Henrie O is my favorite character from the terrific murder mystery books of Carolyn Hart-except for some of the truly interesting eccentric types she can come up with who just pop in for a quick visit. This is an author that just keeps giving. A nice read, with characters I like, and who can once, in a while, come off the wall with neat little tidbits such as "one of the nuggets of age . . " A bravo to Carolyn Hart for some pleasure reading on a hot summer day here in Texas (although the first time I read it was a very cold winter day in MN-good entertainment both times. ( )

"Henry O" is an investigative reporter. She has brains, makes intelligent decisions about what to become involved in, and when to involve authorities, and is a thoroughly likeable protagonist. She is asked by a friend (and former lover) to help him figure out which members of his current wife's family is trying to kill her. There's a lot of money at stake (not for friend or wife, but for the kids --making a great motive). The book is still definitely a cozy--there's no overt violence, the characters are filled out just enough for us to infer their motivations, the plot moves along in a pretty straight line, the cruise ship setting was well delineated, and anyone who reads mysteries more than twice a year can figure out by about page 200 "who dunnit." Still in all, it was a pleasant and quick read--the sort one needs when one waits until the day before book club to gobble down something so as to be able to discuss the author intelligently ( )

Carolyn Hart does two mystery series. One is Death on Demand, about the owner of a mystery book shop on an island off the Carolina coast. The other is about Henri O., a retired journalist. The Death on Demand series is fun, and the characters are often eccentric stereotypes. The Henry O series has characters that are more realistic, more complex, and thus the series has a more mature feeling. For example, see this quote from pl 44. "One of the nuggets of age is the realization that, save for the purposefully evil, everyone does the best they can, a conclusion both mitigating and chilling." The characters bear out the observation. In this book, Henrie O's old friend and sometime lover Jimmy asks for her help in keeping his wife safe from the stepchildren she has alienated but over whom she holds the purse strings. Excellent reading. ( )

A Henrie O mystery - light mystery. Henrie O goes on a cruise with the family of a friend, who is the husband & a former lover. There is a lot of money at stake - a trust is to be distributed or not and the stepmother is the decision maker. A murder at sea - Henrie O investigates. ( )