Review:I really enjoyed the conversational style of this book. Friendships grow as things become crazy in the harbor town. Lots of characters to choose from before the murderer is revealed. Definitely for fans of cozy mysteries! Read more

Review:Although I generally liked this book, it isn't of the caliber of Hoag's past books. The characters are very flat, especially the lead character, Elena. Hoag tries to write her as a strong character, but fails; she confuses emotional void with inner strength. The story and its development are impressive, but it lacks the depth and color one expects of her books.
I view Hoag's books as romantic suspense, as many do. Although this book is cleverly suspenseful, it isn't very romantic. Read more

Review:Cashing in on the success of her last novel - Dark Horse, Hoag uses the same female lead character to weave a story that's, painfully slow and unnecessarily graphic in the gore department. Furthermore, it's hard to enjoy a book when one cannot like or respect its lead character. Elena Estes is a charmless, self-centered Eve Dallas wanna-be(In Death Series by JD Robb). Yet, unrealistically, several men seem to be attracted to her. The author repeatedly mentions how "cynical" Elena is, but has he... Read more

Review:Having been a fan of Sujata Massey's award-winning Rei Shimura mystery series, I was thrilled to hear about this first Perveen Mistry mystery set in 1920s Bombay, India. There are two interwoven timelines in The Widows of Malabar Hill. One is present-day Bombay in 1921 which shows us Perveen working hard to become an integral part of her father's law firm. The second timeline takes us back to 1916 so we can learn what happened to Perveen to make her the woman she is five years later.

The ... Read more