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Book Review of Murder Past Due (Reading Group Mystery, Bk 3)

Murder Past Due (Reading Group Mystery, Bk 3)
jjares avatar reviewed on + 3338 more book reviews


This book now comes as a recorded book (9781470318161) and that is what I read. On the positive side: there were some genuinely funny interactions between characters. Otherwise, I found this book to be awful. The reading by Julia Gibson did nothing for the story; her voice was perky as was needed for the heroine, Megan Clark. However, (to my ears) she sounded like this was her first reading assignment. Alan Nebelthaus voice was much more convincing, even though the dialog he had to work with left much to be desired.

I quake at the thought of disliking a mystery; I love the genre. However, there was too much padding in this novella (240 pages); the author even interwove an older murder mystery (a red herring). This made the jump from one mystery to the other tedious.

One of the most ridiculous aspects of this story (the murder took place 20 years before) and all of the characters remembered exactly what they played at the bridge table, ate, discussed, etc. I know a death in the family would be shocking and be a fixed memory (much in the vein of: Where were you when you found out that President Kennedy had been shot?). I might have accepted this amazing recall at a Mensa convention; but this seemed to be a bit over the top.