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Death Times Three
…A popular artist is murdered in his own gallery.
…A pagan fertility ritual at an isolated goddess sanctuary goes terribly wrong.
…A school group’s excursion to a desert wildlife refuge reveals that the most dangerous predators walk on two legs.
There’s more to life in Sin City than casinos, bright lights, and showgirls. Just ask recently divorced librarian Elinor Gray. Her day job coordinating special events for the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District isn’t all that exciting. Except Elinor has a knack for stumbling—sometimes literally—over dead bodies and into the arms of Detective Guillermo “Guy” Villanueva. Too bad his ex-stripper little sister is the slut who ruined Elinor’s marriage.
Death Times Three is a mini-collection (two stories and a novella) of short mysteries that prove what happens in Vegas can be fatal.
…A pagan fertility ritual at an isolated goddess sanctuary goes terribly wrong.
…A school group’s excursion to a desert wildlife refuge reveals that the most dangerous predators walk on two legs.
There’s more to life in Sin City than casinos, bright lights, and showgirls. Just ask recently divorced librarian Elinor Gray. Her day job coordinating special events for the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District isn’t all that exciting. Except Elinor has a knack for stumbling—sometimes literally—over dead bodies and into the arms of Detective Guillermo “Guy” Villanueva. Too bad his ex-stripper little sister is the slut who ruined Elinor’s marriage.
Death Times Three is a mini-collection (two stories and a novella) of short mysteries that prove what happens in Vegas can be fatal.
107 pages, Paperback
First published January 5, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 17, 2015
Death Times Three is a short collection of murder mysteries set in the Las Vegas area. What they all have in common—besides a dead body—is Elinor Gray, a librarian with the habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. As if discovering corpses isn’t bad enough, being at the scene of the crime inevitably means running into detective Guillermo Villanueva. The guy whose sister made off with Elinor’s husband.
Make that ex-husband.
Elinor is a wonderful amateur sleuth—she’s whip-smart and determined without coming across as nosy or arrogant. I enjoyed watching her piece together clues, always one step ahead of Villanueva. And I liked that the source of tension in their relationship isn’t her treading into his “territory,” but the fact that he once arrested her for throwing a brick through his sister’s window. Much more interesting.
Having read every book published by Carrie Ann Lahain so far, I've come to the conclusion that there's nothing she can't write. From historical fiction (The Ways of Mud and Bone) to contemporary fiction (Knife Skills), and now to the mystery genre, her writing is always superb, with perfect pacing and characters you can cheer for. I can’t wait to read what’s next, but wherever Lahain chooses to go from here, I hope we soon see more of Elinor Gray and detective Villanueva.
Make that ex-husband.
Elinor is a wonderful amateur sleuth—she’s whip-smart and determined without coming across as nosy or arrogant. I enjoyed watching her piece together clues, always one step ahead of Villanueva. And I liked that the source of tension in their relationship isn’t her treading into his “territory,” but the fact that he once arrested her for throwing a brick through his sister’s window. Much more interesting.
Having read every book published by Carrie Ann Lahain so far, I've come to the conclusion that there's nothing she can't write. From historical fiction (The Ways of Mud and Bone) to contemporary fiction (Knife Skills), and now to the mystery genre, her writing is always superb, with perfect pacing and characters you can cheer for. I can’t wait to read what’s next, but wherever Lahain chooses to go from here, I hope we soon see more of Elinor Gray and detective Villanueva.
January 11, 2015
Death Times Three brings a refreshing character/librarian/"detective" to light. Following her life, actions, and thoughts are entertaining. We can relate to Elinor Gray as she is "normal," including when she throws a brick through Detective Villanueva's slutty sister's window. Well, who wouldn't after she stole Elinor's husband. Wouldn't we want to do the same thing. Living in Las Vegas myself, Ms Lahain's Vegas/desert descriptions are spot-on. Here's hoping she keeps more stories coming.
October 8, 2015
Death Times Three is made up of two short stories, Death of a Well-Loved Man and Dark Sekhmet, and one novella, A Killing in Corn Creek, all set in Las Vegas, Nevada. These are all murder mysteries with Elinor Gray, a librarian in charge of organising events at the local library as the protagonist who finds herself at the centre of these crimes and can’t help but get involved in the investigations. Elinor is perfect as a sleuth, sharp, witty...and tough, and I took to her right away, this snippet tells you all about her.
‘Back in her own condo, Elinor kicked off her shoes - she hated wearing shoes - unlatched her bra - she really hated bras - and traded her dress slacks and blouse for jeans and her ex’s torn up Cal State sweatshirt. It was about the only thing she’d gotten out of the divorce - unless she counted fifty percent of twenty grand in gambling debts.’
Elinor has obviously come through a bad time with a divorce behind her and in each of these stories she keeps coming across Detective Guillermo ‘Guy’ Villanueva, whose sister played a part in the break-up. I really enjoyed the interaction between Elinor and Guy, the dialogue was sharp and realistic and I have high hopes in that direction.
I have long been an admirer of this author’s work and follow her thoughtful and thought provoking newsletter so I was delighted to eventually get to read some of her fiction. I was not surprised in the least to find it very well written with tight pacing and flowing storylines. One of my favourite authors is Sue Grafton who writes the alphabet series with Kinsey Millhone as the private investigator. I can easily see Lahain expanding this series of stories into longer length novels as Elinor Gray is a solid, likable and well thought out character with, hopefully, many adventures ahead of her.
‘Back in her own condo, Elinor kicked off her shoes - she hated wearing shoes - unlatched her bra - she really hated bras - and traded her dress slacks and blouse for jeans and her ex’s torn up Cal State sweatshirt. It was about the only thing she’d gotten out of the divorce - unless she counted fifty percent of twenty grand in gambling debts.’
Elinor has obviously come through a bad time with a divorce behind her and in each of these stories she keeps coming across Detective Guillermo ‘Guy’ Villanueva, whose sister played a part in the break-up. I really enjoyed the interaction between Elinor and Guy, the dialogue was sharp and realistic and I have high hopes in that direction.
I have long been an admirer of this author’s work and follow her thoughtful and thought provoking newsletter so I was delighted to eventually get to read some of her fiction. I was not surprised in the least to find it very well written with tight pacing and flowing storylines. One of my favourite authors is Sue Grafton who writes the alphabet series with Kinsey Millhone as the private investigator. I can easily see Lahain expanding this series of stories into longer length novels as Elinor Gray is a solid, likable and well thought out character with, hopefully, many adventures ahead of her.
January 23, 2015
In the words of detective Guillermo Villanueva: "I'm starting to wonder what it is with you and dead bodies, Ms. Gray." Yes, indeed! In this short book, we are given three different cases, all from the general Las Vegas area, but all in completely different circumstances. If you think Nevada is all slot machines and hands of poker, you don't know the place. These stories go deeper, into some of the real circumstances and concerns of the people of southern Nevada. What a relief to find a writer who knows the Las Vegas area well enough to get out of the casinos (well, two out of three times, anyway) and into the the lives of some of southern Nevada's lesser known areas.
In each story, the circumstances are completely different, but two of the characters are the same. Special events librarian Elinor Gray doesn't mean to keep bumping into dead bodies. She just can't seem to help it! And, like any researcher who loves a challenge, she overrides her own sense of self-preservation and tries to figure out what happened. This despite the fact that Guillermo Villanueva, the brother of the woman who stole her ex-husband, never fails to show up at the scene afterwards to give Elinor a hard time. This is a lot of gentle humor in each story, and a sense of the possibility of romance between Elinor and Guillermo that, unfortunately to my way of thinking, never comes to anything. Still, it is so easy to cheer for Elinor, an average person's sort of hero who just can't seem to back down when she puts one clue together with another clue together with another and. . . .
If you like a teaspoon of lightness, and a teaspoon of sweetness, and a cup of humor mixed into your recipe for murder, Death Times Three will likely hit the spot.
In each story, the circumstances are completely different, but two of the characters are the same. Special events librarian Elinor Gray doesn't mean to keep bumping into dead bodies. She just can't seem to help it! And, like any researcher who loves a challenge, she overrides her own sense of self-preservation and tries to figure out what happened. This despite the fact that Guillermo Villanueva, the brother of the woman who stole her ex-husband, never fails to show up at the scene afterwards to give Elinor a hard time. This is a lot of gentle humor in each story, and a sense of the possibility of romance between Elinor and Guillermo that, unfortunately to my way of thinking, never comes to anything. Still, it is so easy to cheer for Elinor, an average person's sort of hero who just can't seem to back down when she puts one clue together with another clue together with another and. . . .
If you like a teaspoon of lightness, and a teaspoon of sweetness, and a cup of humor mixed into your recipe for murder, Death Times Three will likely hit the spot.
August 16, 2015
Murder Times Three by Carrie Ann Lahain
Sometimes a short story or three is just what one needs to break up what passes for reality in this world. In Carrie Ann Lahain's perfectly small book, Death Times Three, one finds escape to a land of intrigue, humor, mystery, witty conversation, and a very interesting travelogue of the deserts of southern Nevada and the Las Vegas valley.
Our heroine in all three stories is a clever and curious county librarian who just happens to find herself in the proximity of foul-play. Along with the same Metro detective with whom there exists a sort of attract/ repel relationship. I was reminded of the type of writing that graced the episodes of the TV series 'Murder, She Wrote'. Our heroine in these stories being not a mystery writer, but rather a librarian, maybe (my own humor here) when this becomes the pilot of a new and successful series, I'm certain it will not be called 'Murder, She Read'.
This book should be available at all airport gift shops as it is perfect for escaping the reality of little service and little or no food that we must endure in these modern times of air transportation.
I have read two of author Lahain's books. Her writing, story telling, and her direct style are professional and very entertaining. Recommended and 5-stars.
Sometimes a short story or three is just what one needs to break up what passes for reality in this world. In Carrie Ann Lahain's perfectly small book, Death Times Three, one finds escape to a land of intrigue, humor, mystery, witty conversation, and a very interesting travelogue of the deserts of southern Nevada and the Las Vegas valley.
Our heroine in all three stories is a clever and curious county librarian who just happens to find herself in the proximity of foul-play. Along with the same Metro detective with whom there exists a sort of attract/ repel relationship. I was reminded of the type of writing that graced the episodes of the TV series 'Murder, She Wrote'. Our heroine in these stories being not a mystery writer, but rather a librarian, maybe (my own humor here) when this becomes the pilot of a new and successful series, I'm certain it will not be called 'Murder, She Read'.
This book should be available at all airport gift shops as it is perfect for escaping the reality of little service and little or no food that we must endure in these modern times of air transportation.
I have read two of author Lahain's books. Her writing, story telling, and her direct style are professional and very entertaining. Recommended and 5-stars.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews