Lee Harris (1)Rezensionen

Murder in Hell's Kitchen introduces Detective Jane Bauer, a veteran cop coming up to 20 years of service and recently assigned to a new cold case task force. With her team of three, Jane finds herself caught up in the four year old murder of Arlen Quill - a case which only seems to be getting hotter the more they investigate.

I enjoyed this. The characters are somewhat bland but I liked the plot and the cold case they investigate. I'm not sure why it's necessary to make all female cops (or at least most) absolute messes in their personal lives but Jane is apparently no exception to the rule. She's in the process of moving, recently broken up with her married boss and has a random letter which is soon revealed to be from her biological daughter she gave up for adoption. Honestly I could have done without the backstory. It didn't add anything to the story and mainly just made Jane feel like every other female detective out there. The romance in particular was pretty cringe, although thankfully not too excessive.

That said, I liked the plot. I was fairly invested in the mystery by the end. I wanted to know who and why and what and I was flicking through pages to find out. This is a typical procedural though - slower paced and more focused on unfolding the mystery rather than action packed thrills. But this was exactly what I was in the mood for and I was thoroughly entertained. 3 stars.

A nice start to a series - kind of a time-trip, set back pre-internet pre-cell phone era, but Sue Grafton does it too.

Already starting the next book.

A nice entry in the Bennet series. I particularly liked how she swerved away from every expectation and assumption about 'the facts' of the case. It's also an interesting time-trip to follow Chris Bennet, sans-internet sans-cell-phone needing to do legwork and make connections the old fashioned way.

Book number 7 in the Christine Bennett mystery series. The former nun is invited to a Passover seder by her neighbor. During the event she learns that sixteen years prior, the neighbor’s aunt Iris disappeared in the middle of the Passover meal. Her body was found a few days later but the mystery of her death has never been solved.

I really like this main character. Christine is intelligent, calm, deliberate, tenacious and compassionate. She gains the trust of those she interviews and manages to ferret out information that even the police failed to uncover. Her husband, Jack, is a detective with the NYPD, and also going to law school, so while he’s always willing to listen and offer advice (and some “inside” help now and again) Christine manages quite well on her own.

One thing I like about this series (and the Kinsey Millhone series by Sue Grafton) is the setting in a time period before cell phones, computers and googling. The person doing the detecting has to rely on lots of tedious footwork and research, as well as keen observation and a well-hone intuition when interviewing suspects / witnesses.

A quick,easy read. A bit disjointed a some spots,but good mystery with a twist at the end.

Harris just keeps getting better. I really enjoy this series. Christine Bennett is intelligent and principled.

After spending a day at a mystery writer's "conference" I appreciate Lee Harris even more. I'm curious to know who s/he really is ... Lee Harris is a pseudonym.

What can I say? I like that Christine Bennet (former nun turned parttime investigator) is smart and deliberate and doesn't play the damsel in distress.

This is a good cozy mystery series, starring ex-nun Christine Bennett. Tightly written, good plotting. A nice love interest. I'll keep reading.

What I really like about CHris Bennett is that she's deliberate and cautious, but doesn't take "no" for an answer.

I like the heroine, Chris Bennett. I like her love interest, Det Sgt Jack Brooks. I'll keep reading this series.

This is the first in a series, "Manhattan Mysteries".
Lee Harris also had another series, "Holiday Murders".

The story takes place in Manhattan, NY as a new cold case
squad begins to try to solve old cases. The protagonist
is a veteran detective taking on her last case before moving
to a private company.

The case starts out as a one murder case that wasn't solved
10 years ago. As the squad investigates, more murders
and unexpected deaths are found to be related.

*** Spoiler***

Lee Harris's first series was a long running series
with over 10 books. This second series was stopped
after 3 books.

I am rather sad to finish what is apparently going to be the last Christine Bennett Mystery. I've read all 17 in less than four years, which must be some sort of record for me (it often takes me four years just to get around to the second in a series).

I don't know if this is the strongest entry in the series, but I've come to enjoy each and every visit with Chris, her family, and her friends. In Cinco, Chris is invited on a trip to Arizona, and it reminds her of an old classmate who died while hiking near Tucson around 20 years earlier. As we'd expect, Chris starts looking into the circumstances of the accident and untangles quite a web in the end.

Forgot about this series. Glad I have all except the new book that comes out this year.
Have read all of the 14 books in this series. Must of read all before starting on this site to record books.

transferring reading records from spreadsheet

At 30 Christine Bennett has left behind her life as a nun and moved into the house she inherited from her Aunt. The town she’s moved to is debating whether or not to allow an institution for mentally handicapped people to move into the area. People’s biggest objection is that one of the residents of the institution may have murdered his mother 40 years before and their is fear that he might still be dangerous. Christine offers to do some research to see if the man, whose twin brother was also thought guilty of the crime but who lives in a different institution, was really guilty of the crime or not. The townsfolk agree that if he wasn’t guilty (and therefore isn’t dangerous) then the institution’s application will be approved.

The first of what has become a 16-series book of holiday-themed mysteries, The Good Friday Murder has an engaging, fairly credible plot (although the number of people who can remember with clarity events of 40 years ago is a little unbelievable). There wasn’t anything particularly unique about the resolution to the mystery and it was the thread relating to the twins and their reliance on each other that was fascinating and kept me turning pages.

An ex-nun as protagonist is certainly an unusual device for a cosy and Harris has treated the subject well: making Christine a quite believable character. Being the first novel in the series there are lots of other characters introduced, several of whom could easily become ongoing players in the series.

For me, everyone was a little too earnest and a little lacking in odd traits to be truly memorable and the complete lack of even a hint of humour means I won’t rush to look for more in the series but if you enjoy a tightly written, quick read with nice wholesome characters then this is for you

I just finished The Passover and really liked it. This is a new author for me but I am anxious to see if I like this book as well as the first one I read.

This is a good "light" mystery set in New York City, written in 1992. It's the second in a series and I'm planning to read others in the series.
Chris Bennett is a young former nun who is becoming an amateur detective. She is exploring life after 15 years in a convent. She discovers the body of an elderly man she was planning to accompany to temple on Yom Kippur (thus, the title Yom Kippur Murder). The police arrest a suspect, but Chris has reason to believe theat they've got the wrong man. She undertakes her own investigation and uncovers a host of relationships involving the murdered man. In the end, of course, she finds the murderer.

There's potential here for a good series and I hope the subsequent ones are as good, or better, than this one.

Thirty years ago Christene Bennett's best friend Maggie was the last person to be baptized in their small hometown that was destined to be flooded later in the same day. Today, there has been awful drought and the town has resurfaced, Maggie's daughter is going to be baptized in the same place. While Christine is exploring the church she hears an intruder, follows, and stumbles upon a corpse from a thirty year old murder. Now she is spending all of her spare time trying to solve the crime, with no help from publicity hungry sherriff and mayor, while the townspeople are all keeping secrets that could lead to even more scandal. This was not a very lengthy novel but I enjoyed it all the same. It made a very good vacation read.

Christine Bennett is an engaging character. This being the first novel in a series, Harris does a good job of developing this serial sleuth. The plot lines are clean, as mysteries go, although not conventional. It will be interesting to watch this series develop.