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Verity Birdwood #3
Death in Store
It wouldn't be Christmas without a visit to Fredericks' department store, whose festive atmosphere and lavish decorations are famous. The sounds of carols and tiny silver bells lilt and tinkle through the halls, glittering ornaments adorn the trees and angels, and the delightful Fredericks' Santa Claus reigns supreme in his grotto. A trail of enthralled children line up through the magic forest of Christmas trees that surround the grotto, anxiously awaiting their turn to meet the kind, jolly figure in red, sit on his lap atop his elegant golden throne, and receive their special gift to take home and put under their own tree. No expense is spared to create the Fredericks' Christmas magic. That's the Fredericks' tradition. But among the staff at the big store this year, tidings of comfort and joy are noticeably lacking and the strain is obviously telling. And Verity Birdwood, sent to research a TV program about Christmas in a big store, gets more than she bargained for. Between interviews, Verity sleuths her way through a maze of decked halls and suspicious personnel only to discover that not everyone is in the holiday spirit. In fact, for someone, the holidays can be murder....
208 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
47 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Rowe
34 books46 followersAlso known as: Mary-Anne Dickinson, Mary Anne Dickinson, Emily Rodda
Winner of the Dromkeen Medal (1995).
Jennifer June Rowe is an Australian author. Her crime fiction for adults is published under her own name, while her children's fiction is published under the pseudonyms Emily Rodda and Mary-Anne Dickinson. She is well known for the children's fantasy series Deltora Quest, Rowan of Rin, Fairy Realm and Teen Power Inc., and recently the Rondo trilogy.
Rowe was born in Sydney, Australia, and raised with two younger brothers on Sydney's North Shore. Her father was Jim Oswin, the founding general manager of ATN7 in Sydney, and was responsible for classic 1960s TV shows such as My Name's McGooley, What's Yours? and The Mavis Bramston Show. She attended the Abbotsleigh School for Girls on the upper North Shore of Sydney.
She attained her Master of Arts in English Literature at the University of Sydney in 1973. Her first job was assistant editor at Paul Hamlyn publishing. She later worked at Angus and Robertson Publishers where she remained for fourteen years as Editor, Senior Editor, Managing Director, Deputy Publisher and finally Publisher. During this time she began writing children's books under the pseudonym Emily Rodda.
Winner of the Dromkeen Medal (1995).
Jennifer June Rowe is an Australian author. Her crime fiction for adults is published under her own name, while her children's fiction is published under the pseudonyms Emily Rodda and Mary-Anne Dickinson. She is well known for the children's fantasy series Deltora Quest, Rowan of Rin, Fairy Realm and Teen Power Inc., and recently the Rondo trilogy.
Rowe was born in Sydney, Australia, and raised with two younger brothers on Sydney's North Shore. Her father was Jim Oswin, the founding general manager of ATN7 in Sydney, and was responsible for classic 1960s TV shows such as My Name's McGooley, What's Yours? and The Mavis Bramston Show. She attended the Abbotsleigh School for Girls on the upper North Shore of Sydney.
She attained her Master of Arts in English Literature at the University of Sydney in 1973. Her first job was assistant editor at Paul Hamlyn publishing. She later worked at Angus and Robertson Publishers where she remained for fourteen years as Editor, Senior Editor, Managing Director, Deputy Publisher and finally Publisher. During this time she began writing children's books under the pseudonym Emily Rodda.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 12, 2024
Unexpectedly a short story collection but a solid set of tales with a variety of good Australian settings and characters and flavour. I don’t have a good read on Verity as a character, which is a bit of a downside, but I’m hoping that one of the novels might give her a bit more depth.
February 16, 2020
A genuinely enjoyable collection of puzzles - although deceptively marketed!
Jennifer Rowe's detective Verity Birdwood, a TV researcher-cum-PI with a mousy appearance but a brain like a steel trap, appeared in five engaging puzzle mysteries during the 1980s and 1990s. I'm forever disappointed that there weren't more. Birdie is great fun as a detective, and Rowe's mysteries are right up my alley: they're not dense or laden with additional plot (she's no Dorothy L. Sayers). No, they're classic puzzles; the narrative and the characters are merely window dressing for a game of logic with the reader. (This will sound overly mechanical to some crime fiction lovers, I recognise.)
Death in Store is something a little different: a series of 8 short stories in which Birdie saves the day. The book is under 200 pages, so the stories are required to dispense with any unnecessary miscellany. Several are told to us in retrospect, whether over coffee with her best friend Kate or drinks with trusty policeman Dan Toby. They range from the intricately plotted (puzzles where the reader feels like they could almost solve the murder with one more clue... only to realise Rowe gave you everything you needed) to the semi-"hard-boiled, i.e. where the fun is more in watching Birdie assemble clues using pieces of knowledge we didn't have access to. Some mystery writers (Conan Doyle) are better in short story; others (Christie) come alive in novels. Rowe - at least in her Verity Birdwood guise - seems to handle both with aplomb. The short story format suits Birdie well, as we get an avalanche of clues which only her logical mind can dispose of in record time. Of course, the downside of a mystery short story is that inevitably there is less time for the reader to grappled with the problem, so it's a 50-50 proposition.
I should say, however, that I'm not a fan of Doubleday's tricky marketing! The title of the book is that of the final short story in the collection. If you were to read the blurb, or the inside jacket cover, you'd suspect this was a novel (and a "holiday mystery" novel, at that). The fact that there is no table of contents would back you up on that suspicion. Were the publishers concerned that murder short stories wouldn't sell? I can only assume they were. The first and last stories in the book have a Christmas theme, but those in between are completely eclectic. It's a strange decision, that seems to me to build bad faith with the reader. Nevertheless, it's been 27 years, I suppose I can let that one slide.
A pleasing volume.
Jennifer Rowe's detective Verity Birdwood, a TV researcher-cum-PI with a mousy appearance but a brain like a steel trap, appeared in five engaging puzzle mysteries during the 1980s and 1990s. I'm forever disappointed that there weren't more. Birdie is great fun as a detective, and Rowe's mysteries are right up my alley: they're not dense or laden with additional plot (she's no Dorothy L. Sayers). No, they're classic puzzles; the narrative and the characters are merely window dressing for a game of logic with the reader. (This will sound overly mechanical to some crime fiction lovers, I recognise.)
Death in Store is something a little different: a series of 8 short stories in which Birdie saves the day. The book is under 200 pages, so the stories are required to dispense with any unnecessary miscellany. Several are told to us in retrospect, whether over coffee with her best friend Kate or drinks with trusty policeman Dan Toby. They range from the intricately plotted (puzzles where the reader feels like they could almost solve the murder with one more clue... only to realise Rowe gave you everything you needed) to the semi-"hard-boiled, i.e. where the fun is more in watching Birdie assemble clues using pieces of knowledge we didn't have access to. Some mystery writers (Conan Doyle) are better in short story; others (Christie) come alive in novels. Rowe - at least in her Verity Birdwood guise - seems to handle both with aplomb. The short story format suits Birdie well, as we get an avalanche of clues which only her logical mind can dispose of in record time. Of course, the downside of a mystery short story is that inevitably there is less time for the reader to grappled with the problem, so it's a 50-50 proposition.
I should say, however, that I'm not a fan of Doubleday's tricky marketing! The title of the book is that of the final short story in the collection. If you were to read the blurb, or the inside jacket cover, you'd suspect this was a novel (and a "holiday mystery" novel, at that). The fact that there is no table of contents would back you up on that suspicion. Were the publishers concerned that murder short stories wouldn't sell? I can only assume they were. The first and last stories in the book have a Christmas theme, but those in between are completely eclectic. It's a strange decision, that seems to me to build bad faith with the reader. Nevertheless, it's been 27 years, I suppose I can let that one slide.
A pleasing volume.
July 22, 2014
Although neither the book jacket nor the table of contents indicate it, this is a book of short stories featuring Australian researcher/detective Verity Birdwood, nicknamed Birdie for her name and her quiet appearance. While the stories are mostly enjoyable, I prefer Birdie in her novels, where there's more exploration of her personality and the thorny relationship she has with the local police.
September 5, 2024
Forbidden Fruit: 4/5
Rabbit Killer: 4/5
Death Warmed Up: 3,5/5
Flashpoint: 3,5/5
Death in Ruby: 4/5
Roses for Do-Hoppy: 4,5/5; my favorite so far, I think made the story feel more alive and approchable
Ladies' Day: 2,5/5; could have been an okay story but I hated the misogyny in it, I'm glad that Kate at least disagreed at some points, but that only shows that Rowe knew the arguments against those misogynistic statements and still decided to make Kate look like she was in the wrong, I think Kate's claim in the beginning that men are much more violent is even sadder if we look at the high rate of femicides and violence against women by men
Death in Store: 4/5
Overall some pretty entertaining stories, I liked it
Rabbit Killer: 4/5
Death Warmed Up: 3,5/5
Flashpoint: 3,5/5
Death in Ruby: 4/5
Roses for Do-Hoppy: 4,5/5; my favorite so far, I think made the story feel more alive and approchable
Ladies' Day: 2,5/5; could have been an okay story but I hated the misogyny in it, I'm glad that Kate at least disagreed at some points, but that only shows that Rowe knew the arguments against those misogynistic statements and still decided to make Kate look like she was in the wrong, I think Kate's claim in the beginning that men are much more violent is even sadder if we look at the high rate of femicides and violence against women by men
Death in Store: 4/5
Overall some pretty entertaining stories, I liked it
January 15, 2026
This was a fun little read. More of an anthology of murders during the Christmas season, set in Australia, following a smart and sassy protagonist. The story for which it's named was fun, but not my favorite in the collection!
April 30, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews