Review: Ghost of a Chance by Amy Patricia Meade

Ghost of a Chance (A Marjorie McClelland Mystery #2)

By: Amy Patricia Meade
Publisher: Midnight Ink
ISBN: 978-0-7387-1092-1

About the book:

When a man goes up the Ferris wheel very much alive, but comes down dead, local small-town police suspect a heart attack. But one person is calling it foul play, a Miss Marjorie McClelland, full-time mystery writer/part-time sleuth. In 1935, Depression-era Connecticut, Marjorie’s dogged determination and independence is a breath of fresh air to some, and a source of consternation for others.

Marjorie’s fiancé, an achingly handsome police detective, wishes she’d just stay home and act a little more ladylike. Undeterred, blonde and lovely Marjorie charms her way into what becomes a full-scale murder investigation. But not without the maddening assistance of a bored, yet altruistic, millionaire, Creighton Ashcroft, who, when he’s not swapping barbs with Marjorie, tries to impress her by doing a bit of aristocratic snooping on his own.

Review:

Only a short time has passed since amateur sleuths Marjorie and Creighton closed their first “case” – a mystery surrounding a long-buried murder that was uncovered at Creighton’s newly-purchased home. Marjorie is hard at work turning their crime-solving caper into a true-crime novel while furthering a romantic relationship with Robert, the handsome local detective who wishes she was just a bit more conventional. Meanwhile, Creighton is still hopelessly in love with Marjorie and determined to win her affections, even though she views him as nothing more than a friend (and an often annoying one at that). At the annual carnival, a prime opportunity for Marjorie and Creighton to spend time together drops in their laps when a man begins a Ferris wheel ride very much alive and ends it quite dead. Before Creighton and Marjorie realize it, they find themselves caught up in a case involving bigamy, hidden identities, and industrial espionage. To top it off, much to Marjorie’s chagrin, Creighton may just be ready to move on when the case brings him into contact with an old flame. Marjorie finds herself investigating her own feelings as much as the murder, and the clock is ticking on her chance of finding the killer and making a very important decision about her future before it’s too late.

The first Marjorie mystery, Million Dollar Baby, was a delightful surprise all around, though a tad on the longish side. Ghost of a Chance takes everything that worked in the first book and improves on it. The characters are quirkier and more richly developed, the story is plotted with greater tightness and precision, and the pacing is more focused and keeps events flowing at a brisk pace. Meade peppers the storyline of Ghost of a Chance with enough red herrings to keep you guessing, giving the mystery several rich layers that are a great deal of fun to watch unfold on the page. I also love the 1930s setting. Meade mixes the small-town feel of a mystery show such as Murder, She Wrote and endows it with enough period charm to bring the Depression-era US to vivid life. But more than setting details, Meade anchors her characters in the time period. Meade crafts her characters with a cinematic touch, and for classic movie lovers it’s impossible not to imagine Marjorie’s adventures unfolding in black and white like the classic screwball comedies of the time period.

I didn’t think it would be possible to enjoy Creighton and Marjorie’s developing relationship more than I did during their introduction in Million Dollar Baby, but I’m happy to say Meade has outdone herself. More than ever, I can so easily visualize Myrna Loy and William Powell, of the Thin Man movie fame, bringing Creighton and Marjorie to life on the silver screen. Like their Old Hollywood counterparts Nick and Nora, it is so much fun watching Creighton and Marjorie needle and poke at each other, because you know their “fights” are rooted in affection and mutual attraction. Meade’s biggest strength is her characters – they are funny and memorable, very real and quirky people that you can’t help but fall in love with. With a stronger, more tightly plotted mystery, engaging characters, rapid-fire dialogue and loads of humor, Ghost of a Chance is a winner. I can’t wait to see what adventures Marjorie and Creighton encounter next!

• Read my review of the first Marjorie mystery, Million Dollar Baby 

Review: Million Dollar Baby by Amy Patricia Meade

Million Dollar Baby (A Marjorie McClelland Mystery #1)

By: Amy Patricia Meade
Publisher: Midnight Ink
ISBN: 0-7387-0860-7

About the book:

Successful young mystery writer Marjorie McClelland leads a solitary, comfortable life in the quiet post-Prohibition town of Ridgebury, Connecticut – that is, until Creighton Ashcroft, a British heir with time and money to burn, purchase a deserted mansion on the outskirts of town. Creighton craftily arranges an intimate meeting with Marjorie, but his romantic hopes are dashed when the two of them stumble across a body while strolling through the garden of his new estate. To complicate matters further, the handsome detective assigned to the case catches Marjorie’s attention – and Creighton’s suspicious eye. Determined to solve the mystery of the mansion’s sordid past, the unique sleuthing trio soon find themselves caught up in a web of treachery, betrayal, and murder.

Review:

Marjorie McClelland lives a quiet life in Ridgebury, a small town – think Jessica Fletcher’s hometown from Murder, She Wrote – where nothing exciting has happened in years. As a fairly successful mystery novelist, Marjorie’s profession and independent streak often put her at odds with some of Ridgebury’s more traditional residents. Under pressure to finish her latest book, Marjorie is thrilled with the arrival of a true novelty – the wealthy and worldly Creighton Ashcroft, a British heir with money and time to burn, both unusual attributes in the middle of the Great Depression. Creighton is immediately smitten with Marjorie, but when the two of them discover a body on the grounds of his newly-purchased home, she won’t give him the time of day once she meets the handsome investigating detective. Determined to win her, Creighton refuses to give up, and his amateur sleuthing partnership with Marjorie forces them to spend a great deal of time together. But their efforts to unmask a killer whose crimes have been buried for five years brings them closer to danger than either would’ve dared dream, and it’s a race to discover the truth before the killer can turn them into the next victims.

Million Dollar Baby is proof that Amazon is way too familiar with my reading habits and preferences. Meade’s debut novel showed up recently as a “suggestion,” and when I read a review likening Marjorie and Creighton to Dorothy Sayers’s detectives Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane, I knew I had to give the book a try. The Depression-era setting and a British sleuth named Creighton (love that!) prove to be an irresistible combination. Meade’s characters and storytelling style have an old-fashioned feel that makes it easy to visualize classic Hollywood actors like Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, or Myrna Loy and William Powell bringing Marjorie and Creighton to life on the silver screen. The way Marjorie and Creighton constantly needle each other, exchanging quips galore while dancing around the issue of their mutual attraction is the heart and soul of the novel and is very reminiscent of the screwball comedies of the 1930s. I really enjoyed Meade’s gently sarcastic sense of humor, and I absolutely loved watching Marjorie and Creighton’s relationship develop.

The novel is paced fairly well, but it was the characters that kept me turning pages, not the mystery itself. Like Loy and Powell and their Thin Man movies, the Marjorie/Creighton relationship is what makes this book tick. The mystery is serviceable enough, with a few twists and turns that I didn’t necessarily see coming. But what kept me turning pages at a rapid-fire pace was the fun in watching Marjorie and Creighton establish their often prickly, always funny relationship. Million Dollar Baby is a trifle overly long, and there are a couple of spots where some judicious editing could’ve tightened the plot and pacing of the story, but those are relatively minor issues that didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the novel. If you’re a fan of Agatha Christie or Sayers, or the tone and pace of classic Hollywood films like The Thin Man, you’re in for a treat with Meade’s debut. Like the escapist filmmaking of the 1930s, Meade does a good job evoking classic Hollywood gloss and balancing that with an acknowledgment of the economic realities of the time. I’m hooked, and if Million Dollar Baby is any indication, Meade’s subsequent McClelland mysteries should hold great promise.