The Last Resort

Kate Jasper #2

by Jaqueline Girdner

Kate Jasper, Marin County, California's own, organically grown, amateur sleuth is back in this second mystery in the series. ("Kate is quick and clever and fun to read about."--SUE FEDER'S MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR.) The good news in THE LAST RESORT is that Kate has finally divorced her husband, Craig, and is enjoying a platonic friendship with her now ex-husband, happy in her own new love life. The bad news is that Craig has been dating his divorce attorney, Suzanne Sorenson. Suzanne is everything Kate isn't: tall, blond, elegant, ambitious, and ruthless. And now, Suzanne is dead as well, strangled on her late night jog while vacationing with Craig at a vegetarian health resort. Craig is suspected of Suzanne's murder by the local police and begs Kate to help exonerate him. Kate reluctantly agrees and checks herself into Spa Sante to investigate. Raw vegetables were never so dangerous.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy, Cozy Mystery

236 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

aka Claire Daniels

Jaki Girdner lives, works, practices tai chi, and eats her vegetables in Marin County, California, along with her favourite computer peripheral, Famous Spouse Gregory Booi.

Series:
* Kate Jasper

Reviews

[JoAnn Plant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 2 follows Book 1 as she and Wayne are still together and her divorce from Craig is final! The problem-- he is in trouble, and she is expected to help! Wayne comes to help as does her friend Felix, but trouble follows, and the motive is personal - almost killing Kate! Thank goodness for martial arts and a couple of spinster aunts of the sheriff, otherwise this would have been the last book! At least it follows the first and there is no question that there IS a first book!

[Sandra Holladay · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining read; I suspected who did it early on, unusual for me.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this second book int he Kate Jasper series but not as much as the first one. Happens sometimes with second books so I hope she rebounds with #3.

Kate rushes down to a health spa to try and help ex-husband Craig who is under suspicion for murdering his fiancee. Craig figures since she solved the murder before she can solve this one and get him off the hook. I didn't much care for Craig in the first book and his larger role in this book didn't do much for me. Wayne, Kate's current love, doesn't show up until about half-way through the book and I missed him, I believe he could become my favorite character.

The spa is populated by an amazing group of odd people including the owners. With the large cast of suspects it is hard for Kate to even find a path for finding the killer. The local police aren't happy that she is there, which is normal but makes it more difficult for Kate.

I didn't figure out the killer but once it was revealed it made perfect sense. I like that in a book, make you think - "duh, I should have seen that coming".

I'll read the next one which I hope with have a lot less Craig and a whole lot more Wayne.

[Eunira]

BM

[Jersey Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lightweight, but entertaining.

[Wiebke Kuhn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kate Jasper, freshly divorced, helps her ex-husband in discovering who really killed his girl friend. I was not impressed with the characters, the plot and the final outcome of this mystery.

[Michael crage · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not impressed. Her characters were stereotyped. I was fairly certain who the culprit was at almost the very beginning of the book. And her attempts at romance were feeble. Poor story, poor writer.