Sick as a Parrot

PI Grace Smith #5

by Liz Evans

Adopted at birth, Hanna Conti attempts to trace her family. She turns up a mother who, 20 years earlier, was convicted of murder. Convinced that her mother is innocent, Hannah hires PI Grace Smith to prove it. Grace uncovers the story of the very messy murder of Janet Hepburn, a teacher at St. Martin’s Comprehensive, but there are a lot of people who’d rather she stopped digging. On Grace’s side (or possibly not) is an ex-cop with a shady past and Betterman177, a mysterious emailer who sends tantalizing clues about what was happening at St. Martin’s two decades ago. To add to these complications, Grace has been conned into bird-sitting a psychotic parrot, and Terry Rosco, the most chauvinistic cop in Seatoun, is trying to move into Grace’s spare room. And, oh yes—someone keeps trying to kill her.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, British Literature, Humor, Fiction, Mystery Thriller

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Also writes as Patricia Grey

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adopted Hannah hires investigator Grace Smith to prove that Alison, the mother who gave her up at birth, was not really a murderer, though she was convicted of murder shortly after Hannah was born. Also, if Grace could find out who her father was...None of the family members or neighbors was willing to talk to Hannah, nor was Alison, and Grace is in bad with the local police, as usual. Since the police found no other suspects than Alison all those years ago, how can Grace learn anything new? But she has some unexpected help, and turns up a few more suspects. But the central mysteries remain, until several forgotten photographs give Grace some new ideas.

[Antigone Walsh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

An adopted woman hires a snarky private eye to clear her biological mother's name. The biological mother was convicted of murder. Grace, the detective, reluctantly accepts. She is soon to learn the truth does not always set you free.

This book is okay. The characters were not especially nice or interesting and I found they wore thin. The mystery is not particularly compelling and the resolution was meh. Not a fan.

[Verity W · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took me a while to get into, but once I did, I read it in an evening. This is a twisty and dark mystery with comedic elements. The actual investigation is into a murder that took place nearly 20 years earlier and is considered solved as someone was convicted so it's a nice take on the cold case too. I enjoyed.

[Kacper Nedza · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.5) I really enjoyed this one--funny, pacy, humane. Grace is a delightful heroine and the other characters are well-drawn, too. I definitely see the comparisons to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, but I'd say Evans is a much better writer (with apologies to Evanovich fans).

[Jeff Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Grace Smith as a private eye and Liz Evans provides an enjoyable read. Ultimately, however, found the conclusion, to the book, stretched credibility a tad.

[Eero · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have now read two books in this series. In both Grace goes to meet someone alone and gets tied up while the bad guys discuss how to kill her, and in both she, while resourceful, has only partial success in freeing herself. Coincidence or a regular feature?

The plot is again tricky, but the author plays fairly with the reader. Being a private eye novel this is not like an Ellery Queen mystery, where the author could at some point announce that all the necessary clues have been given. In fact, the last clue is given at the end. Yet every clue makes sense when the big picture emerges, and the process by which they are revealed is logical. There are plenty of red herrings and misdirections: the major piece of the puzzle is very conspicuous right from the beginning, but gets almost ignored (somewhat justifiably) until the last chapters. When it finally falls into place, the reader may shout "Of course!"

While the general tone is light and humorous, the revelation of the mystery goes into a very dark place and is handled with the gravity it requires.

The unfortunate comparison with Janet Evanovich is somewhat more apt in this book, as there is a mysterious man who takes an interest in Grace, yet seems to be inwardly laughing at her at every turn. She reacts with a mixture of exasperation and lust, but their attempts to consummate the relationship are invariably thwarted by comedic occurrences, sometimes involving a parrot. Since this is apparently the penultimate book in the series, this romance does not have time to become a constant annoyance, even if the character should reappear in the last one. (The last short chapter hints in that direction. I am not a fan of the character so far.)

Once again: these are really much better than the Stephanie Plum books. The comparison is almost insulting.

[Cassidy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually stick to American writers. Most of the British writers that I have read tend to be more verbose than I like. Not to mention the challenge of learning (almost) another language in the process. This book was a pleasant surprise. The writing was relatively concise and flowed well. Even the British slang that peppered the text was easily understood based on context. The story moved along at a great pace, with interesting twists and turns along the way as Grace tried to determine what really happened twenty years earlier and why. Interesting cast of characters, with comic relief provided by a neurotic parrot named Tallulah. An enjoyable mystery with a side of suspence and a hint of romance thrown in.

Note: I read the Kindle version entitled "Prime Suspect".

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy this author. I agree that her style is similar to Janet Evanovich, so if you enjoy funny mysteries give this one a try! My only issue is that I was a little confused by the ending, but what a great ride it was!

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beautiful weather over the last couple of days gave me a great excuse to sit in the garden and read!

Really enjoyed this book, I've read others in the series, and I'm just about to start on the next one! Shame there aren't any more, as I love Grace Smith's character!

[Kenneth Zepplin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Difficult to read

I find books the are written in the old English language are hard to read as I am always trying to figure out what the author means. Takes the joy out of reading the book.

[Angela Verdenius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great series. This particular story was full of plot twists and turns, and the surprise at the end was amazing. The heroine is grim at times, funny at others, with faults of her own - no perfect do-gooder, this sheila. Excellent series! I'm off to start the next.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like the Stephanie Plum books (by Evanovich) you will like this writer.

[Highjenks · Rating 4 out of 5]

HIlarious! I couldn't stop laughing.

[Rosina · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit overly long, and attempts to be too coy, but a fun read.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

really enjoyed this character and the story has some good twists as you go. Perfect modern mystery with a slightly accidental detective who manages to work it all out in the end!

[Kirsty Darbyshire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent stuff. Liz Evans gets better with every book. More comments later...

[Shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like this author--lots of humor and love the setting being in England. Good plot and reasonable character depictions as well.

[Mike Dean]

Good

[David Gilchrist · Rating 4 out of 5]

The new title "Prime Suspect" makes no sense, I really enjoyed this book, plenty of humour and a good story line with Grace Smith PI and an alcoholic parrot.

[Roland Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Quirky characters - including a parrot - made this an amusing read. And the mystery kept me reading with all its twists and side steps. Enjoyable mix of humour and grit."

[Teena in Toronto · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best yet in the series!

[Tee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

a little clunky, but some good twists and likeable character's.