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Skeleton Key - (2000)Gregor Demarkian and his firend Bennis Hannaford get involved in the death of the daughter of an old friend of Bennis' mother - and an entire menagerie of debutantes and other hangers-on at the Waterford CT country club. a stolen jeep, Halloween pranks, a pair of older brothers/cemetery caretakers - and on. Gregor knows who is guilty way before he lets the readers know. a convoluted multiple-murder modern day mystery that doesn't involve CSI - but does include a cast of Armenian characters that are complex and recurring in the series. ( )

Another in the Gregor Demarkian series by Jane Haddam. Bennis Hannaford is staying with Margaret Hanson, mother of heiress Kayla Anson. Bennis finds Kayla's body in Kayla's BMW in the garage. Immediately Bennis sends for Gregor to investigate.

The book has Haddam's usual eclectic mix of characters. The character that comes through least is that of Kayla, but that serves the purpose of the narrative.

Bennis and Gregor have taken their relationship to another level, but Bennis's health may be in danger.

Good work in a good series. ( )

This book was more of a kids book. I liked this book, because i didnt know what was going to happen next. ( )

#16 in the Gregor Demarkian series.

Bennis Hannaford is in Connecticut visiting Margaret Anson, an old friend of her mother’s in order to ask Margaret to lend paintings for a retrospective on Julia Anson, lesbian feminist painter of the 20s. The visit is not cordial and the strain increases when Bennis accidentally discovers the body of Kayla Anson, margaret’s 19 year old daughter, in the Anson garage. It’s probably unnecessary to add that Kayla did not die of natural causes, this being a murder mystery series and all.

Of course, Bennis immediately insists that Gregor Demarkian come up to Connecticut to assist in the murder investigation. Fortunately the local constabulary is more than happy to have Demarkian, quite the celebrity, there. But before he has much of a chance to display his talents at investigation and deduction, the Anson garage becomes a favorite place for the killer to leave more bodies.

This is standard Haddam in the Demarkian series—good plotting, fun look at local color in the form of the people in the community as well as the suspects, and her usual acerbic view of any type of extremism, whether it be religious, political, or feminist.

To add to the richness of the book’s texture, by this time, of course, every fan of the Demarkian series knows that Bennis and Gregor have become lovers and, as in real life, how that certainly complicates matters! There is a very funny subplot involving Donna Moradanian Donahue and the way she deals with the father of her son, Tommy. Bennis herself is ill, and the Epilogue has an excellent confrontation scene between Gregor and Bennis. It’s interesting to recall, while reading this, that Haddam’s husband died of cancer not too long before the book was published.

The last 3-4 books in this series have been good, but not up to the quality of the earlier Demarkians. In this book, Haddam has almost returned to the level at which she originally started writing. Given her personal history (the illness and death of her husband), it’s easy to see how she had more on her mind than just writing a book. But still, fans will be happy to see that the series has returned with very fine writing. ( )

its a book that is a scary story ( )