Sweet and Deadly

by Charlaine Harris

Now best known for her New York Times-bestselling Sookie Stackhouse novels, Charlaine Harris garnered an unusual degree of acclaim with her first novel -- the story of a murder that embroils a small-town reporter in a mystery that hits close to home.

Catherine Linton came home to Lowfield, Mississippi convinced that the untimely deaths of her parents in a car accident was no accident -- but nobody believed her. So she stayed, taking a job at the local paper, to try to both convince the sheriff that she was right-and maybe convince herself she was wrong. After all, her father had been the town doctor, loved (she always thought) by all. To think he was killed was to think that one of her friends or neighbors has harbored some deep resentment toward him. Then she finds the dead body of the women who had been her father's nurse for many years. Obviously murdered. Now Catherine knows that she was not wrong about her parent's death. Someone in Lowfield has a terrible secret, a secret worth killing for. Not once, not twice, but -- when another body is found -- three times. And the killer won't hesitate to add more victims to the list, as Catherine gets closer and closer to the truth.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Romance, Audiobook, Cozy Mystery

262 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 30, 1981

About the author

Charlaine Harris has been a published writer for over forty years. Her first two books were standalones, followed by a long sabbatical when she was having children. Then she began the Aurora Teagarden book, mysteries featuring a short librarian (eventually adapted for Hallmark movies). The darker Lily Bard books came next, about a house cleaner with a dark past and considerable fighting skills.

Tired of abiding by the mystery rules, Harris wrote a novel about a telepathic barmaid that took at least two years to sell. When the book was published, it turned into a best seller, and DEAD UNTIL DARK and the subsequent Sookie books were adapted in Alan Ball's "True Blood" series. At the same time, Harris began the Harper Connelly books. Harper can find the bones of the dead and see their last minute.

When those two series wound to a close, the next three books were about a mysterious town in Texas, called Midnight.

A change in publisher and editor led to Harris's novels about a female gunslinger in an alternate America, Lizbeth Rose. The Gunnie Rose books concluded with the sixth novel.

She's thinking about what to write next.

Reviews

[Cathy DuPont · Rating 1 out of 5]

In the opinion of my favorite bookseller Vanessa, Charlaine Harris is one of the most under-rated authors around today. After reading most all of her series, I tend to agree with Vanessa.

However...however, this Charlaine Harris' first book was terrible and didn't come close to her other books which I enjoyed so very much.

Wasn't very fond of the character, Catherine, at all. She was whiney, wishy-washy, and not a person I would want to hang with or even shake hands with. And it took forever to find a plot with the flipping here and there like the flies on the cover.

Don't know, but the publisher probably re-issued this book based on her successful series since this book was first published in 1981. That's all I can figure because it's certainly not up to Harris' usual standard. Just couldn't hang in there, so why waste my time?

[Kris (My Novelesque Life) · Rating 2 out of 5]

RATING: 2 STARS

Sweet and Deadly (aka Dead Dog) is Harris's first novel, and is a standalone mystery. While it was easy to keep listening to the story, it was not a strong book. It is hard to describe what kind of mystery novel Sweet and Deadly is. It is not really a cozy as I didn't see the tone being humorous, but it was not gritty either. The tone was a bit confusing. It felt like we told more about how the characters were, rather than seeing how the characters were. It seemed liked this novel was an outline, and still needed to be fleshed out. The ending came so fast that I didn't realize that the story was wrapping up. I am still going to read A Secret Rage but will go in with lower expectations.

UPDATED (March 17, 2020)
The following is how I felt about race as I read Harris's books:
This novel is written in 1984 so there are some things that are dated, but work with the story and are entertaining. However, I did feel a bit uncomfortable with the way Harris describes characters of African American heritage. I do get that she is trying to look at racism, but it doesn't really seem to deplore racism. It rather tries to justify the notion of old white southern people just act like that. When I read it in Sweet and Deadly (which actually has more of this) I kept cringing, but did not mention/address it in my review. I was almost buying into the it's just the "racist old white" person thing of the time, but after reading this one, I needed to say something. Maybe, being a person of colour myself, I am being too sensitive. And, maybe not being black, I am not not being sensitive enough. Thinking back to the Aurora Teagarden series (set in 1990s), I could see a bit of this but not to the same extent. I am going to try the first book in the Lily Bard series, and decide whether I move forward. Or maybe try one of her newer series.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Catherine Linton has returned to her hometown in Mississippi after the death of her parents. The police say they died in an accident, but Catherine isn't convinced. Taking a job at the local newspaper, she sticks around town in hopes she'll find some evidence of foul play. What she finds is the body of Leona Gates. Catherine's father was the local doctor and Leona was his nurse. Leona has obviously been murdered. Now Catherine is sure that there is something happening in this town that her parents and Leona were killed to cover up.

This was Charlaine Harris' debut novel. So many people loved it, but I had a hard time getting into this story. I never figured out why Catherine believed her parents were murdered. Was it just a feeling? Did I miss something? (Probably.) The story was full of appealing characters, but I never thought of any of them as suspects. My rating: 3 Stars.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and Deadly is the first novel by popular American author, Charlaine Harris. The audio version is narrated is excellent Southern voice by Suzy Jackson. After the unsolved murder of her parents some six months previous, journalist Catherine Linton is working at the Lowfield Gazette and otherwise keeping a low profile, living in her parents home. Her father’s medical practice has been taken over by a young doctor and her life seems somewhat on hold. Then she stumbles across the brutally beaten body of Leona Gaites, her father’s long-time employee, and Catherine is convinced the murder is linked to that of her parents. But it soon emerges that Leona was not all she seemed, and quite a few people in Lowfield might have a good reason to want her dead. With a decidedly Southern feel, this little murder mystery is a taste of early Harris that presages her later work. The characters are interesting, there are clues and red herrings, the plot has enough twists to keep the reader intrigued, the dialogue is credible and, all in all, this is a very enjoyable read.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a great fan of Harris's Southern Vampire Series with Sookie Stackhouse, I was interested in reading her other work. I just read Shakespeare's Landlord and really disliked it, so I was leery when I picked up this book, one of Harris's earliest.

I was, however, pleasantly surprised. I found Catherine Linton to be a likable character and the story to be engaging. Catherine has returned to inhabit her parents' house in a small Mississippi town after their suspicious deaths in a car accident. Not long after her arrival (her parents have been dead for six months), she is out practicing her shooting on land she rents to a planter when she makes a nasty discovery - a woman who has been beaten to death and dumped in a rundown shack. Catherine is soon wrapped up in the drama, as another dead body is discovered on her property. Are the murders linked? Catherine works to find out, as well as tie up the mystery of her parents' deaths.

Other reviewers have mentioned that this is an early book and is not as well-written. I would agree, but I was much more interested in the characters and the story than I was when reading Shakespeare's Landlord (I honestly will not be reading any more of that series). The story was not as fun, kitschy, humorous, or involving as the Southern Vampire books, but it was enjoyable, and I was fairly satisfied with the ending. It was a surprise - I didn't guess it - but it didn't seem extremely feasible, either.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

You could tell that this novel was Harris’ first one published. It was ok. A fast read, little to think about. 3 stars.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I review this book I just want to say that when anyone reads this book they need to keep in mind this was the first book published by Charlaine Harris. And just because you loved her Sookie Stackhouse series doesn't mean you will love or even like this book. It's murder mystery, no vampires or anything supernatural at all. I mean chances are you are not going to love every single book by a author anyways. With that being said, as a first novel, I thought this book was pretty good. Especially since I have read many first novels that were just terrible and it was painful even trying to read the first few chapters. You can tell she has come a long way since this first novel, her writing style has improved majorly. But this book was first published in 1981 where as the first Sookie Stackhouse book was published in 2001, 20 years later. What I liked about this book is that I was totally unable to guess who the murderer was, it was a surprise to me. Usually with these types of book you at least have some idea, but I did not. It was a fast read and it did keep me interested. However, if you have never read a book by Charlaine Harris, I wouldn't recommend you start with this one.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this one up because I've read the Sookie Stackhouse series (which are cheesy but totally awesome), but I don't think I'll be running out to pick up her other books. I know this is a first book, so I guess it's pretty good for a first book, but still...I almost feel like this was the outline for a book, and the rest was just waiting to be filled in.

The whole book takes place in the span of 3 days-ish, and the characters are definitley one-dimensional. There is a twist at the end, but it's so out of left field that it would be impossible for anyone to guess what was about to happen. Overall, it's a very easy read and will keep you entertained for a few hours. But you won't be dying for more, and you won't really remember anything after you're done.

Would I recommend it? Not really, but if you're bored it's a quick read.

And as a sidenote: I do believe Harris got the idea for Sookie's "Word of the Day" calendar from her own experience, because there are one or two crazy vocabulary words that seem to be randomly plopped into her books. They don't match with the rest of her writing and I would assume they aren't a part of her natural vocabulary - you'll enjoy thinking of Sookie when you find them.

[Kandice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even at three stars, this was a really good read. This was Harris' first published novel and it shows. She is a master at mystery cloaked in magic or psych, but this was straight fiction. I enjoyed it, but she built up this terrific character and town and then "solved" the mystery in two pages. That felt like too quick and easy a payoff for me. Maybe that's why most of her later efforts were series. She is a master world builder and it's hard to flex that muscle with a stand-alone.

[☯~☽~•Patricia Mainard•~☾~☯ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book.

[Melliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best, but as a first book it was pretty well plotted. The whole thing was a little flat.

[itchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

brief synopsis:
Catherine stumbles upon a corpse that was beaten violently and unearths secrets that involve her somehow.

setting:
Lowfield, Mississippi

named personalities:
Catherine Scott Linton aka Sphinx - a silent, twenty-three-year-old society editor for the Lowfield Gazette
James 'Jimmy' Galton*, Senior - Catherine's father's friend; the Lowfield sheriff
Mary Jane Cory - a police dispatcher; the redneck queen
Martin Barnes - Catherine's pleasant, not-too-bright renter; a prominent planter
Jesus Christ - a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader
Ralph Carson - Jimmy's deputy who had gone to high school with Catherine
Jerry Selforth - Lowfield's new doctor
Carl Perkins - Catherine's neighbor; the county coroner
Tom Mascalco - Catherine's only occasional visitor; a reporter for the Gazette
Cleophus Hames - a coroner's jury; a black man who ran one of the two Negro funeral parlors
Leona Gaites - a murder victim; Catherine's father's nurse for thirty-odd years
Percy Eakins - a black deputy
Betty Eakins - Percy's mother; the Lintons' maid for years
Bethesda Weilenmann - a widowed head librarian; an educated northern black woman
Drummond - Catherine's neighbor
Randall Gerrard - Catherine's employer
Fu Manchu - a fictional villain who has a characteristic mustache
Woodward - Bob Woodward, an American investigative journalist
Bernstein - Carl Bernstein, an American investigative journalist and author
Glenn Linton - Catherine's father who died horribly; the town's best-known and most-loved doctor
Rachel Linton - Catherine's mother who died horribly
Sally Barnes Boone - Martin's married daughter who was Catherine's age
Jewel Crenna - a renter at the turn-off to the Barnes' shack; the Gazette's typesetter; a tall woman with suspiciously black hair and clear olive skin
John Daniels - Leona's lawyer
Bob - Sally's husband
Chrissy - Sally and Bob's teething daughter
Molly Perkins - Carl's washed-blue-eyed wife
Josh - Carl and Molly's athlete son; a baseball player
Leila Masham - the Gazette's long-legged, brown-eyed secretary-receptionist
Cracker Thompson - the village idiot
James 'Jimmy' Galton*, Junior - Jimmy's son who sells dope
Snow White - a fairy tale character
Angel Gerrard - Randall's brown-eyed mother
Danny - a Shell station worker with a tow truck
Melba Barnes - Martin's wife
Garry - the Gazette's foreman
Sarah - the Gazette's senior paste-up girl
Salton Sims - the Gazette's press operator
JW - Josh's wife
Don - a garage proprietor
Dr Croft, Harry, and Sandra - names associated with the Gazette's weekly columns
Uncle Tom - old-fashioned?
Sadie - Betty's acquaintance who works for the Gazette
Job - presumably the biblical character, one of the prophets of the Gentiles
Mr Mascalco - Tom's father
Elise Mascalco - Tom's mother

*Spelled as Gallon on two instances.

spelling:
p97: Kitchen floor next, she decided as she looped the vacuumm cord.

This is a better debut than some arguably more popular authors.

[Michalyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've become a huge fan of Charlaine Harris because of the Sookie Stackhouse novels and am warming up to the Harper Connelly mysteries. Sweet and Deadly however, was a joke, even more so when one reads the glowing reviews on the cover. Not only is the heroine unlikable, she is a total Mary Sue and too much the fictional ideal of the Southern lady. I was annoyed by the fact that this woman never seemed to use her pre-frontal cortex--all thoughts come to her as if in a dream. Wisps of ideas float up from her subconscious and only solidify pages later much to her own surprise.

Still the most absurd thing about this book was the plot. The murderer's motive was pathetic and due to something that no one in their right minds would kill not just one but four people over. Given the poor plot it's no wonder Harris seemed eager to just wrap it up and put us all out of our misery with a very abrupt ending.

Surprisingly bad, even for a first novel.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was mostly interesting because it was Harris' first published novel. It could have been trimmed a lot. Far too much thinking going on. Still, it wasn't a bad mystery & the heroine shares a lot with Harris' other ones. Well read.

[Kelly-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published novel that Harris has written I did enjoy this book a lot but I can definitely tell her writing has improved hugely since then. I loved this story and I loved the main character Catherine.

[Chandni · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really disliked this book. Firstly, this book is really dated (it was written in the 80's) and it has some really uncomfortable language and depictions of Black people. Putting aside that discomfort, the main character, Catherine, is such a bland, unlikeable person, the plot is slow and pointless and the ending was ridiculous. It also has that problem debuts sometimes have where there are far too many characters introduced. There was nothing redeeming about this novel at all and I'm shocked that it was written by Charlaine Harris.

[LilBib’Phile · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story was originally published in 1981 so the language doesn't conform to today's PC standards. The characters also use typewriters. The story is a small town whodunit. I liked its simplicity.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stand alone from a favourite author. A good read.

[Jen Juenke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book. I loved how I had no idea who the killer was

[Elodie Diebolt Dion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Je ne pouvais pas passer à côté de ce roman pour la simple et bonne raison que je suis une fan inconditionnelle de l’auteur!! Les thrillers sont des romans que j’apprécie tout particulièrement donc raison de plus pour me lancer dans cette lecture. La couverture est vraiment superbe et le synopsis laisse présager une histoire haletante et pleine de mystère! Je remercie Ayma pour me l’avoir prêter en livre voyageur!

Tout commence donc avec Catherine qui a l’intime conviction que ses parents ne sont pas morts accidentellement et dont les convictions sont renforcé quand elle découvre le cadavre de l’infirmière qui travaillait avec son père. A partir de là, les évènements vont s’enchaîner entre les ragots qui vont bon train dans la petite ville, les visites du voisinages pour essayer d’en savoir plus et le coup de grâce, un nouveau meurtre découvert une fois encore par Catherine. Heureusement pour elle, son entourage la comprend et la soutient, surtout son patron et petit ami en devenir Randall.

Parmi les personnages, Catherine est une jeune femme très courageuse et forte malgré tout ce qui lui arrive. J’ai apprécié son caractère fort et sa capacité à garder sa dignité devant les autres. Son esprit de déduction et sa persévérance pour percer le secret qui entourent la mort de ses parents, m’ont également beaucoup plu. Randall m’a séduite par son comportement et ses actes puisqu’il garde toujours un profond respect pour Catherine sans jamais essayer de profiter de la situation. L’honnêteté est aussi un de ses point fort puisqu’il avouera des choses sombres a Catherine alors qu’il n’y était pas obligé. Tom est un autre personnage proche de Catherine, un jeune homme fonceur et fou de son travail qui toujours le mot pour faire sourire. Les personnages étaient tous très attachant mais j’en omet un, celui de Betty, qui n’est peut être pas très présente mais dont les révélations vont se révéler décisives! C’est une vieille dame qui m’a beaucoup touché.

Le style d’écriture est vraiment très fluide et très agréable. Les pages défilent très vite et on ne se lasse à aucun moment de cette lecture. Charlaine Harris a réussi à mettre une dose de tendresse et de douceur dans un thriller sans en casser le rythme. Elle m’a tenu en haleine jusqu’au bout et surtout, le plus important, le dénouement était tout sauf prévisible!! Je me suis trompé du tout au tout concernant le coupable et alors le mobile des meurtres… juste complètement imprévisible! C’est exactement ce que je recherche dans les thrillers et je peux vous dire que j’ai adoré! L’histoire tenait la route, les personnages n’en faisait pas trop ni trop peu, juste ce qu’il fallait pour obtenir un bon dosage. Le point négatif que je pourrait trouver à ce roman, c’est peut être le fait qu’il soit trop court et que la fin nous laisse quelque peu frustré parce qu’on voudrait en savoir plus…

Pour conclure, j’ai passé un très bon moment de lecture avec un thriller qui tient la route. Une fois de plus, Charlaine Harris a su me séduire et je vous recommande vivement ce roman!

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlaine Harris is one of the biggest supernatural writers right now thanks the the series True Blood, which is loosely based on her Sookie Stackhouse books. It was this first novel that she kicked off her writing career, which is primarily focused on cozy mysteries set in the rural South.

Originally published in 1981, this novel is the sole outing for Catherine Linton. She has just returned to her hometown of Lowfield, Mississippi, and settled into a job as a reporter for the local newspaper. One early morning, she has decided to head out into the countryside to walk on her family's farm and finds a body of a woman who has been beaten to death. She calls the local sheriff and is quickly drawn into a whirlwind of secrets kept by the various residents of Lowfield.

When the sheriff arrives, the body is quickly identified as the nurse who had worked as the assistant to Catherine's father for many years before he retired from being primarily responsible for the town's health for many years. Catherine can't help but wonder if the nurse's death is also tied to her own parents' car accident six months earlier. It was an accident that seemed anything but an accident.

Catherine turns to her boss at the paper, the local librarian, and a number of other residents for possible suspects and even help. The more she delves into the secrets, the faster she starts to realize that her father and the nurse had come across a secret that someone was willing to kill for. As it becomes more and more likely that the murderer is going to start to think she knows the secret, Catherine realizes she might be the next target. Can she ID the killer before she ends up dead?

Even at this early stage, Harris is already exhibiting some of the standard feel that is evident in most of her mysteries:
*a strong central female character forced into solving a murder
*a cast of intriguing (and odd) character that would do Cabot Cove (Murder She Wrote) proud
*a strong sense of small-town South
*just a touch of romance
*secrets, secrets, secrets!

I did really enjoy this book, and I am more than a little disappointed that Harris didn't write any more mysteries with this journalist-detective because I think they would be really interesting. In a way, she does remind me of one of her other amateur detectives: Aurora Teagarden.

This is definitely worth a try!

[CRO · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok - this is actually a 2 1/2 star book.

I started reading this (am a fan of all the Sookie Stackhouse and Auror Teagarten books) and I was amazed and surprised. It started out as a 3 1/2 to 4 star book. Great characters, great mood and tension, great description of this small southern cotton town in the early 80's - I was really impressed because I know this is one of Charlaine Harris' first novels. And the first 7/8 of the book is incredibly well crafted - each detail and nuance of plot and character and mood is woven impressively together. And wow - really great descriptive passages. In fact, I found the craftsmanship of this part of the book far superior to plot and story construction in many of Harris' more recent Sookie and Aurora books (there is a breathless quality - I find - in many current popular writers of series - the effort of cranking out 1 and sometimes 2 books in a year gives them the feel of rushed to finish term papers).

**SPOILER ALERT***

What I didn't like about this book was the conclusion. It came to it's climax too quickly and left many unresolved issues. Like what was going to happen legally to the heroine (Catherine) who shoots the murderer out on the street. It's clear to the reader and to Catherine that she had the right guy and that he was on his way to smashing her head in with a baseball bat, but I wasn't convinced that police officials would necessarily see it that way (especially since our heroine - the brave reporter Catherine was a suspect herself). Some more explanation would have been nice. Also the murderer's motive for his killing spree was very lame. The murderer, an older man in bad health, was trying to cover up the fact that he had leprosy. Now, I understand that I am viewing this novel (it was written in 1981) through the lens of history - HIV, AIDS, drug resistant STD's, Hepatitis C - I just don't see it as that important of a secret to keep - certainly not worth killing 4 people over.

Still - if you are a die hard Charlaine Harris fan -the first 7/8 of the novel are definitely worth the effort of the disappointing conclusion.

[Jeannette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Someone else likened Sookie Stackhouse books to cotton candy: nothing but air and fluff, but once you have it in sight, you kind of crave the sweetness and junk. Sweet and Deadly was more like an appetizer: it was okay, but as soon as I'd finished, I was craving something more substantial.

I'm sure this book was written to give the reader that sense of a slow, sleepy Southern town where nothing has ever happened... until now. This might have even been an attempt to give the secrets revealed in this book a more shocking impact. Actually, as far as creating a mood and setting for the story, Harris has done a fairly good job here. Perhaps if I'd read it when it was written, thirty years ago, I would really have enjoyed it (or, as I'm only 26, I'd be a very traumatized pre-fetus). Unfortunately, it still shows that it's Charlaine Harris's first novel.

The characters were kind of bland, somewhat what you would expect in a novel about a small town: nosy neighbors, lifelong acquaintances/friends, even a fatherly sheriff. I felt like I was caring for them almost automatically, rather than for the character as it was written. The plot did its job and went from Point A to Point B, revealing just enough secrets and possible motives for a killer. Oh, and the requisite love story.

It's nice in the sense that it's not weighed down with drama and details, the same way the Sookie Stackhouse series is beginning to feel*. It's a simple book, and it does the trick... but gosh, it's slow for the first 100 pages.

*Yes, I will probably keep reading Charlaine Harris books. Chalk it up to masochistic curiosity?

[Robyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have not read any other Charlaine Harris novels, so cannot compare this one to her Sookie Stackhouse series. However, I was rather unimpressed with Sweet and Deadly and was only mildly appeased to learn that this was her first novel. While the writing was okay, the character development was minimal, at best. The reader gets no sense at all about the main character, Catherine, and thus feels no sympathy for her. She's a blank canvas. And none of the other characters are any more complex or developed.

I picked this book up in the Mystery section of my local library and was rather confused why it was a mystery. Okay, so we don't know who's killing people in this small town. But there is no real search for the murderer, just Catherine's bland ruminations and observations. Really, she simply stumbles into the solution. The plot didn't get her there, much less anything she did.

Finally, there was no sense of time, in that I had no idea when all this action was supposed to occur. Catherine, a small town newspaper reporter, uses a typewriter and the paper is produce on an old-fashioned press. But she's a single young woman living alone and driving herself around town, packing a pistol. Heck, her neighbor drives a Toyota. So when exactly is this story supposed to have happened?

It almost read as if it was the second novel in a series and the author assumed you had read the first book, so she skipped a lot of details that would have developed the story more fully. The only good news is that it was an easy and quick read.

[Lobo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Talán nincs mindenki tisztában azzal, hogy Charlaine Harris első magyarországi megjelenése egy másik sorozathoz köthető, nem a True Bloodhoz. Hanem az Albatroszhoz, amelyik a 60-70-80-as években képviselte Magyarországon a színvonalas szórakoztatóirodalmat. A Magvető Kiadó ezen sorozat keretében jelentette meg Chandlert, Christiet, Kinget, McBaint, Rejtőt stb. Annak idején a könyvtárban külön polcon voltak (krimi, sci-fi egybeöntve) és én szorgalmasan olvasgattam őket. Amikor összeraktam a molyos polcomat az Albatroszról, megrendeltem és megvettem Harris könyvét, s most sort kerítettem az olvasására is.

Catherine Linton szülei fél éve haltak meg autóbalesetben. A lány meg van győződve arról, hogy valaki megölte őket. Visszaköltözik hát a déli kisvárosba, a szülői házba, a helyi hírlapnál dolgozik és egyre inkább magába fordul. De mivel a Deltavidéken amúgy is sok a különc, ő igazából ki se tűnik a többiek közül. Aztán egy reggel, amikor kimegy az egykori ültetvényükre, hogy a célbalövést gyakorolja az elhagyatott faházban hullát talál. Hamarosan minden a feje tetejére áll. Kiderül, hogy a városkában majdnem mindenkinek van valami titka, Catherine most már semmiben és senkiben se biztos, mert bárki lehetett a gyilkos. Ugyanis az újabb haláleset csak megerősíti feltételezését: szülei is gyilkosság áldozatául estek, méghozzá ugyanaz ölte meg őket, akinek legújabb áldozatát ő találta meg.

Tovább: http://olvasonaplo.net/olvasonaplo/20...

[Laura]

2.5 ⭐️

[Caety · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this reclusive character and how Charlaine handled her thought process to solve this murder mystery. Although I know this was one of Charlaine's earlier books, I was expecting a little more of the gory details like the Sookie series. The ending made sense to a certain degree and I was surprised by who the murderer was, but it left me feeling blank...like what did I miss in trying to figure out who the murderer was.

I would actually rate this book a 4 for the most of the book...but dropped it to 2 for the ending. I would recommend this book to others, but remind them this is Charlaine's early work.

[Ladiibbug · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mystery

Browsing lists of available ebooks, I stumbled onto Charlaine Harris's first novel! Charlaine, of course, is well known as the author of the outstanding Sookie Stackhouse series, one of the first vampire series that became a hugely popular in the 2000's. One of the big TV cable companies acquired the rights to this, and their series "True Blood" became a big hit. People are still discovering and enjoying this highly entertaining series today.

Anyway, I was happy to read Charlaine's first published novel. A nice quick mystery read :-)

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 3.5 stars. I thought for her first novel, it was written pretty well. Although, the reason for the killer to do his crimes seemed a little farfetched but regardless it was interesting book. One funny thing though that shows how dated it is, is when Catherine finds the body in the beginning and I remember thinking well, why didn't she just use her cellphone and call the police instead of driving there. And then it hit me, Duh it's 1981. lol