Product Description

Adopted at birth, Hannah Conti is determined to trace her family - but didn't bargain for a mother convicted of murder. Hannah is convinced that her mother is innocent, and hires Grace Smith to prove it. Glad to get out of the office (the boiler's broken and it's freezing!) Grace soon uncovers the story of the very messy murder of teacher Trudy Hepburn. As she investigates, she is obstructed by an awful lot of people who would rather she stopped digging. As if this wasn't enough, Grace has been conned into bird-sitting a psychotic parrot, a chauvinistic cop keeps trying to move in to Grace's house - and someone's trying to kill her ...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #481201 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

TANGLED WEB
'A very jolly romp... The well-crafted plot and intriguing mystery are bonuses in this highly entertaining book.'

Review
'It's good to have her [Grace Smith] back in action in another enjoyable mystery.' (Suzanne Yager SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )

'I love this book. I love Grace Smith. I haven't laughed as much as this since I read the early Janet Evanovich books... Highly, highly recommended. Put this on your 'Must buy' list.' (Lizzie Hayes MYSTERY WOMEN )

'The eccentric plot moves at a brisk pace as she blunders to a solution, delivering witty one-liners all the way. Sheer entertainment.' (GOOD BOOK GUIDE )

'It's a really good read and I couldn't put it down. I look forward to reading another of her books.' (COVENTRY EVENING TELEGRAPH )

'This is one of those books, where if I tried to list all the highlights, I'd take up my entire column... This is a series I find myself enjoying more and more. Luckily, I have not read her first 3 books, so I have that joy to look forward to. (Maggie Mason POISONED PEN )

'A very jolly romp... The well-crafted plot and intriguing mystery are bonuses in this highly entertaining book.' (TANGLED WEB )

'A book as comforting as a favourite pait of wooley socks or a half-pound of chocolate and somehting of a rarity these days, a female private eye story that doesn't take itself too seriously.' (Mike Ripley BIRMINGHAM POST )

COVENTRY EVENING TELEGRAPH
'It's a really good read and I couldn't put it down. I look forward to reading another of her books.'

Customer Reviews

sic as a parrott
PI Grace Smith gets better with each story. The twists and turns of this novel where compeling reading and I read this book in two days. The support characters are excellant especially Terry Rosco. Some of this situations with him are so cringeworthy you can feel your toes curling in embarrasment for Grace. Also a possible hint of ongoing romance for Grace with one of the characters - I hope so.

Entertaining read in witty UK PI series
Grace Smith scrapes a living as a PI in an English seaside town. This is the 5th in a series and as in other books, Grace finds herself being talked into things against her better judgement. In this case, an 18 year old who was adopted when her mother went to prison wants Grace to find out more about the circumstances, but Grace also finds herself with an alcoholic parrot to care for.

This has an entertaining storyline with some very funny moments - Grace is spiky and sometimes tempted to do things which are a bit unprincipled, but this makes her more entertaining to spend time with.

It's taken me a while to read this one but I've recently ordered no 6 in the series "Cue the Easter Bunny".

Recommended

Good...but...
I've read 3 of Evans' Gracie Smith's novels, and this one is by far the best. However, reading it made me very confused - the plot didn't gel properly although the 'twist in the tale' left you thinking. Also, her characters are pretty farsical - although this is typical of Evans, I prefer some believability in the personalities, and this is possible, read some Mike Ripley. Also, Terry Rosco appears to have obtained a personality transplant, compared to Don't Mess with Mrs In Between and Barking - still maybe desperate times means desperate measures. Whatever, the novel left me somewhat disappointed.