A Dash of Death

Hemlock Falls Mysteries #2

by Claudia Bishop

The Quilliam sisters of Hemlock Falls Inn are in a slump, until Helena Houndswood, who has her own TV show about stylish living, checks in. But when one of the winners of a design contest sponsored by Helena's show winds up dead, the Quilliam sisters wonder how far she will go to make a statement on style.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Audiobook, Cooking, Fiction

225 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 1995

About the author

Claudia Bishop is the nom de plume of mystery & fantasy author Mary Stanton.

Reviews

[Amy the book-bat · Rating 3 out of 5]

2nd book in a series. What I have found so far in this series, is that there is an awful lot of bickering back and forth between the sisters. I would prefer less of that and more of the sleuthing. Anyway, a famous writer/actress is staying at the Inn and murders start happening. Is the actress the murderer? Or is it someone else? I must say, the body disposal was brilliant. The very end of the novel left me laughing out loud. All I can say is that it has to do with nudity.

reread 2019: I liked it better as an audio this time. It is still a 3 star read for me.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good entry in the series. I enjoyed the mystery and it kept me guessing. I've read many books after this one in the series so it was fun to go back and see the main characters how they were. Also to see how some things never change in Hemlock Falls.

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Dash of Death by Claudia Bishop is the second book of the Hemlock Falls mystery series set in contemporary upstate New York. Sarah Quilliam "Quill" co-owns the Hemlock Falls Inn with her gourmet chef sister Meg. Sarah left behind a career as an artist and the NYC lifestyle to lead a completely different life in picturesque and historic Hemlock Falls. The beautiful descriptions of scenery and the Inn's luxurious lodgings make it sound very appealing for a getaway vacation.

As in the series debut, Quill is saddled with a difficult customer. Television star Helena Houndswood is pretending to be staying incognito while recuperating from cosmetic surgery. Of course Helena actually does want to be noticed and followed by 'her public'. Quill wants to keep her demanding customer happy and get the Hemlock Falls Inn featured on Helena's program. The publicity would bring customers, and the Inn is desperately short of funds. (No wonder, given the freebies Quill handed out in the series debut).

A group of local women together won a million-dollar prize in a contest sponsored by Helena's TV show. Helena is disgusted that the women are not photogenic elite snobs living in the style she favors. Instead they are simple hard-working folks who need the money to survive. One of the women has disappeared, supposedly with the cash from the paint company where she works. When another woman from the contest-winning group is killed, Quill worries that either 1) Helena is getting rid of these winners she does not like, or 2) someone in the group is killing off the rest to get a bigger share.

Since at first Quill's boyfriend Miles (the sheriff) is out of town investigating the paint company employee's disappearance, Quill does her own sleuthing. She knows he will not want her to snoop around, but she convinces herself she must. Quill follows up lots of red herrings, while dealing with the obnoxious Helena and the ridiculous members of the Chamber of Commerce. She also debates with herself on how serious to get with her boyfriend, who wants marriage.

The plot and characters are mildly entertaining. The story would probably be more enjoyable in an onscreen format, with visual support from upstate NY's scenery. Quill's personality is at odds with her current lifestyle choice, and her temperamental sister Meg is downright odd, not endearing. Meg wears socks in bright colors and patterns to signal her mood, and is prone to childish temper tantrums, behavior which Quill expects and considers a sign of her sister's great culinary abilities.

A recipe for gazpacho is included.

[Erin H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy, cute read - 2nd book in the series. I tend to gravitate towards these books when I need a break from reading a lot of heavy material (non fiction, thick fiction novels with lots of technical jargon, etc.) or when I just can't decide which book should be the next one I read from my shelves.

Sarah (Quill) and Meg make an interesting duo - I hope to get to know Meg's character a bit more, but the first two stories have been written from Quill's point of view, so I expect that to continue.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice mystery... I almost said a nice murder, but that wouldn't speak well of my character I don't suppose. Quirky people who I should like, but I really dislike the chef sister so very, very much though maybe she's mellowing so I will be able to continue with the series without her jarring annoyance.

[Naomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Your everyday run of the mill cozy...Storylines are cutsey and similiar to every other cozy out there. If I didn't need to read this for a challenge, it probably never would have hit my TBR list!

[L.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am really enjoying this series. It's old school and there are occasionally things that haven't aged well but it's also really humorous and it's a fun, simple series. The town of Hemlock Falls is beautiful and full of funny characters. Quill is a great MC and she and Meg have such a quirky relationship. This one didn't end at all how I thought it would, which was also kind of fun.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as the series opener because there were just too many things going on to come together in a satisfying end. Main characters remain likeable, and death by giant paint-making machine is original.

[Andrea Latham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hoopla Digital Audiobooks - Published Date 2015, Publisher: Blackstone Publishing

The Quilliam sisters of Hemlock Falls Inn are in a slow season but when Helena Houndswood, who has her own TV show about stylish living, checks in.
A winner of the design contest sponsored by Helena's show winds up dead.

There is a lot of sleuthing to get all the information who killed the winner.

[Jennifer Dombrowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the better books in the Hemlock Falls series, but I found that it had too much vulgarity

Besides the language (My worst word is kumquat), no offense to those who love the fruit! The book was very good and I had a good time reading it.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was surprisingly too gruesome for me. I had to skim the last few chapters to see whodunit.

[Alison (Lady Coffin) S · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute cozy mystery

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

#2 in this fun series. Enjoyed it

[D.L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sort of boring with way, way too many characters.

[Kasey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read foe sure. Loving the series!

[Kathy Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good series

[Lucinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to this book

[Dharia Scarab · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry to say I wasn't impressed. I picked up this book after reading another series the author wrote under a different name. Since I enjoyed that series, I thought I'd like this one.

Unfortunately I was wrong, the sisters are annoying and immature, the storyline jumped between scenes with no warning or break.

The mystery was decent, but it was difficult to get past the characters and inconsistencies.



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 had 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.

[Linda C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarah and Meg Quilliam own an Inn in Hemlock Falls and are having a cash flow problem. When Helena Houndswood, a celebrity lifestyle maven, arrives incognito and then indicates that she will be filming a show there in 3 weeks to award a million dollar prize to a local contest winner, things begin to look up. That is before 4 of the 5 contest winners begin disappearing or are found dead. The sisters do some sleuthing into the paint company where they all work and into the celebrity's questionable actions when she finds out that these women are rather déclassé. There are some humorous moments with the celebrity out of her element and with the sheriff trying to sidetrack all the amateur detectives. It is set in a fictional town near where I live so it is interesting to note the local touches. Like book one, it is OK. I probably wouldn't pursue except for the local connection.

[Staci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Both of these books had great story lines that were fun to read. I loved trying to figure out who the killer was and I guessed it for both of them!! (Go me!) I really like the Quill Sisters because they each have their own personalities and they play off of each other very well. One runs the Inn and the other is the Gourmet Chef. There are a lot of characters (in my opinion too many to try to keep track of at times) that are very quirky and most of them add to the story, but there are some that we could do without. Overall, this is an enjoyable cozy mystery series.

[Emily Cullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

When one of the working class "Bosses Club" gets murdered after winning a million dollar contest, Innkeeper Sarah Quilliam starts asking questions. I really enjoy "A Hemlock Falls" cozy mystery series. There is great character development and as your read more of the series you really get to know them. The relationship between Sarah "Quill" and her sister, fellow innkeeper owner and chef Meg is very humorous as well.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this one on audio. It was a fun listen for my work day. This is the second in the Hemlock Falls series. The two man characters are sisters who own a hotel in Hemlock Falls, NY. Quill, the hotel's manager gets involved in yet another murder conspiracy. Only this time it involves a Quaker environmentalist group, a million dollar contest and a paint company.

[Sallie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've enjoyed the couple of Claudia Bishop's Hemlock Falls mysteries enough to request some through ILL. I like to begin at the beginning with series since most of the time the characters and their situations change along the way.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

So many of my foodie friends rave about this series that I decided to try it. Couldn't find the first, so I started with the second. Decent plot. A bit bothered by the attitude of the protagonist...convinced she is a better detective than the police. Off-putting at times. Good recipes included.

[Beth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not very good at all. This book was bound with its prequel, "A Taste for Murder" and while that one was alright, this one was just not entertaining or engaging at all. And the editing issues present in the first book were also in here and they were very distracting.

[Bobbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good Claudia Bishop mystery. This book kept my attention and had a bit of a twist--always good in a mystery.

[Nidofito · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite an enjoyable read, although I feel like Quinn gets pushed around a little bit which is sometimes frustrating to read. The mystery was pretty good!

[ChrisGA · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyable cozy set at an inn

[Alyssa (The Shady Glade)]

Too many f-bombs for my taste in the first 2 chapters. Setting it down for now.

[Mam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and quirky read.