Who Killed Dorian Gray?

Claire Rawlings #2

by Carole Buggé

Still reeling from the shocking demise of an ill-fated romance, Claire jumps at the chance to teach a writing seminar at an artist colony in Woodstock. She thinks it will be the perfect opportunity to rest, relax, and recover--but instead of happy-go-lucky hippies, the writers in residence are argumentative overachievers.

Claire's getting some really bad vibes from this group. And things only get worse when she finds the colony's resident beauty--an exotic journalist known as Dorian Gray--dead in the bathtub. Luckily, Meredith has arrived and is eager to start investigating--but soon Claire senses that her snooping sidekick's inquiries have put them both in serious danger...

Genres: Fiction, Mystery

278 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 2000

About the author

CAROLE BUGGÉ (CAROLE LAWERENCE, C. E. LAWRENCE, ELIZABETH BLAKE) has too many pen names. She has published sixteen novels, six novellas and several dozen short stories and poems, many appearing in translation internationally. Her most recent novel, Cleopatra’s Dagger, was nominated for an Edgar Award as Best Original Paperback. She has also recently published Pride, Prejudice and Poison, under the pen name Elizabeth Blake.

Her novels range from contemporary thrillers and cozies to historical mysteries, with settings that include New York, Edinburgh, London and York. Her published short stories are also in the mystery genre, though several are in the fantasy or horror genre, including several ghost stories.

In a past life, she made a living acting and doing improv comedy and is a self-described science geek. She also founded The Montclair Maulers, the first women’s rugby team in New Jersey. They did not win a single game for three seasons. She can often be found hunting mushrooms in the woods or playing Bach on the piano when no one is listening.

Reviews

[Shazza Maddog · Rating 3 out of 5]

Claire gets invited by a friend of hers (Liza) to attend a Woodstock artist colony for a week. As Claire works for a publishing company, the authors in residence will be able to pick her brain and attend classes and such.

One of the writers, a woman who wrote for newspapers under the name of Dorian Gray, turns up dead. Was someone in the writers' or artists' a murderer?

A cozy with a bit of a twist, as Claire isn't the one solving the mystery, but her young friend, Meredith (and by 'young', I mean around 13).

[Barbra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a little slower than the first, with an excess of wording, but still an enjoyable read.

[Bridget Handrahan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book felt like it was trying to be profound to some degree and was really just up its own butt. If Meredith the character were a real person I would probably throttle her

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written book that reminded me of a Golden Age mystery with its limited list of suspects, all of whom have secrets and hidden motives. A few turn-offs for me, though -- the end of the previous book is mentioned frequently (decreasing my desire to read it), the characters treat political conservatives with disdain in a few areas, and the heroine does a few things that don't make sense.

[Lynn Wyvill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good tale. I did get irritated by the detailed descriptions of each character's chin and forehead, but I enjoyed Meredith's position in the story. She added levity, perspective and humour.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: Claire Rawlings is teaching a seminar at a writing colony and finds the colony's beautiful-one dead.

[Joel Godin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good!