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Dani O'Rourke #1
Murder in the Abstract
Danielle O'Rourke's gala evening at the Devor Museum ends in catastrophe when the body of a young artist plummets from her office window. The police label it murder and suspect Dani, the Museum's chief fund raiser. Self-preservation and an insider's understanding of how money moves the art world drive her to investigate who might have a motive for murder. Dani's playboy ex-husband and a green-eyed cop complicate matters as her search moves through the fashionable worlds of San Francisco and Santa Fe.
265 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
About the author
Susan C. Shea
15 books48 followersBorn in NYC, raised on as diet of reading and art, transplant to Northern CA, satisfying career in journalism, higher ed exec, and then leapt off the diving board to become crime author.
I have an author page on Facebook. blog on 7CriminalMinds with 9 other crime authors, have an active web site with lots about France and, yes, I'm a Francophile!
NEW BOOK coming March 2023 - more Burgundy, but with a new theme...
I have an author page on Facebook. blog on 7CriminalMinds with 9 other crime authors, have an active web site with lots about France and, yes, I'm a Francophile!
NEW BOOK coming March 2023 - more Burgundy, but with a new theme...
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February 7, 2017As you know, I saw Terry Shames at her book launch at Books, Inc. in Berkeley back on January 13. And as you also know, Terry was in conversation with Susan C. Shea, another local author. Well, I decided to get book 1 of Susan's Dani O'Rourke mystery series. And I really enjoyed it. Here's what Murder in the Abstract is about:
Danielle O'Rourke's gala evening at the Devor Museum ends in catastrophe when the body of a young artist plummets from her office window. The police label it murder and suspect Dani, the Museum's chief fund raiser. Self-preservation and an insider's understanding of how money moves the art world drive her to investigate who might have a motive for murder. Dani's playboy ex-husband and a green-eyed cop complicate matters as her search moves through the fashionable worlds of San Francisco and Santa Fe.
This book was very educational for me:
1. I learned a lot about the business side of the art world.
2. I learned about the various roles/jobs that an art museum (and probably all museums) has.
3. I learned about art galleries and what goes into putting on a show.
On top of all that, I also got to sink my teeth into a murder mystery. And I have to tell you that I did NOT know whodunit until the very end. And with a wide variety of eccentric and unique characters, I'm definitely looking forward to #2 - The King's Jar - and #3 - Mixed Up with Murder.
Does the pool of local, talented authors ever dry up? Or even stay at the same level? To borrow from the current weather in the Bay Area, I can honestly say that the banks are overflowing (have you been on highway 17 in the Santa Cruz mountains lately?). But most importantly, add Susan C. Shea to that every-burgeoning pool.
Danielle O'Rourke's gala evening at the Devor Museum ends in catastrophe when the body of a young artist plummets from her office window. The police label it murder and suspect Dani, the Museum's chief fund raiser. Self-preservation and an insider's understanding of how money moves the art world drive her to investigate who might have a motive for murder. Dani's playboy ex-husband and a green-eyed cop complicate matters as her search moves through the fashionable worlds of San Francisco and Santa Fe.
This book was very educational for me:
1. I learned a lot about the business side of the art world.
2. I learned about the various roles/jobs that an art museum (and probably all museums) has.
3. I learned about art galleries and what goes into putting on a show.
On top of all that, I also got to sink my teeth into a murder mystery. And I have to tell you that I did NOT know whodunit until the very end. And with a wide variety of eccentric and unique characters, I'm definitely looking forward to #2 - The King's Jar - and #3 - Mixed Up with Murder.
Does the pool of local, talented authors ever dry up? Or even stay at the same level? To borrow from the current weather in the Bay Area, I can honestly say that the banks are overflowing (have you been on highway 17 in the Santa Cruz mountains lately?). But most importantly, add Susan C. Shea to that every-burgeoning pool.
June 17, 2010
One more mystery, I thought bitterly. I kept adding mysteries but didn’t seem to be making progress solving any of them. – Dani O’Rourke
One wouldn’t expect the chief fund raiser for a posh art museum to find herself at the center of a murder mystery, yet that is precisely where Danielle “Dani” O’Rourke finds herself in Susan Shea’s debut novel, Murder in the Abstract.
What should be a triumphant, gala evening of celebration at the Devor Museum where Dani works is cut brutally short when up-and-coming young artist Clinton Maslow plunges to his death from an office window. The circumstances lead police to believe it was murder, and the fact that Dani previously dated the victim, not to mention the window he went out of was her office, quickly lands Dani at the top of the suspect list.
When additional evidence appears that seemingly further connects Dani to Maslow’s death, but which she knows was planted, Dani decides to get proactive in figuring out who really killed him and why they are trying to frame her.
Dani O’Rourke is a refreshingly real character: she’s closer to 40 than 30, closer to a size 14 than a size 4, doesn’t know martial arts or weapons, isn’t a master computer hacker, and she doesn’t single-handedly figure out whodunit. She’s just a regular gal caught up in a highly irregular situation, which makes her very easy to identify with because she could actually be your next door neighbor, an old college roommate… even you!
Shea has also given Dani a strong cast of supporting characters: the dashing police detective Dani finds herself attracted to, despite the fact he’s investigating her for murder; her über rich playboy ex-husband, who’s still carrying a torch for Dani; Rowland Reynold, a somewhat sinister Santa Fe based art collector and main patron of the dead artist; Suzy, Dani’s social-butterfly, gossip-hound best friend. They, and many others, flesh out the wonderfully colorful world Shea has created.
Whether you’re looking for a book to curl up with while having a glass of wine or one to stuff in your bag to take to the beach, Murder in the Abstract is picture perfect!
One wouldn’t expect the chief fund raiser for a posh art museum to find herself at the center of a murder mystery, yet that is precisely where Danielle “Dani” O’Rourke finds herself in Susan Shea’s debut novel, Murder in the Abstract.
What should be a triumphant, gala evening of celebration at the Devor Museum where Dani works is cut brutally short when up-and-coming young artist Clinton Maslow plunges to his death from an office window. The circumstances lead police to believe it was murder, and the fact that Dani previously dated the victim, not to mention the window he went out of was her office, quickly lands Dani at the top of the suspect list.
When additional evidence appears that seemingly further connects Dani to Maslow’s death, but which she knows was planted, Dani decides to get proactive in figuring out who really killed him and why they are trying to frame her.
Dani O’Rourke is a refreshingly real character: she’s closer to 40 than 30, closer to a size 14 than a size 4, doesn’t know martial arts or weapons, isn’t a master computer hacker, and she doesn’t single-handedly figure out whodunit. She’s just a regular gal caught up in a highly irregular situation, which makes her very easy to identify with because she could actually be your next door neighbor, an old college roommate… even you!
Shea has also given Dani a strong cast of supporting characters: the dashing police detective Dani finds herself attracted to, despite the fact he’s investigating her for murder; her über rich playboy ex-husband, who’s still carrying a torch for Dani; Rowland Reynold, a somewhat sinister Santa Fe based art collector and main patron of the dead artist; Suzy, Dani’s social-butterfly, gossip-hound best friend. They, and many others, flesh out the wonderfully colorful world Shea has created.
Whether you’re looking for a book to curl up with while having a glass of wine or one to stuff in your bag to take to the beach, Murder in the Abstract is picture perfect!
January 1, 2012
Uh, my dad gave me this to read. It's supposed to take place in a thinly veiled SFMOMA. I am wary.
A day later ...
Well, the murder story was interesting, but I did not enjoy the writing. I found all the phone flipping and snapping particularly irksome - srsly a VP of Development at a SF museum has a fifteen-year-old phone!? I don't think so. Also frequent references to the narrator's clothing size, calorie intake, and what she was eating bordered on misogyny. Bah, and the artist, gallery, and museum name-dropping. BAH. She did describe First Fridays accurately ... and there is a quote I will share when I am not poking this out on my (PROPER, 21ST CENTURY) phone.
Ok I am back and maybe I am a LEETLE TOO EXCITED about my first goodreads review lol. Here is the quote:
"A couple of years from now, visitors would be arguing about the meaning of Oliver Boberg's mysterious videos of rainy night roads, or Ulrike Rosenbach's multiple, overlapping video narratives. They probably wouldn't notice the handsome sign on the entrance wall thanking our faithful donors for the money to pay for the outrageously high insurance premiums, transportation, illustrated catalog, iPod tours, and wall texts."
MHMMMM.
that is all
A day later ...
Well, the murder story was interesting, but I did not enjoy the writing. I found all the phone flipping and snapping particularly irksome - srsly a VP of Development at a SF museum has a fifteen-year-old phone!? I don't think so. Also frequent references to the narrator's clothing size, calorie intake, and what she was eating bordered on misogyny. Bah, and the artist, gallery, and museum name-dropping. BAH. She did describe First Fridays accurately ... and there is a quote I will share when I am not poking this out on my (PROPER, 21ST CENTURY) phone.
Ok I am back and maybe I am a LEETLE TOO EXCITED about my first goodreads review lol. Here is the quote:
"A couple of years from now, visitors would be arguing about the meaning of Oliver Boberg's mysterious videos of rainy night roads, or Ulrike Rosenbach's multiple, overlapping video narratives. They probably wouldn't notice the handsome sign on the entrance wall thanking our faithful donors for the money to pay for the outrageously high insurance premiums, transportation, illustrated catalog, iPod tours, and wall texts."
MHMMMM.
that is all
December 31, 2018
Fast-paced and very entertaining, I especially enjoyed the premise of the protagonist being a fund-raiser for a major art museum! The dual settings of San Francisco and Santa Fe added to the interest.
Dani O'Rourke is an appealing and likeable character and the mystery itself was an intricate puzzle.
I recently finished several long-running series, catching up with all the installments and have been struggling a bit to find some new series to plug into. This one was fun and I'll happily read the other two. I hope the author will add to the series.
Dani O'Rourke is an appealing and likeable character and the mystery itself was an intricate puzzle.
I recently finished several long-running series, catching up with all the installments and have been struggling a bit to find some new series to plug into. This one was fun and I'll happily read the other two. I hope the author will add to the series.
January 5, 2015
Not generally a fan of mysteries, but it's my mother's first novel...and I really enjoyed it. Murder in the Abstract establishes Dani O'Rourke as an detective in events that pursue her before she turns the tables. The climax of the action is full of tension and doubt, and the resolution leaves her in further doubt and regret, but O'Rourke is made of tough stuff, as Shea proves in the sequel, The King's Jar.
June 4, 2017
As San Francisco's Devor Museum's chief fundraiser, Danielle "Dani" O'Rourke makes her living convincing wealthy people to donate large sums of money--or precious objects--to the museum. When a rising star of an artist falls to his death from Dani's office window, she finds herself way out of her element and a suspect in his murder.
A cozy, amateur sleuth mystery, MURDER IN THE ABSTRACT is a light read and the first of three novels featuring Dani O'Rourke. Actually, it's hard to call Dani an amateur sleuth as she is more naif than sleuth. She stumbles over clues without realizing what they are as she bumbles her way through one catastrophe after another often not realizing just how much danger she's in. Surviving and exposing the killer is more luck than pluck--which makes Dani a little more believable than many mystery sleuths.
A cozy, amateur sleuth mystery, MURDER IN THE ABSTRACT is a light read and the first of three novels featuring Dani O'Rourke. Actually, it's hard to call Dani an amateur sleuth as she is more naif than sleuth. She stumbles over clues without realizing what they are as she bumbles her way through one catastrophe after another often not realizing just how much danger she's in. Surviving and exposing the killer is more luck than pluck--which makes Dani a little more believable than many mystery sleuths.
August 29, 2018
This is the first in the Dani O'Rourke series, but I'd read the next two before this. It didn't spoil the story for me, it's witty and fun, with a relatable lead character who doesn't go on idiotic lone sleuthing expeditions. I really hope Susan Shea writes more of Dani novels, as I've enjoyed them far more than the couple she set in France with a somewhat tedious lead character.
April 22, 2024
Honestly it kept me guessing but I felt like the book just dragged.
November 28, 2011
One of the most difficult things about reviewing books is what to do when presented with a book which uses devices and has a style that is normally something I'd avoid, due to personal preference. Doesn't mean that it's a bad book, and it certainly doesn't mean that the book won't have a legion of fans (in fact it probably should just about guarantee it). I'm also aware that problems are considerably more obvious when there's other things going on that aren't working for a reader.
Needless to say, MURDER IN THE ABSTRACT is not the sort of book I would normally read. In fact I'd probably go a long way in avoiding such a book, but in the event that an author is kind enough to offer a copy, I feel duty bound to read.
The only way I can think to handle this is to discuss the elements that make up the book. Firstly the author has created a first person voice, in the central character of Dani O'Rourke. Dani is a fund-raiser for the Devor Museum, forced into the role of investigator not just because the death of an artist occurred from the window of her office. It's a rather brave step that - using a first person narrator. An author is placing a lot of faith in their character to be somebody that appeals to the reader. That's not to say that you necessarily have to like the character, but you do have to be able to get inside their head, identify with their actions and their opinions.
From there we have a plot which is a combination of a police investigation at the start which morphs into a classic amateur detective scenario. Dani is, however, less of an investigator and more of somebody who, being intimately involved with the dead, and having that connection of her office being the scene of the crime, sort of functions as a bit of a catalyst for events that occur around her. I'm not even sure I'd go so far as having her discover things, rather she's the sort of person who seems to cause things to happen around her, right up to the end with the grand confession scene. I'm not sure that anybody is going to have a lot of trouble picking the why of the ultimate conclusion, but the who has a bit of a twist in the tail.
Whilst the pace of the story is very good, there are some elements to the colour and movement which don't stand too much consideration. Why the police investigation suddenly disappears into the background. How somebody who on one hands thinks themselves to be somehow too close to the action, can then see things that don't quite add up in her immediate environment, but never actually put two and two together and come up with some observations. How it is that one of the major suspects in a crime freely moves around great tracts of the countryside... none of those elements quite made sense when considered clearly.
My personal problems with the book could very well be more about me than the book itself. I'm not much of a fan of light, fluffy, chatty, girly chick-lit style books - for it to work for me there's got to be a deft touch of humour, and humour is very much a personal thing. I'm also not the sort of person who does "brands". So discussions of handbags, shoes, clothes, fingernails, put me off... really badly, unless, again, there is a discernible sense of humour about the whole thing. Perhaps because of those elements, I saw a lack of depth in the plot and the characterisations, which could be a whole lot less of a problem for somebody who really enjoys the overall style.
Needless to say, MURDER IN THE ABSTRACT is not the sort of book I would normally read. In fact I'd probably go a long way in avoiding such a book, but in the event that an author is kind enough to offer a copy, I feel duty bound to read.
The only way I can think to handle this is to discuss the elements that make up the book. Firstly the author has created a first person voice, in the central character of Dani O'Rourke. Dani is a fund-raiser for the Devor Museum, forced into the role of investigator not just because the death of an artist occurred from the window of her office. It's a rather brave step that - using a first person narrator. An author is placing a lot of faith in their character to be somebody that appeals to the reader. That's not to say that you necessarily have to like the character, but you do have to be able to get inside their head, identify with their actions and their opinions.
From there we have a plot which is a combination of a police investigation at the start which morphs into a classic amateur detective scenario. Dani is, however, less of an investigator and more of somebody who, being intimately involved with the dead, and having that connection of her office being the scene of the crime, sort of functions as a bit of a catalyst for events that occur around her. I'm not even sure I'd go so far as having her discover things, rather she's the sort of person who seems to cause things to happen around her, right up to the end with the grand confession scene. I'm not sure that anybody is going to have a lot of trouble picking the why of the ultimate conclusion, but the who has a bit of a twist in the tail.
Whilst the pace of the story is very good, there are some elements to the colour and movement which don't stand too much consideration. Why the police investigation suddenly disappears into the background. How somebody who on one hands thinks themselves to be somehow too close to the action, can then see things that don't quite add up in her immediate environment, but never actually put two and two together and come up with some observations. How it is that one of the major suspects in a crime freely moves around great tracts of the countryside... none of those elements quite made sense when considered clearly.
My personal problems with the book could very well be more about me than the book itself. I'm not much of a fan of light, fluffy, chatty, girly chick-lit style books - for it to work for me there's got to be a deft touch of humour, and humour is very much a personal thing. I'm also not the sort of person who does "brands". So discussions of handbags, shoes, clothes, fingernails, put me off... really badly, unless, again, there is a discernible sense of humour about the whole thing. Perhaps because of those elements, I saw a lack of depth in the plot and the characterisations, which could be a whole lot less of a problem for somebody who really enjoys the overall style.
Want to Read
March 7, 2017I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.
June 11, 2010
What has San Franciso, CA and Santa Fe, NM have in common? Murder. How , why, when...these are questions I asked myself as I began the fast-paced, fun-laced, trek through the modern art world in both cities. The sleuth is involved in the magical world of fine art as she is plunged into a murder.
Page one had me laughing as the speed of the crime astonished me. You are involved without even realizing it. I sped through the chapters like running traffic lights. On top of it all the Author's descriptive abilities was amazing. I could feel the crush of the crowds, the smells of the foods, the colors of the art and the shock, yes shock, of the crimes.
If you have ever travel to or wish to travel to San Francisco and Santa Fe this is your book. Both these cities were described as only a person familiar with them could. Also the food...trust me you will have cravings.
I heartily suggest you order this book and sit back for a great trip! What a mystery!
Page one had me laughing as the speed of the crime astonished me. You are involved without even realizing it. I sped through the chapters like running traffic lights. On top of it all the Author's descriptive abilities was amazing. I could feel the crush of the crowds, the smells of the foods, the colors of the art and the shock, yes shock, of the crimes.
If you have ever travel to or wish to travel to San Francisco and Santa Fe this is your book. Both these cities were described as only a person familiar with them could. Also the food...trust me you will have cravings.
I heartily suggest you order this book and sit back for a great trip! What a mystery!
July 7, 2010
Dani has an important job raising funds for a San Francisco museum. When someone is thrown from her office window during a soiree, she becomes a suspect. Of course, Dani knows she didn't do it--but she does wonder about both her assistant and her boss, both of whom are behaving suspiciously. A trip to Arizona, partly to go to an art opening of one of the artists at the soiree, leads to more death and more danger.
June 5, 2015
This was an interesting story, with some interesting characters. There were a few things that stopped me from getting fully into it - the main character, for example, never ever answers her cell phone despite the fact that bad things are constantly happening, and some of the characters feel a bit flat and a little indistinguishable. However it wasn't something that ruined the story, and I'd be interested in reading more in this series.
April 27, 2013
Well, that was painful. Way too many characters, red herrings, fantastic coincidences and unexplained plot points. My OCD compelled me to finish the book, which was thankfully under 300 pages. I will not be looking for the next installment of Dani O'Rourke, amateur detective.
August 5, 2015
This is the kind of book that is ideal for a long plane trip. It's not real deep, but still interesting enough to hold attention. It takes place in the art communities of San Francisco and Santa Fe. I would read more by Shea if her work came my way.
November 4, 2012
This had a very good twist to the mystery. kept me guessing.
February 2, 2014
This book had too many characters. Not sure it's going to be a hit with me but I will read the second book in the series and see where it's going before deciding.
January 13, 2024
I wrote it!
December 31, 2014
I loved Dani O'Rourke and the mystery. The relationship with her ex is a bonus that I truly enjoyed. Smart and clever.
April 2, 2017
I always like to read books based in San Francisco as I live near there. Some are a disappointment. This book was not one of those. It had a great lead character, who happened to be a murder suspect. There was some nice humor added in to the story.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews