Christietown

Cece Caruso Mystery #4

by Susan Kandel

A new suspense-themed housing tract on the edge of the Mojave Desert is about to open, and who better to help promote the Cotswold-cozy development than mystery biographer extraordinaire Cece Caruso? For the grand opening weekend, Cece is staging a play featuring the beloved sleuth Miss Marple. Of course, everything goes wrong, including a leading lady who ends up dead.

All is not well in Christietown; its secrets are as complicated as the truth behind Agatha Christie's real-life disappearance. The developer, an Englishman who claims to be Dame Agatha's descendent, has ruthless investors breathing down his neck. Meanwhile, Cece's got a wedding to plan, a baby shower to give, and an ex-husband who shows up on her doorstep with his fiancée and future mother-in-law. And when another body surfaces, the intrepid amateur sleuth knows she must play the famed detective for real—or suffer the same mysterious fate.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Chick Lit, Mystery Thriller, Romance

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Susan Kandel is the author of the critically acclaimed, L.A. Times-bestselling Cece Caruso mysteries, the most recent of which, DIAL H FOR HITCHCOCK (Harper, 2009) was named one of the five best mysteries of the year by NPR. Her upcoming book, DREAM A LITTLE DEATH, is the first in the Dreama Black series, and will be published by William Morrow's Witness Impulse in 2017.

Susan lives in West Hollywood, CA with her husband, Peter Lunenfeld, and her equally handsome dog, Cooper.

Reviews

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cece Caruso is a biographer currently working on a book on Agatha Christie when she gets involved in murder in a new subdivision called "Christietown." The format of the book is great - a couple of chapters of the story, then a short chapter from Caruso's "book" about Christie. However, the story is enjoyable, but not a standout. For a better book that intertwines a murder mystery with facts about Agatha Christie, I recommend Carolyn Hart's The Christie Caper.

[Toni · Rating 1 out of 5]

Heinously bad. Just don't.

[LilBib’Phile · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I really enjoyed all the background information on Agatha Christie.

[WhatShouldIRead · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately I found this be just an OK entry into the Cece Caruso series. In previous books the author went into detail about the vintage clothing Cece wore. These were fun for me as I would google the designer to see what the creation actually looked like. However, those references this time around were few and far between.

The mystery to be a bit ho-hum. I didn't find myself all that engaged by it.

The setting was supposed to be a type of Miss Marple English village for potential house buyers but I really didn't get a good sense of place for it.

Plus her back and forth of wanting to get married/not wanting to get married was getting old by the time I finished the book.

All in all I found this one a bit of a disappointment.

[Tig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a bit different from other mysteries that I have read because not only did it have the main mystery which is set in Southern California with a quirky main character who writes biographies and likes to wear vintage clothing, it also had the mystery of Agatha Christie's 11 day disappearance after finding out that her husband was planning on leaving her for another woman, woven into the story. The secondary storyline is from Agatha's point of view, as well as from her husband's. Kind of an autobiographical perspective, made the book more fun to read.

[Ana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I don't know if it was my frame of mind or the book. I have read the previous mysteries in this series and each one gets a little flimsier. I think the author tries to throw too many things, tropes, characters and whatnot at the book and none of these elements seem to stick very well.

The main character is supposed to be a fashionista with a penchant for vintage clothes but this character trait seems as slapped on as her love for her pets and her love for her cop boyfriend/fiance.

Is it all just too cliché?

I think I'm done with this series.

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book because of the Agatha Christie connection and it was the librarians' pick of the month at my local library. I was, unfortunately, disappointed. I did not connect with the characters and the plot wasn't interesting. I was able to stick with it and finish the book, so it's readable. Not the worst story, but far from the best.

[Liz V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cece's life is busy, not to say chaotic. Her daughter's baby is due any day, and Cece must arrange a baby shower, to be attended by her ex-husband's fiancee and future mother-in-law. Cece and Gambino are planning their own wedding, including dance lessons. All of this on top of a pending deadline for revisions of Cece's biography on Agatha Christie and a job organizing a Christie themed opening for a new development. What Cece doesn't need is murder thrown into the mix, but even if Cece weren't marrying a homicide detective, she'd stumble on a body.

[Pamela · Rating 1 out of 5]

I should have known, why didn't I know? I read the one with Perry Mason in the title and it was a bust. But this one was later in her writing about Agatha Christie! I adore Dame Christie and hoping she learned how to write more exciting books, I purchased it. No.... appreciate vintage clothing and the designer ones are fabulous and interesting. But there are pages and pages of description to the detriment of the storyline. Oh well, there is not much storyline anyway. Pass, again I saw pass. Oh, and just to be honest, I could not read passed chapter 5.

[Cameron Toney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this. It has so many things that I like in it! Agatha Christie! Vintage clothing! Lady detective!
There is something really rather clever with the structure of the story, which is clearly based on an Agatha Christie mystery, but I cant find myself interested in the various parts of the stories. The characters dont interest me, the plot seems a little convoluted, as dose the detection.
I think this is not quite the series for me.

[Nancy Cook-senn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Her musings on Agatha's mysterious disappearance are intriguing and help to solve the murders, but main plot is limp, characters dull. Also skimps on her trademark fashion passion.

[Carolyn Fagan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the first few in this series, but this one seemed to have a bit too much fluff for me.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Number four in this series about a mystery writers biographer. This one ofcourse about Agatha Christie. Well researched,funny with a very clever plot twist. Worthy of Dame Agatha herself

[Janelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting take on Agatha Christie's disappearance. The characters and mystery were okay.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this fast-paced book. It really has a Noir sensibility

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn't really expecting to like this book much. We were leaving on a trip and I grabbed it to read on the flight. Turns out it was a real page-turner.

It is definitely a light read but very good plot and character definition.

I was amused about the Agatha Christie theme because the next book I started after this (totally on a different tack) also started out with a nod to Agatha. She's obviously enjoying a resurgence of interest in her personal life and how it affected her writing. Being a fan of hers it made for aan interest in rereading some of her books to see how the two were related.

Anyway, anyone who wants a light mystery read (not getting too bogged down in intricate details) will enjoy this book.

[Heather R · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this on the bus to and from the Supreme Court yesterday, and what I can say is that it's perfect travel reading: a light, fun mystery from one of my favorite mystery authors. Susan Kandel writes well about vintage clothing while delighting with tales about the lives of mystery authors. This one focused on Agatha Christie, and was great fun for me as I have loved Christie's mysteries since I was a young girl and read an old copy of Ten Little Indians (aka And Then There Were None). I'd recommend it to any who love mysteries, vintage fashion, or just need a fun little read that won't ask too much out of you.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book flew by much faster for me than the previous one, Shamus in the Green Room. Kandel wove the present-day plot in with the story of Agatha Christie's famous 11-day disappearance very cleverly. The sections dealing with Cece's friends and family provided relief, comic and otherwise, from the murder plot. However, I'm getting a little tired of Cece's skittishness about marrying her police detective fiance. But I'll keep reading if Kandel keeps writing.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one more than the previous one in the series. Cece is still planning her wedding and now also planning a baby shower for her daughter. And she's just finishing a book on Agatha Christie. This book gets her involved in this building project based on the Agatha Christie books. And of course, it gets her involved in a murder.

This was a fun, quick read, but nothing special really. I may read more in this series if I find them, but I probably won't go out of my way to find them.

[Mark Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cece's latest biography subject is Agatha Christie. But instead of beefing up the section on Agatha's real life disappearance, she's investigating the mysterious death of someone at the Agatha themed community Christietown. Slow at times as the book follows other things in Cece's life, but a fun addition to the series.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Phair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite of this series. The mystery and the Christie angle were not particularly riveting. Enjoy the chaos of Cece's personal life but wanted more with her nutty neighbor Lael and Bridget of the vintage clothing shop.Did learn some things about Christie & I loved the musing on mystery writing (p232) "-of course all mysteries are about forgetting..."

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have enjoyed Kandel's previous CeCe mysteries and the accompanying info on myster authors. I found Christietown to be a bit choppy, but fair reading for late summer. Definitely recommend checking out her earlier ones as well.

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first couple in the series. I hated the third one and tried this one because of the Agatha Christie connection. I was again disappointed. Maybe Cece has lost her magic. Since it was better than #3 I will give #5 a shot before bagging the whole series. Sad. So much potential.

[Gigi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy this series about mystery writer biographer CeCe Caruso. This was a good read, though if you're just picking up this series I'd recommend starting with I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason or Not a Girl Detective.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light, modern, easy to read. Yet interwoven with a cogent depiction of what might have happened to Agatha Christie during the time she had "amnesia," and relevant references to some of Christie's books, not just Family Guy style name dropping.

[Marga Vr]

Promises to be about "Vintage Clothing, Romance, Mystery, and Agatha Christie"
Sounds irresistible !

[Sue johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy this series. Good mystery with interesting background on different mystery writers and great characters.

[Vickie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet cozy series. The author writes her main character as an author of books about mystery authors. What a fab concept. Trips down memory lane to Agatha Christie was this theme. Enjoyable.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still digging this series that stars Cece Caruso; in this one she's writing a bio of Agatha Christie and staging a Miss Marple production.

[Kori · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoy a good cozy mystery, but I found this one to be thin on plot and predictable.