Killing Time in St. Cloud

by Judith Guest, Rebecca Hill

It’s the story of Charlie Carmody (the good brother) and Simon Carmody (the bad brother), and Charlie’s friend, Nicky Uhler (the imp of the perverse) and Marty Voight (the wronged woman), and how everyone in a small town somehow ends up either knowing everything there is to know about you or else being family.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Crime

244 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1988

Reviews

[Jean Doolittle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just came across this book and picked it up because of its title. I grew up 25 miles from St. Cloud and attended college there--met my husband there--spend time with friends who still live there. I did kill a lot of time in St. Cloud--but not quite in this fashion. The story was a mystery, but not in the style of Agatha Christie, where the clues are there for you to figure it out. Instead this was more of an onion; the layers peel off, revealing the secrets under the proper Catholics who gather at the Cathedral on Sundays. Yes, this rang true. Minnesota Nice can be Minnesota Not-So-Nice beneath the surface; beneath the ice that covers the lakes and rivers for those long winter months. You can find skeletons in closets and bodies beneath the ice. A sweet caring mother can seem threatening and a reckless convict can be someone to trust. This was a good read.

[Beth Brekke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was better than I expected it to be, although I'm not sure what I was expecting. (Speaking of expecting, this book had a lot of pregnancies and children lol.) I picked it off a shelf in a thrift store because as a Minnesotan, the title caught my attention. Somewhere in the back of my mind I thought I may have heard of this novel, so for $.50, why not? Maybe that's why I wasn't expecting much from it, but it delivered. (Yes, that was another childbirth pun.) There was a lot going on in this book and it took awhile to keep the cast straight, but that is not to say the intros were boring. I buzzed through those, and the side plots, and the set up of the main plot, really enjoying the journey. Sometimes you like a book because the outcome is surprising. This time I had it figured out but that made me happy because I like to be right. :-) There were a few things that maybe didn't quite add up or weren't as clear as they could have been but overall plausible and enticing. I could point out that a more chaste lifestyle would have saved everyone in this story much grief and while there was some sexual content, it was not graphic and mostly necessary to the plot. If you like a page-turning mystery that isn't blood and guts gory, give this a shot.

[Martin Rondina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buen libro, de suspenso con mucha carga drámatica melancólica. Me gustó y fue una lectura agradable para estas fechas cercanas a Navidad. El inicio se me hizo un poco confuso y por momentos narrativamente desprolijo, quizá sea la traducción.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am glad I read this book before I read all the other reviews which didn't rate it nearly as high as I did. I really liked the story. I thought the plot was interesting. It took awhile to get to the murder but there was a bigger mystery surrounding the story, not just the murder. The book reminded me a bit of Mystic River with a few more likeable characters, people you could root for. Maybe my reaction would have been different if I had read more Guest novels, but now I'm in search of other books by this author.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

That was not good, every character is a terrible person. It's fun to read about St Cloud, but not a great picture of it.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the spirit of full disclosure, I killed three-and-a-half years in St. Cloud, attending Apollo High School. This book came out right before I moved there, and a buzz surrounded it — probably because no one had bothered to set a novel in St. Cloud, pop. roughly 60,000, 70 miles northwest of the (Twin) Cities, with prairies to the west, pines and spruce to the northeast, broadleaf trees to the southeast, flat, little contour to the land or the people, dark and cold winters. In other words, exactly the kind of insular place where the roaches scatter under the light of day, if you catch my drift.

So I read "Killing Time" sort of as a stroll down memory lane, and I saw much that was familiar in terms of places, things and people. The characters seemed a bit gregarious in contrast to what I remember about Central Minnesotans, but the authors accurately captured the cliques and groups you'd expect in an insular and small town. Also, I heard every word in that German-Canadian-Scandinavian-influenced accent.

Bear in mind this is also a murder mystery, so I kept my spidey sense alert to the clues dropped along the way; the murder doesn't happen until two-thirds of the way through the book, thus the authors spend that time giving all the principles a motive to commit a murder — as well as a reason why each might need killing. In that way, the authors did well in developing the characters and tying them to each other while dropping hints at their sinister pasts. After all, everybody went to high school together and no one can seem to let go of a slight.

So the book embraces the Gatsby-esque notion that you can never outrun your past, as well as the common-sense notion that you shouldn't look back because you never know what's gaining on you. The title works on a couple of levels, too.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent, older mystery. The fact that it is a bit dated didn't really bother me, but I had a hard time relating to or finding any of the characters very likable. The authors take a long time to reveal more about each character. Much of the storyline hinges on their relationships in high school, years earlier, and all have hidden pasts that come to light mostly in the last 1/4 of the book. The writing was decent, and this was a fast read, though it took me awhile as I've been too busy to read much lately. I did like the fact that I didn't figure out "whodunit" ahead of time -- could have been any number of the characters!

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is 3.5 stars. A nice, engaging mystery with well drawn characters. There were so many motives for the murder that it was hard to figure out who actually committed it. And the back-story, historical mysteries added to the story as well; actually, I was more surprised by some of the "side" mysteries than by the current day mystery.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book should have been a find. It checked off all the boxes. Good pedigree. Check. It was written by Judith Guest of Ordinary People, which was made into an Academy Award winning film and Rebecca Hill, who wrote Blue Rise, which received the Literature Award from the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters.

Recommendation from the Mystery Guild. Check. The book was a main selection of the Mystery Guild and an Alternate Selection of the Literary Guild.

Cost. Check. It was free.

Man, it was even signed by both authors.

I was all set for a good mystery set in a local haunt. And boy, was I disappointed. For a murder mystery, there wasn't a lot of crime. Or much action for that matter. The characters themselves were not very likeable. The book was poorly plotted. And the ending was a cliche. I cannot recommend this book at all.

[Angie Kaelberer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought a second-hand copy and it sat on my to-read shelf for years. Finally took it down the other day. Quick read with an interesting mystery. Most of the characters are a bit melodramatic, but that might have been the style at the time this was published in the late 1980s. I did find it a little amusing that the St. Cloud in the novel seems like a much smaller town than it is--in 1990, the population was around 48,000, so I don't think everyone would have known each other the way it seems in the book. But in all, an enjoyable read.

[Cecilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Given to me by Dick C. 3.5 stars. Had a hard time following originally. Seemed like important pieces of information were missing and it was kind of choppy, but eventually figured out how to read it and ended up liking it quite a bit. Kept me engaged. Everything wrapped up nicely in the end and was able to have a good discussion with Dick. Kept me guessing and I did not get the killer right. Not a traditional murder mystery as the murder happens much later than you would expect. Lots of exposition and learning the characters.
Elizabeth: fallen beauty

[Barbara Lifland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the character development. Each person that was integral to the plot was developed enough to understand how the puzzle pieces fit without dragging into over-development. The stories of these troubled people rang true to me. Or at least possible. I grew up not far from St. Cloud and the drama is plausible. Coen Brothers: there's a movie here for you.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book because I recognized the author and I spent a year in St. Cloud myself. I found it to be true to the town and the characters. I really didn't know where it would go but it was a good read and kept me in suspense, so I enjoyed that. I would read another collaboration between Judith Guest and Rebecca hill.

[Tom Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is fairly well written but most of the plot is implausible. Not really well drawn charcaters kind of cardboard cutouts.

[Travis Haugen · Rating 3 out of 5]

an older book, took me a bit to get into the story. The characters developed over time, and i did enjoy after forcing myself to stay with the story.

[Nicole Olivares · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it, but the first part of the book was a bit slow and unrelated in some parts. A good book overall, but the last part has a great influence in how I rate it

[lorna starr · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was just ok.

[Adam Haan · Rating 2 out of 5]

St. Cloud Minnesota in the dead of winter. I can think of many places I’d rather be. This cold and depressing background is the setting for Killing Time in St. Cloud. Unfortunately, the title – which can be interpreted different ways – is about the only good thing about this book. It’s about ordinary people and ghosts from their high school days. It’s also about crime, relationships and power. All the elements of a good read are there, but it’s about as interesting as an I-94 exit ramp obscured by a snow bank in January. Maybe Judith Guest and Rebecca Hill have other good books out there, but don’t waste time with this one.

[Sorcha]

Nick returns to his small home town 12 years after leaving under a cloud, and soon two deaths have an effect on the many interrelated families.[return][return]I don't know whether it was me and the way I read it or the way that the book was written (two writers, and stories being told from multiple standpoints, which can or cant work depending), I felt this book was quite disjointed and I dont feel I got engaged fully with it.[return][return]Overall the story was good though

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 4th novel of hers that I've read and neither this one or "The Tarnished Eye" were as good as "Ordinary People" and "Second Heaven" but trying to empty my shelves. I still have the old pocketbook edition of her first two novels on my shelf but will probably let this one go.
Somewhat of a mystery but seemed rather uneven; a little hard to follow and written by Guest and another author which may be why it just didn't flow well for me.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is such a mediocre effort considering what a fantastic author Judith Guest is. It's a good enough book, just not the level I expect from Judith Guest. Having said that, it's a good character study, with enough suspense to keep you interested and enough Minnesota Winter to make you swear off the north for good, just like Sally Carol in "The Ice Palace."

[Monique · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book was dull and stiff making unlikeable characters and a boring narrative, no hint of excitement or any emotion.
Half the time reading was a guessing game as to what character we were following at the start of a new chapter. It just felt like it lacked for me.
It was a book I wanted to carry on reading for the sake of finishing it rather than to discover "whodunnit?".

[Lynn Pribus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dated, but serviceable little paperback I picked up from swap table at gym, mainly on the strength of Guest's name. (I'd recently reread Ordinary People.) Easy (but not simplistic) writing and I finished it in a day.

[Fran · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was only okay. I guess Judith Guest has improved a lot in 20 years.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointing book after "Ordinary People" and Hill's "Blue Rise" (which I loved)

[SmarterLilac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Readable, but can't hold a candle to Guest's other efforts.

[Nranger7 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not too bad, but it was pretty confusing in the beginning. I didn't like this book at first, but it got much better as the story played out.

[Rayna Forman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cleaning out some shelves, I found this Judith Guest book and read it. Good mystery but dated.