Friday, June 16, 2017

The Trouble With Harriet by Dorothy Cannell - #review #giveaway


In a murder mystery so charming it could only have come from Dorothy Cannell—hailed by Nancy Pickard as “America’s P. G. Wodehouse”—Ellie Haskell is shocked when her long-lost father shows up on her doorstep with some rather . . . compromising baggage.


Ellie Haskell and her husband, Ben, haven’t taken a vacation in years. Now their suitcases are packed, their tickets are booked, and they’re ready for a romantic getaway in France. But everything goes awry after a chain-smoking fortune teller makes a dire prediction: “Take that trip at your peril!” Those ominous words ring true when Ellie’s prodigal father, Morley, suddenly appears with the remains of his ladylove, Harriet, whose untimely death in a car accident has left him bereft.

But after Morley loses the urn in a bizarre series of events, Harriet’s family is furious. Now a bewildered Ellie finds herself asks some probing questions: Who or what was in that urn? Could her father be a pawn in a deadly game? And what exactly is the meaning of that darn prophecy? Ellie just hopes she lives to find out whether the answers are worth the trouble.

Praise for Dorothy Cannell and the Ellie Haskell series

“A thoroughly entertaining series.”—Cosmopolitan

“It is the absurd predicaments of her central characters that readers find themselves recalling, and Cannell is cunning at devising outlandish situations for them.”—Chicago Sun-Times

“Cannell is a master of subtle wit and humorous asides that lift her cozies to great heights. Before the influx of writers trying to out-humor Janet Evanovich, there was Dorothy Cannell. Long may she write!”—Library Journal


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MY REVIEW

Poor Ellie.  The Trouble With Harriet shows Murphy's Law (of romantic vacations w/the spouse) in action!

Imagine the scene.  You're going shopping for a trip to Paris, The City of Lights, with your husband.  You step out of a shop with that 'just bought something neat' glow and a grubby woman offers to tell your fortune.  She tells you about your past and present, enough to make those little hairs on the back of even the most practical skeptic stand on end.  And the last thing she tells you, in no uncertain terms, is the trip to Paris is a B.A.D. idea.

(And that's just in the first chapter!)  Slap on those seat belts, kiddies, cause the ride gets even bumpier from here!

Morley (Ellie's Dad) does show up on the doorstep, with the ashes of his wife, Harriet.  He's out of his mind sad, and Ellie can't turn him away.  What an open heart Ellie has!  Her father was little more than a *ahem* 'donor' for all he's been in her life ... yet she takes him in.

And then the urn disappears, only to be replaced by more questions about the whole situation.

Now, I've used a roller coaster analogy a couple of times with books before, and it is most appropriate here.  There's the big belly drop at the beginning - check.  But there's hardly a second to breathe, because the ups, downs, twists and turns continue.  You might have been scared at first, but at the end, you're raring to go again!

Lucky for readers, this Ellie Haskell mystery is part of a series!!!  Well, bring it.  Bring them all!  Because we live in the country, the internet has been spotty at best for the last couple of weeks, and I've got lots of (no internet) time to read.  Looking forward to my next Ellie Haskell book!


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MEET THE AUTHOR


Dorothy was born in Nottingham, England and came to the U.S. in 1963. She married Julian Cannell and they lived in Peoria, Illinois, from 1965 to 2004. They then moved to Maine where they now reside with their two dogs, Teddy and Watson.

Dorothy became an aspiring writer after taking English 110 at Illinois Central College and being encouraged to write for publication by the class teacher. Seven years later she sold her first short story.

Her first novel, The Thin Woman published in 1984 has been selected as one of the 100 favorite mysteries of the Twentieth Century by the Mystery Book Sellers of America. In 2014, Dorothy received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Malice Domestic. Dorothy has published eighteen novels and a collection of short stories.

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GIVEAWAY!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Click the banner above to go to the tour page, where you will find links to more reviews of The Trouble With Harriet by Dorothy Cannell.  You can also find out how to become a blog host for future book tours while you are there.

(Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book from the author and publishers via Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.)

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