25)
by
Jane Haddam
“Haddam manages to produce each time a layered, richly peopled, and dryly witty book with a plot of mind-bending complexity.”
—Houston Chronicle on Glass Houses
Sheila Dunham is a gossip columnist’s dream—she’s famous, loud and, to most who meet or see her, deeply offensive. As a result, she’s been fired from every job on television she’s ever had—first as a serious journali...more
—Houston Chronicle on Glass Houses
Sheila Dunham is a gossip columnist’s dream—she’s famous, loud and, to most who meet or see her, deeply offensive. As a result, she’s been fired from every job on television she’s ever had—first as a serious journali...more
ebook, 352 pages
Published
July 20th 2010
by Minotaur Books
(first published 2010)
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Sheila, host of a reality show, is famous for behaving horribly toward people. The anonymous young woman who shoots at Sheila during the beginning of her next reality season is so predictable that it's a shock when her gun turns out not to have been loaded. Death and detective work have to be accomplished among a group of young women isolated in a house full of live cameras.
Back in Gregor's neighborhood, one of the Very Old Ladies has a questionable Mildly Old Lady staying with her, until they a...more
Back in Gregor's neighborhood, one of the Very Old Ladies has a questionable Mildly Old Lady staying with her, until they a...more
Jun 21, 2011
Kate
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
amer-culture,
mysteries
Finally Gregor investigates a mystery at home - I have missed the characters on Cavanaugh Street for quite some time. A Very Old Lady is found in a coma at home with another batty old lady (mystery one) and a young woman is killed at Bennis's family home during the filming of a reality TV series (mystery two). The social commentary is gentler and less political than recent books in the series.
Very rarely have I read a book just after reading the "sneak peek" offered in the paperback - maybe I s...more
Very rarely have I read a book just after reading the "sneak peek" offered in the paperback - maybe I s...more
Nov 03, 2010
Joyce Lagow
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
kindle-edition,
police-procedural
#26 in the Gregor Demarkian police procedural series set in Philadelphia.
Jane Haddam, as an author, drives me crazy because her books are so uneven. You can have a tautly-written, well-plotted police procedural followed ranting polemic against some aspect of US life or culture, followed yet again by a very good if not spectacular story. That about describes the trajectory of her last three books. so, you never know what you’re going to get when you open the cover, either literally or metaphorica...more
This book was a lot of fun! Interesting structure for a mystery, characters who were memorable without being annoying, and the detective in it had just read some Agatha Christie novels so he kept talking about them and that was fun too.
This is #26 in a series, so maybe I should look into the rest of these Demarkian novels from Ms. Jane Haddam.
It was also focused on the set of a reality TV show, much like Deus Ex Machina, which I reviewed negatively recently. But while Deus Ex Machina took itself...more
This is #26 in a series, so maybe I should look into the rest of these Demarkian novels from Ms. Jane Haddam.
It was also focused on the set of a reality TV show, much like Deus Ex Machina, which I reviewed negatively recently. But while Deus Ex Machina took itself...more
There's trouble on Cavanaugh Street, as an elderly, reclusive Armenian widow disappears from sight and a strange woman is seen in her house. But Gregor Demarkian is distracted when his brother-in-law rents Bennis's ancestral home to a reality television show run by Sheila Dunham, who is going to bully fourteen impressionable teenaged girls until she finds America's next celebrity. When the shooting starts, everyone expects Sheila to be the victim, even Sheila. But that's not what happens. Demark...more
Another Demarkian book--with 2 actual mysteries. One is set on Cavanaugh Street and involves the suspicions of the Very Old Ladies regarding one of the residents, and the other concerns events surrounding a TV-reality show. Both mysteries unfolded in interesting ways...
Who is the woman who has suddenly appeared in the Cavanaugh Street home of an elderly woman with no family nearby, and why hasn't the elderly woman been seen lately?
And who is trying to kill 'Sheila', the TV-reality show host? [Af...more
Who is the woman who has suddenly appeared in the Cavanaugh Street home of an elderly woman with no family nearby, and why hasn't the elderly woman been seen lately?
And who is trying to kill 'Sheila', the TV-reality show host? [Af...more
Somehow I missed the last 2 Gregor Demarkian books, guess I was so relieved their wedding came off a year ago I forgot to look as the new ones were released. Bennis and Gregor are back from their honeymoon and starting to settle in when a murder in Bennis' family home takes them back to the first time they met, Gregor solving the murder of her Father. This time though the house is the scene of the latest reality show but no one knows who the victim is...was she a rejected contestant or is someth...more
I like Gregor Demarkian mysteries, but they don't usually make me laugh out loud. This one did - twice. I am still snickering over the idea of dozens of hamsters in a person's mind.
The story revolves around the attempted murder of a reality show host. I liked the way it poked fun at the concept, even if I do watch some of the blasted things.
The minor plot has to do with the mystery of a little old lady in a coma and the woman who was living with her. That had some interesting twists to it.
I li...more
The story revolves around the attempted murder of a reality show host. I liked the way it poked fun at the concept, even if I do watch some of the blasted things.
The minor plot has to do with the mystery of a little old lady in a coma and the woman who was living with her. That had some interesting twists to it.
I li...more
I have been reading this series, on and off, for years. It features Gregor Demarkian, a likable, smart, but somewhat bumbling ex-FBI agent. It's definitely a "cozy," set in the Armenian neighborhood of Philadelphia, with characters and relationships that reappear, grow, and become (the reader's) old friends. I saw the author speak at a mystery conference, 20-ish years ago, and liked her very much. In short, this is one of those series I slip into when I want to escape from it all. They are alway...more
Haddam is one of my go to authors. When she has a new book, I purchase it. I just lent my mother the first 7 books in the series. I still love this series, but it is getting a bit predictable. Not in terms of figuring out who did the murder (though this is never why I read the books) but the characters. I'm not as in love with Gregor as I have been in the past.(Though I still love Tibor), but I'll keep reading.
I really like the protagonist Gregor Demarkian books> I believe he is my
favorite mystery detective. He seems so human. I will look up more of
Jane Haddam's books to continue to read about him. To me the mysteries
are almost incidental to the Armenian American characters she writes about. They are developed over a series of books.
favorite mystery detective. He seems so human. I will look up more of
Jane Haddam's books to continue to read about him. To me the mysteries
are almost incidental to the Armenian American characters she writes about. They are developed over a series of books.
Great Jane Haddam. The usual twisty mystery, this time two of them, although they're related in a way. Fun references to current events, i.e., a reality show that ends up with a murder. The characters aren't quite as interesting as Somebody Else's Music, which remains my all-time favorite Haddam. But it's still thoroughly enjoyable.
This was a cozy mystery set in an Armenian neighborhood in Philadelphia. It had some fun comments on the place of mystery books--speaking of which, you are all my treasured friends I adore, but few of you read mysteries. If you've got other friends who do like mysteries, clue me in, OK? I lean toward the cozy side.
view all 7 comments
this book would make a great tv movie! actually 2 good mysteries in plot, but one is overshadowed by a murder in the house of 15+ women where a reality tv show is taking place. enjoyable light read. took me a little while to get into it - had not read any of this series before.
Starts out slow. Of course I really didn't care much about the silly girl or narcissistic reality show characters. Once Gregor and friends get into it, the story moves along and as always contains more than a few plot twists.
Oct 05, 2010
Nancy
added it
Gregor and Bennis are back from their honeymoon. An old lady is found on the floor of her house with another old lady standing over her. Eventually, the unconscious woman recovers and the other old lady is charged with murder - she murdered the unconscious woman's sister-in-law.
Meanwhile, at Bennis's family home in Bryn Mawr a reality tv series is being filmed. A girl is killed there and eventually another girl - on the show - is found to be the murderer.
Bennis and Gregor buy the house of the f...more
Meanwhile, at Bennis's family home in Bryn Mawr a reality tv series is being filmed. A girl is killed there and eventually another girl - on the show - is found to be the murderer.
Bennis and Gregor buy the house of the f...more
A disappointment. I usually regard Jane Haddam's mysteries as highly underappreciated hidden gems but this one disappointed. The plot was just stupid and the characters stereotypic and boring but at least her writing style is still good.
I have been reading this series for years, and continue to enjoy it as a rule. This book was again entertaining. Gregor is one of my favorite crime solvers and I also so enjoy his neighborhood. I feel I would recognize it if I ever drove through it.
Haddam likes dealing with timely matter and reality show television fits the bill here. Enjoyable- as is the rest of the series.
Gregor Demarkian and his friends are old favorites of mine -- I read these to find out what is happening with them.
Not a bad story. The writing was not terribly great and the editing was horrific. It had a decent ending.
Click here to find it in the catalogue
Slow moving, boring characters, but did keep me guessing about whodunit till the end.
I read this before, but I didn't remember it - just flashes here and there. Wasn't one of the best in the series.
Aug 03, 2010
Caroline
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Everyone who likes a good mystery
I've loved the Gregor Demarkian novels since the series began. Jane Haddam does a great job keeping the series moving forward and I continue to be satisfied.
Did not care for the writing style. Seemed stilted, dispassionate.
not her best.illustrates very well her strategy of delving deeply into the minds of the suspects to keep the stories of her hero, Gregor Demarkian, fresh.
I don't know if I learned anything from this book. I considered it a good read by one of my favorite authors.
Jane Haddam is always one of my favorites.
A light hearted murder mystery.
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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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