Death and Strudel

Belle Appleman #2

by Dorothy Rosen, Sidney Rosen

Belle Appleman is back on the trail of evil-doers in Boston. Belle has left her job at the Classic Clothing Company to work in the neighborhood drugstore. When a young girl staggers into the drugstore, collapses and dies, Belle suspects foul play. She teams up with her friend, Irish cop Jim Connors, and soon finds herself embroiled in homicide and danger. She is certain that one of the Beacon Hill doctors who come into the drug store is the guilty party. But which one? In the meantime, Belle finds romance with a Gary Cooper look-alike; but neither this nor her constant endearing interest in food can distract Belle from her search for a killer.

225 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2000

About the author

Married to Sidney Rosen they write the mystery series starring Belle Appleman, a Jewish immigrant who lives in Boston's West End during the 1930s.

Dorothy also wrote a biography of Mary Lyon, the founder of Mount Holyoke College.

Reviews

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okay cozy murder mystery that is best served by its' setting: Boston, 1935. Jewish widow working in a drugstore tries to solve the mystery of a young girls' death by abortion. This story is almost sanitary in its' approach to murder and needs some more oomph. The young widow doesn't actually figure anything out correctly. Recommended only to cozy readers.

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars. This gives a very strong sense of time and place: Boston during the depression among the working class. I thought the characters were well-developed. My only problem was the subject matter. I think the attitudes are appropriate for the time I just didn't agree with it so my take away was a bit biased.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is full of twist, I never knew who the killer is... overall story was okay, not so impressive, but so-so.

[Tania · Rating 1 out of 5]

Belle Appleman is meant to be a spunky heroine, the likes of Stephanie Plum. Unfortunately for me, the effort fell flat. The dialogue was clunky and the character was a muddled mess. I guessed the ending very quickly, yet the heroine didn't figure it out until the last page, and when she did there was absolutely no reason for her to have figured it out. It was just like a miracle plucked from the sky. The case would have been interesting and I didn't mind the sleuthing, but I didn't care about Appleman's love life and that's what most of the book revolved around.

[Jonna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I normally hate reading series books out of sequence, it didn't bother me much with this, and I'll definitely be looking for the previous novel. Great characters, well-written dialogue (love the poetry!), and an ending I did not see coming all combine in a fabulous mystery pastry!