The Fortieth Birthday Body

Susan Henshaw #2

by Valerie Wolzien

Down-to-earth housewife Susan Henshaw is turning forty -- and feeling ancient. Adding insult to injury is the return of gorgeous local hussy Dawn Elliott, rumored to have slept with half the married men of quiet Hancock, Connecticut. To lift her sagging spirits, Susan's loving husband throws her a surprise party. But one guest gets the surprise of her life -- or death. Dawn Elliott is found murdered. And Susan herself is the prime suspect . . .

Genres: Mystery, Cozy, Cozy Mystery, Fiction

240 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Valerie Wolzien is the author of the Susan Henshaw suburban mysteries and the Josie Pigeon seashore mysteries. Ms. Wolzien lives in an old house overlooking the Hudson River. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached online at valerie@wolzien.com.

Reviews

[Dharia Scarab · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my kind of mystery. The point of view was all over the place, there were too many couples to keep track of, most of the clues weren't revealed till after the fact rather than when the former detective found them, and the mystery was wrapped up in a 5 page summary at the end.

Since I picked up this and 4 others cheap I'll probably read another one, when I need a time killer.


Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...

1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.

2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.

3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.

4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.

5 stars... I loved this book! It has earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.

[Vicki Gooding · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was fun to see her logical best friend participate so much in this book. Really well rounded display of characters that could move either way in the ever twists and turns the story took us.

[Penguin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pretty mediocre murder mystery. This was my first time reading a murder mystery of this kind (the suburban mom subgenre, as I like to call it), and it didn’t make for a stellar first impression. First off, this novel features SO MANY scenes of the characters doing house chores or errands. This is probably my most minor gripe with this book. Just as I appreciate the gratuitous amounts of scenes featuring characters appreciating food in the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery series, I’m sure the housework featured in this novel might be there to appeal to a core audience who can’t get enough of it. On top of it, the errands rarely get in the way of the actual mystery and investigation; there are many scenes where the investigator will run into another housewife ready to gossip while shopping at a grocery store. While I got a bit tired of all the characters doing housework, I can’t deny that it helped ground this book in a believable world. Despite a murder being at the center of the plot, everyone still had very normal things to worry about (e.g. a neighbor’s baby shower is coming up and we still haven’t gotten an appropriate gift).

What mainly bothered me about this book was that the murder mystery itself just wasn’t that good. The novel had a very strong opening, but for the majority of its run, I was left disappointed by an investigation that just didn’t seem to go anywhere. Characters are introduced and different avenues of suspects are considered throughout the story’s length, but nothing felt properly investigated until the last fourth of the book, and by the time the novel ended it did so with a lackluster conclusion. Also, I have no clue why the protagonist of this series is Susan. Her friend does the bulk of the investigating, and Susan spends the entire novel just quietly freaking out over the fact that her husband cheated on her with the victim. She does nothing but dread having to talk to her husband about it, and the book constantly hints that they’ll discuss it at some point, but then they never do! The book just ends and Susan never even so much as mentions the affair to her husband. No idea why the series is named after her as she didn’t really do much this entire book.

[Lexi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh.

[JB · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tired of the name dropping, flaunting of wealth in this series. boring.

[Gale Penton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Love the characters. Did not see the end coming. I will continue to read this series.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 - Good

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good mystery. Lots of twists and surprises.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It might be easier to keep all the couples straight if I had read the first book before I started this one. However, following the investigation into the murder of the everyone-loves-to-hate woman is a round and round the village search, each time finding yet another husband who was involved with the deceased at some time. A number of expensive cars are mentioned and criticized, especially the Mercedes. The suburb is definitely inhabited by well to do people since they all have a cleaning woman, a landscape service, and one or two have pool services as well. There is a remarkable amount of jewelry acquired in some rather unfortunate ways. The deceased's husband is a self deluded, 2nd or 3rd grade actor who is almost impossible to believe.
Yes, it was a great deal of fun. Read it through half of our little summer vacation.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series featured a suburban mom, Susan Henshaw, in an upscale town in Connecticut. They were written mostly in the eighties and nineties and seem a little old-fashioned today. However, the characters are very likeable and the mysteries are cleverly plotted. Valerie Wolzien was a popular cozy author and it's too bad that her publisher dropped this series. I'd like to know what
Susan would be up to today!

[ChrisGA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor Susan--her 40th birthday is a disaster. Her husband gives her a volvo because she isn't a sport car type of person; she finds out her husband had had an affair, and a dead body shows up at her party. Fun---inprobable reason for the murder---but it was fun anyway.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun read and Valerie Wolzien never disappoints. If you like a fun cozy and remember your fortieth birthday then this is the book/series for you.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm still trying to figure out where this series is going. I enjoyed this book and didn't figure out the killer or burglar until the very end when it was revealed.