Nasty Breaks

Lee Ofsted #3

by Charlotte Elkins, Aaron Elkins

The Agatha Award-winning team presents the third of their light-hearted mysteries featuring pro golfer and amateur sleuth Lee Ofsted, whose job at a golf school on a New England island puts her in the midst of murder. 20,000 first printing.

Genres: Mystery, Sports, Fiction, Romance, Cozy

228 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Charlotte Elkins (born July 4, 1948) is an American author who teamed with her husband, writer Aaron Elkins, to write a series of mystery novels about Lee Ofsted, a struggling female professional golfer.

Series:
* Lee Ofsted (with Aaron Elkins)

Series contributed to:
* Malice Domestic

Reviews

[Meg Morden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful story by this mystery writing husband and wife team Charlotte and Aaron Elkins. Women's golf pro Lee Ofsted is lured by a $1000 a day paycheck to teach golf at a corporate golf retreat on Block island off the New England coast. The idyllic setting is marred by first an attempted abduction and then murder of members of the team.Lee solves the mystery with the help of her ex-cop boyfriend Graham Sheldon and her friend Peg Fiske.

[P.D. Workman]

Nasty Breaks is the first book that I have read in the Lee Ofsted Mysteries series by writing team Charlotte and Aaron Elkins. No problem reading it as a stand alone mystery; the plot and character dynamics were easy to grasp, allowing me to dive right into the story without any prior knowledge.

In this installment, Lee Ofsted unexpectedly finds herself entangled in a kidnapping and murder mystery while conducting a golf class on Block Island. Does she shy away from investigating it? I’ll give you a hint — not a chance. Boyfriend Graham Sheldon, a former cop, is there to help her out and give a few ideas from the law enforcement perspective, but he’s not there when Lee figures it all out.

What starts as a seemingly relaxing “working vacation” for Lee quickly turns into anything but a break!

[A G A VAN DEN BOS · Rating 4 out of 5]

A considerable improvement on the preceding book of the series. A welcome return to the humour and wit that characterizes Elkins writing and devoid of voluminous excruciating golf detail. A story line that achieves par for course with just enough hooks to maintain reader intrigue, and slices to engender an acquisitive commitment to turning another page to follow through.

[Alix Potter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would probably be more enjoyable if I were a fan of golf, although the authors did a good job of making it understandable even if you don't know anything about golf. I enjoy the Gideon Oliver series more. The main character's self-esteem issues get on my nerves after a while. But not a bad read. A good filler when the rest of your reading list is still on hold.

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second read in the Lee Ofsted Golf Mystery series. The setting was great and the mystery enthralling enough to keep me on my toes until the surprise ending. I like Lee and will definitely read more of this series. Learning a little about golf, which never interested me before. But it does now.

[Corinne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I made myself finish it.

[William Mosteller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, I love that the police (mainly the chief in this book) is really quite smart.

[Lawanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook performed by Susan O’Malley

[Andrea Latham · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of twists and turns of a kidnapping gone wrong and treasure hunt mystery.

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading Charolette Elkins as I do enjoy her husband's books, and I was not disappointed. I also learned about more about golf in each of them.

[Cat. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This continues the series 'starring' Lee Ofsted, semi-pro golfer. She has been asked by a good friend to replace the originally-scheduled pro at a workshop/conference being done by a salvage company for its management employees.

On her very first day, the wife of the owner is nearly kidnapped. Following that rather bizarre occurrence, Lee calls in her boyfriend who has stopped being a cop and is now running his own security firm. Graham arrives to advise the owner and the rest of the people in the company on what to do to keep safe, and he also speaks to the police officers about suspects in the kidnapping.

Then someone actually dies, and all the secrets from the past start revealing themselves. This company is actually a perfect example of Why Nepotism is Bad Thing: everyone is either related or an old friend of everyone else. And it all comes down to what happened in the first salvage operation ever done by these individuals, an event during which their first partner died in an underwater accident.

Interesting stuff about salvage that I never knew. The business stuff was kind of fun too, but over all, I'll stick with switching authors for awhile as mentioned above.

[Nancy]

(Knott) presides over this series with loving eye and stinging wit. -- "New York Times"
Lured by the hefty pay, Lee Ofsted agrees to fill in as a golf pro at a corporate conference on Block Island. But upon her arrival, she finds that putting and chipping quickly give way to kidnapping, ransom and murder. So Lee delves into the history of the company, and, much to her chagrin, discovers that every manager has a motive for murder. Worse yet, now Lee knows too much for the killer to let her live .

The man who sold golf products was the killer. He and the supposed kidnap victim wanted to run away together. Her husband was murdered. Lee put it all together.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lee Ofsted’s best pal, Peg Fiske, gets her a gig teaching the short game at an executive offsite on picturesque Block Island. When the owner, Stuart, is murdered, Lee and Peg just can’t help starting up their own investigation. Lee’s ex-cop security specialist boyfriend Graham shows up and yells at her for her risky behavior. It turns out that he is right, but it doesn’t make the yelling any more pleasant. Not much golf in the story which is a real problem since neither the plot nor the characters can really carry the story.

[Sonya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually 3.5 stars. I love the anthropologist series that Aaron Elkins writes so I thought I'd try this book in a new series. It's not as good but still makes for a good story. The main characters were likeable and relate-able, and the story and setting were well-written. (It may have been better if was a fan of golf.)

[Cynthia Sherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved all of the twists and turns in this mystery novel. Well written with the right amount of suspense.

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Block Island makes interesting setting

[Pat]

Gideon Oliver

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, entertaining read!

[Shirley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't love this book. Maybe golf was the problem. Story line was fine.

[Willow Brook · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.