Murder with Reservations

Dead-End Job Mystery #6

by Elaine Viets

Helen Hawthorne has a knack for keeping a low profile. But in South Florida, it's going to get a lot harder to fly under the radar...

Working at Sybil's Full Moon Hotel in Fort Lauderdale keeps Helen safe and sane. But when a maid is found dead in a Dumpster, those days just might be over. Dead bodies mean another chance for the cops to find her. To make matters worse, her ex-husband is hot on her trail. Sadly, the cops don't seem to care much about a murdered maid-but they take notice of her coworker's shady story. If Helen doesn't manage to dodge their questions and shake off her ex, it could be checkout time.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Mystery Thriller, Humor, Animals

272 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2007

About the author

As a young girl, Elaine Viets was taught the virtues of South St. Louis: the importance of hard work, housecleaning, and paying cash. She managed to forget almost everything she learned, which is why she turned to mystery writing.

Living in South Florida has not improved her character. But it has given her the bestselling Dead-End Job series. Like her amateur detective, Helen Hawthorne, Elaine actually works those rotten jobs. Perhaps her early training has given her a lifelong fascination with jobs. She and Helen both know working for a living can be murder.

To research her novels, Elaine has been everything from a salesclerk to a survey taker. Her first book in the series is SHOP TILL YOU DROP, a novel of sex, murder and plastic surgery. It's set at a fashionable dress shop that caters to kept women. Book two, MURDER BETWEEN THE COVERS, takes place at a bookstore. Elaine worked at a Barnes & Noble in Hollywood, Florida, for a year.

For the third, DYING TO CALL YOU, Helen works as a telemarketer. Elaine sold septic tank cleaner and did telephone surveys. She actually asked women if they shaved their armpits. In the fourth Dead-End Job mystery, JUST MURDERED, Elaine and Helen explore big-money matrimony for better or worse. Elaine did her research in Zola Keller’s posh bridal salon in Fort Lauderdale.

For the fifth novel, Elaine and Helen go to the dogs. MURDER UNLEASHED is set at a high-end dog boutique, where people spend two hundred dollars for canine cuisine, women sneak illegal pets into condos using high-priced designer purses, and the dogs at the store have bigger wardrobes than the salesclerks. MURDER UNLEASHED is Elaine's first hardcover mystery. Publishers Weekly calls it “wry social commentary.”

Although Elaine lives in Fort Lauderdale, her heart – and her viewpoint – remain in the Midwest. Like Helen Hawthorne, another transplanted St. Louisan, she observes the outrageously rich Florida culture (and lack thereof) with wide-eyed fascination.

Elaine’s second series takes her back to work in St. Louis. It features Josie Marcus, a mystery shopper and single mom. The debut novel, DYING IN STYLE, tied with Stephen King on the bestseller list for the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.

Elaine won both the Agatha and the Anthony Awards for her short story, "Wedding Knife," in CHESAPEAKE CRIMES.

Some honors don’t come with plaques and award banquets. Elaine was thrilled when her short story, "After the Fall," was featured on the same cover of the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine as the master, Ed Hoch.

Her short story, "Red Meat," is in BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS, the Mystery Writers of America anthology edited by Lawrence Block. "Blonde Moment" is in the MWA anthology, SHOW BUSINESS IS MURDER, edited by Stuart Kaminsky. "Sex and Bingo" is featured in the HIGH STAKES gambling anthology. And if you've ever wondered about the early life of purple-loving landlady Margery Flax, read "Killer Blonde" in DROP-DEAD BLONDE.

Elaine has served on the national boards of the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. She lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with her husband, actor Don Crinklaw, where they collect speeding tickets.

Please buy her novels so she can pay her MasterCard.

Series:
* Dead-End Job Mystery
* Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper
* Francesca Vierling Mystery

Reviews

[Luffy Sempai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Darla Crane is a pseudonym of a pornstar. I like her voice and her face. She acts well too, in the best sense of the word. Being about 50, she is too old to play this book's main character on TV. But if I were a producer, I would cast her as Helen Hawthorne, part time amateur detective.

It seems that writer Elaine Viets had gathered enough steam to steamroller through the writing of this book. It feels like an editor wasn't involved. It's all trim goodies. Not a word was wasted.

But in a way, these words are being wasted. The general public are missing on a terrific series. Viets has enough ratings here, but this series deserves more love. It's a pity that I will see what most people won't even know they've missed. At least I know.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this entry in the series and it made me want to tip my maid when I stay in a hotel. It's always fun reading about Helen's different jobs. The mystery was good and I didn't see the resolution coming. I enjoyed the story and look forward to more.

[C · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sucked. Empty characters with ridiculous plot. A woman is on the run from her ex husband who is trying to track her down for alimony and is working as a hotel room cleaner in Florida. She finds a couple of dead bodies and solves two of the murders and finds a lost treasure. Lame.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Registered on Bookcrossing - https://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/...

My Review: Another great book in this series, Helen is a great character with many layers and all her friends make the story more interesting. My favorite book in this series so far.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this series.. Each book is a new job setting for Helen, who is trying to work one "dead end" job after another to avoid the wrath of a contempt citation and judgment from a St. Louis court in favor of her ex-husband. I don't want to spoil the plot so you'll have to read for your self who appears in this book and how it may change the direction of the entire series.. Helen's character continues to develop as each job she takes demands more and more of her--body, mind and spirit. It is hard to imagine working as a hotel maid doing back-breaking physical labor and being subjected to so many indignities well detailed in the book, rather than earning a six figure income. However, the author seamlessly and successfully accomplishes this difficult task and more! I am looking forward to reading the rest of this series to find out where Helen will be working next...

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I probably would have enjoyed this book more if I didn't find the main character's motivations so nonsensical. Admittedly, I haven't read the rest of the series... but when she kept complaining about her ex-husband and how she didn't trust the court system etc, I just wanted slap some sense into her. It's not like she was on the run from a wife beater, which would have made sense.

The mystery itself was ok. I figured out who the killer was on the first page they appeared, which isn't great for a mystery, but some of the supporting characters were fun.

[Deborah Boerema · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the fact that, unlike many cozies, the main character didn't feel compelled to chase suspects and overstep police to solve the crime. She didn't constantly make foolish decisions and put herself in harm's way. The mystery just kind of unfolded in front of her. I also enjoyed the surprise twist ending.

That said, I'm not sure I'll be reading other books from this series. I never really developed any affection for or connection to the main character. I don't care for many of the life choices that put her in this setting. This book just didn't make me feel "cozy."

[Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really did not connect with the main character nor find it believable that so many people- virtually everyone in her life- supported her subterfuge of hiding from her ex-husband so she wouldn't have to pay him alimony. It is a totally sexist premise that she isn't a sleazeball for being in contempt of court- reverse the sexes if you don't think so. A man hiding out under a false name to avoid alimony payments? Yech.
The book was needlessly sexual, gross on many levels, had a weak plot, and I felt no sympathy for any character.... Not a winner.

[Judy Averitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love all these books & characters. They are like old friends now.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could someone please explain why Helen felt the need to run after Rob to try and warn him? I was so glad when Margery called her out about him.

Yep, that's it. That's all I got from this book. LOL!

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished the first time Oct 8, 2011. Loved it both times. Love the series!

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll never drink from a motel room coffee maker again...

[Missi Martin (Stockwell) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love the Dead-End Job Mystery series by Elaine Viets. I have read books one through six so far and cannot get enough of Helen, her crappy jobs, her crazy landlady, Margery, her perfect boyfriend Phil , her friend Peggy and her parrot and everything else !!!

And in Murder with Reservations, the sixth book in the series, Helen's dead-end job is a maid in a hotel that has a "cursed" room. And everyone wants in..... A few months before Helen starts working at The Full Moon a robber with a lot of money stays there but before he can hand the money off to his partner, he dies. Unfortunately the money is never found. So while Helen is trying to do her job still hiding out from her ex-husband, all her co-workers are secretly searching the hotel for the missing money.

And hiding from her ex-husband is harder than ever because he has finally tracked her to Florida and is even staying at The Full Moon. While her co-workers sneak her in and out of the hotel, her ex-husband Rob is getting closer and closer to finding her....until Margery gets involved.......

This is my favorite book so far in this series......I just love Helen and what she will do to not give one dollar of her hard earned money to her lazy cheating ex-husband. I love her relationship with her landlady and friends at the Coronado Apartments. I love the nights hanging by the pool with Margery, Peggy, her parrot Pete and Margery's deadly drinks. Helen and Phil have a realistic relationship and in this book we get to see and learrn more about Rob. Not to mention in this book there is murder, murder, and murder !!! More murders than ever !! And of course Helen is right smack in the middle of them all !! But with one of the murders there is a very interesting twist that not even Helen could predict......

I HIGHLY recommend the Dead-End Job Mystery series by Elaine Viets. You will get completely lost in these books and will love every minute of it !!

[Janet Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excitedly Twisted Murder Mystery
This is the sixth book in a series that should be read in order. In this episode, our main character is working as a hotel maid. The job is very hard work and can get pretty disgusting. The plot is twisted and intriguing. All of the sex in the story is alluded to or is behind closed doors. There is no guessing as to what happens or who did what as the reader knows everything that the characters know. The crimes are solved in due time and all puzzles have solutions. I am off to read book seven in the series.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this installment in the Dead-End Job Mystery series by Elaine Viets. Helen is still a fun and likable character. Her neighbors at the apartment complex are as interesting as ever. I do wish Helen's ex-husband played a larger role (perhaps she could have had a confrontation with him), but I see how that plotline is progressing and how there's a good chance he will appear more in upcoming books in the series. I also enjoyed the coworkers at the hotel where Helen worked as a maid, and I wish Helen could run into them again in the series.

[Crystal Toller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have only read 2 in this series, but really love Helen Hawthorne. Helen is working in a hotel when her ex Rob comes to South Florida and tries to find her through her old jobs. When there is a murder in the hotel she is working in she has to sneak in and out to avoid Rob. A truly delightful tale written by a master. Love the characters and writing was very good. Highly recommend this book and anything by this author.

[JB · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t really like any of the characters, Helen should just grow up. It looks like this may be the last in the series, too bad, Helen should face her responsibilities and pay up. So what if she thinks it isn’t fair, if the tables were turned everyone would be up in arms about the evil husband not paying support. This is the only one I have read, won’t go back and read the others, while the job aspect was interesting, none of the characters were believable or actually likeable

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable book in the dead-end job series. While it is good as a stand alone, it would be much better read in order. In this book Helen is working as a maid in a hotel that has several murders. She is still hiding out from her ex-husband and he has turned up in town looking for her.

[Lissa Smith Reads'~A Bookaholics Bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who can't escape dead bodies from turning up where she works? Helen that's who.

The best thing is Helen does it with grace under fire and in this installment a bit of snarky, about to snap humor.

It also looks like her ex-hubby's number is about to be punched.

[Jan Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read. Helen is cleaning rooms at an area hotel. A maid is killed. A guest is killed. Money from a robbery is thought to be hidden in the hotel. Helen's ex-husband Rob shows up in town. Of course, Helen is in the middle of it all.

[E'Who'Reads'a'Thousand'Mysteries]

Hilarious hotel setting

Another hilarious mystery in a high quality series! This varied cast of characters is wildly entertaining, the comedy is giggles and witty, and the storytelling is well done.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

[Tex · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only cozy murder series that I can tolerate. Set in Fort Lauderdale, so the scene is familiar.
This one has Helen as a hotel maid.

[Tory Wagner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Murder with Reservations by Elaine Viets is a quick read that requires little from the reader. Might be a good choice while traveling since little concentration is needed.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun easy read!! Helen seems to be getting her life back to what she wants! I enjoy this series a lot! It’s always an exciting light adventure.

[Grandma Mush · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost as good as Evanovich. i am not sure what is missing tho. Maybe more humor. Tho there definitely is that in Viets’s books. I do want to read the next one!

[Sandy Lipinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Motel murders. Helen works at a motel where murders take place. She puts the clues together and solves the crimes.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, as always...wonderful cast of characters, great story.

[Danae Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am almost through my boxset of the first 7 books! I didn't figure this one out before the end.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars