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When the unknown caller demands to know if Judith Flynn's bed and breakfast is reputable, the question is a little hard to answer. Hillside Manor has racked up quite the body count over the 20-plus books in this series. Naturally, however, she says "Yes," so naturally, a new set of victims checks into their doom. It seems at first that Judith's mother will be the initial victim, but after a fakeout involving a fainting spell that is rapidly discarded as a plot point, we're soon moving into identity theft, rare item theft, and the obligatory murders. The fatalities start at a private party one evening; Dolph Kluger passes out on the sidewalk after dinner in a heart attack that is quickly reclassified as poisoning. As if having her bed and breakfast partially shut down during the investigation isn't bad enough, Judith also has to deal with the high-strung musician down the block looking for his valuable antique violin bow, her cousin struggling with the theft of her already maxed-out credit cards, Dolph's widow being bedridden with grief, Dolph's emotionally distant stepdaughter, a furious bed-and-breakfast accrediting board, the Kluger's frighteningly efficient maid, and her own religiously fanatical cleaning woman. It's quite the quirky cast of characters, and therein lies the problem. Although the puzzle is competently written, the unbelievable cast made it impossible for me to engage in the story. They weren't people, they were a rather incestuous collection of oddities. Furthermore, Daheim leans too heavily on clunky, obvious attempts to bait the reader, ending chapters with lines like "Judith was wrong. Dead wrong." and "That was when all hell broke out." It's paint-by-numbers plotting, with no surprises and no twists. Still, the worst I can say is that I found it unremarkable, not that I found it unreadable. There are no big flaws, there is a decent puzzle, so if you want something undemanding to kill a few hours with, SAKS & VIOLINS would do. It is possible to read this as your introduction to the series, but an earlier book might provide more meat.
Reviewed by Linnea Dodson, June 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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