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Robin Hudson #5
The Chelsea Girl Murders
When a fire guts her apartment building, TV newswoman Robin Hudson flees to the Chelsea Hotel with her cat Louise Bryant, and there she soon finds herself investigating the suspicious suicide of one of her neighbors. Reprint.
240 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
11 people are currently reading
148 people want to read
About the author
Sparkle Hayter
21 books78 followersSparkle Hayter is a Canadian journalist and author.
Hayter was born in Pouce Coupe, British Columbia, Canada and grew up in Edmonton, Alberta. In 1986, she graduated in film and television production from New York University. Among other things, she worked for CNN in Atlanta, WABC in New York and Global Television in Toronto. At the time of the Afghan civil war, she moved to Pakistan and then went along with the Mujahedin to Afghanistan, reporting for the Toronto Star. After this, she decided to give up journalism as a career. After her return to the U.S. she married and began her career as a comic and a writer with her first, not very successful, novel. She moved briefly to Tokyo, then on her return to New York divorced and went to live in the famous Chelsea Hotel
She then published a further 5 novels, the Robin Hudson series, which proved her breakthrough. She wrote for the New York Times Op-Ed Page, the Nation and Toronto Globe and Mail, was a regular participant on CNN's talk show "CNN & Company" and was also seen on Good Day New York, NPR, CBC, BBC and Paris Premiere. Currently she lives in Paris and is writing her next novel.
Series:
* Robin Hudson
Awards:
* Arthur Ellis Award
o Best First Novel (1995): What's a Girl Gotta Do?
Hayter was born in Pouce Coupe, British Columbia, Canada and grew up in Edmonton, Alberta. In 1986, she graduated in film and television production from New York University. Among other things, she worked for CNN in Atlanta, WABC in New York and Global Television in Toronto. At the time of the Afghan civil war, she moved to Pakistan and then went along with the Mujahedin to Afghanistan, reporting for the Toronto Star. After this, she decided to give up journalism as a career. After her return to the U.S. she married and began her career as a comic and a writer with her first, not very successful, novel. She moved briefly to Tokyo, then on her return to New York divorced and went to live in the famous Chelsea Hotel
She then published a further 5 novels, the Robin Hudson series, which proved her breakthrough. She wrote for the New York Times Op-Ed Page, the Nation and Toronto Globe and Mail, was a regular participant on CNN's talk show "CNN & Company" and was also seen on Good Day New York, NPR, CBC, BBC and Paris Premiere. Currently she lives in Paris and is writing her next novel.
Series:
* Robin Hudson
Awards:
* Arthur Ellis Award
o Best First Novel (1995): What's a Girl Gotta Do?
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 19, 2013
Love Sparkle Hayter's writing and its quirky, unique characters that seem like cartoon characters in their descriptions. Funny, clever writing.
August 7, 2017
Not my favorite book so far in the series.
Nothing concrete, just not what I had in mind.
Nothing concrete, just not what I had in mind.
August 7, 2022
This final Robin Hudson mystery holds together better than Last Manly Man as it is focused on the Chelsea Hotel and its eccentric residents.
abandoned
July 18, 2011This didn't work for me.
My main problem was that the main character had been on a business trip to several countries and had managed to offend people in at least two of them because she didn't respect their cultures. This seemed to be a great joke. It came across to me that it was hilarious that people in other countries thought their cultures should be respected, when if they were sensible, they'd just do things the American way. I really hope I misunderstood this joke. As it was, it just made the main character seem intolerant and a bit stupid. It wouldn't have been too bad but the clash-of-cultures thing looked like becoming a running joke throughout the book (it came up at least three times in the 70 pages which I read), so it wasn't as if I could just think "Oops! I think that misfired as far as I was concerned. Never mind, move onto to the rest of the book".
I also had problems with the writing style. Ms Hayter is a writer who likes to spell things out for her readers. Nothing wrong with that, but I really enjoy it when authors make the reader do some work and read between the lines a bit.
Either one of these problems on their own wouldn't have mattered too much, but the combination of having things spelled out and a running joke which I just didn't get was too much for me. Around page 70, I decided to move onto something else and leave this for those who'll enjoy it.
My main problem was that the main character had been on a business trip to several countries and had managed to offend people in at least two of them because she didn't respect their cultures. This seemed to be a great joke. It came across to me that it was hilarious that people in other countries thought their cultures should be respected, when if they were sensible, they'd just do things the American way. I really hope I misunderstood this joke. As it was, it just made the main character seem intolerant and a bit stupid. It wouldn't have been too bad but the clash-of-cultures thing looked like becoming a running joke throughout the book (it came up at least three times in the 70 pages which I read), so it wasn't as if I could just think "Oops! I think that misfired as far as I was concerned. Never mind, move onto to the rest of the book".
I also had problems with the writing style. Ms Hayter is a writer who likes to spell things out for her readers. Nothing wrong with that, but I really enjoy it when authors make the reader do some work and read between the lines a bit.
Either one of these problems on their own wouldn't have mattered too much, but the combination of having things spelled out and a running joke which I just didn't get was too much for me. Around page 70, I decided to move onto something else and leave this for those who'll enjoy it.
May 23, 2016
Love hurts
Robin is homeless after her apartment burns. She moves into her friend, Tomaya's apartment at the Chelsea Hotel. Unfortunately, for Robin, Tomaya is rather free with her keys and Robin is awakened in the middle of the night by a bratty adolescent girl who claims that Tomaya said that she could stay there. The girl, Nadia, speaks with a Slavik accent but won't tell Robin where she is from--just that she is waiting to meet her boyfriend so that they can marry and that her family is not pleased because they've already picked out someone for her to marry. The next day while Robin is at work, Nadia disappears. In the meantime, the boy that Robin thinks is the boyfriend shows up and demands to be taken to Nadia. There is a murder of an art dealer named Wozniak and at first Robin is a suspect because when she goes to the apartment door to see what the noise was, the body falls on top of her.
There are a lot of humorous moments in the book. Many of them involving Mrs. Ramirez, Robin's former neighbor whose lighted picture of Jesus had a short and burnt down the apartment complex, her chihuahua who the nuns dressed in a tiny habit, and Maggie Mason who pulled off one of the best revenge strategies I've ever heard of.
I got really tired of Rocky and Nadia and the toupee guys however there would not have been a story without them.
Robin is homeless after her apartment burns. She moves into her friend, Tomaya's apartment at the Chelsea Hotel. Unfortunately, for Robin, Tomaya is rather free with her keys and Robin is awakened in the middle of the night by a bratty adolescent girl who claims that Tomaya said that she could stay there. The girl, Nadia, speaks with a Slavik accent but won't tell Robin where she is from--just that she is waiting to meet her boyfriend so that they can marry and that her family is not pleased because they've already picked out someone for her to marry. The next day while Robin is at work, Nadia disappears. In the meantime, the boy that Robin thinks is the boyfriend shows up and demands to be taken to Nadia. There is a murder of an art dealer named Wozniak and at first Robin is a suspect because when she goes to the apartment door to see what the noise was, the body falls on top of her.
There are a lot of humorous moments in the book. Many of them involving Mrs. Ramirez, Robin's former neighbor whose lighted picture of Jesus had a short and burnt down the apartment complex, her chihuahua who the nuns dressed in a tiny habit, and Maggie Mason who pulled off one of the best revenge strategies I've ever heard of.
I got really tired of Rocky and Nadia and the toupee guys however there would not have been a story without them.
September 20, 2007
The Chelsea Girl Murders - Ok
Sparkle Hayter
When a fire forces TV executive Robin Hudson to vacate her apartment, she and her cat, Louise Bryant, take shelter in the legendary bohemian hostelry the Chelsea Hotel. But then a smoky-eyed art dealer dies on her doorstep, and our ever-reluctant heroine is drawn into a homicide investigation. Is the murder related in some way to the star-crossed and irritable young lovers who have appealed to Robin for help? Or to a deadly catfight between rival lovers of the victim? To sort things out, Robin must brave the whole downtown scene: guerilla artists, jealous women, Zen bodybuilders, gouty widows, and befuddled tourists. And to make matters even more complicated, Robin herself seems to have fallen accidentally in love.
Sparkle Hayter
When a fire forces TV executive Robin Hudson to vacate her apartment, she and her cat, Louise Bryant, take shelter in the legendary bohemian hostelry the Chelsea Hotel. But then a smoky-eyed art dealer dies on her doorstep, and our ever-reluctant heroine is drawn into a homicide investigation. Is the murder related in some way to the star-crossed and irritable young lovers who have appealed to Robin for help? Or to a deadly catfight between rival lovers of the victim? To sort things out, Robin must brave the whole downtown scene: guerilla artists, jealous women, Zen bodybuilders, gouty widows, and befuddled tourists. And to make matters even more complicated, Robin herself seems to have fallen accidentally in love.
August 25, 2015
#5 in the TV executive Robin Hudson mystery series set in New York City. A fire forces Robin to move out of her building to a traveling friend's apartment in the Chelsea Hotel which then involves her with a murder, an underground network helping young lovers, a pair of lovers who cause Robin all kinds of problems, an assortment of characters residing in the hotel and a shake up in her working place.
Would class this as a light mystery because of the underling humor, assortment of colorful characters and suspend believe twists.
Would class this as a light mystery because of the underling humor, assortment of colorful characters and suspend believe twists.
December 20, 2011
I waited a long time for this book, after it was recommended as an Evanovich substitutue. But it did nt do it for me. I think perhaps I should have read a book from earlier in the series.
The main character did not 'grab me'. I think I liked the Tamyo character more, but we only got to see her for a few pages towards the end, even though we heard a lot about her.
I did not solve the mystery however, so that is a bonus ... and I liked the ending.
The main character did not 'grab me'. I think I liked the Tamyo character more, but we only got to see her for a few pages towards the end, even though we heard a lot about her.
I did not solve the mystery however, so that is a bonus ... and I liked the ending.
January 19, 2008
Fun and amusing. If I am going to write a mystery, I have to read mysteries.
It was pretty damn good for genre fiction. Funny and smart, with the best joke about the art world ever- worth reading just for that!
It was pretty damn good for genre fiction. Funny and smart, with the best joke about the art world ever- worth reading just for that!
July 31, 2012
It was a very interesting book that kept me wanting to know more at all times. It had a few cleverly thought out twists. The main character however, did not grab me or make me want to know more about HER but I may pick up another Robin Hudson mystery because I enjoy this sort of book.
July 30, 2007
This is a light-hearted and fun read.
June 10, 2008
Again, probably would have been better if I read the others in the series. Kind of book you would pick up at the end of a trip and then leave in the airplane. Good, easy read.
September 9, 2010
Boring - would not recommend
July 17, 2014
I read the others in this series ages ago ... Had a hard time getting into this one and never really engaged. Good on one hand but also predictable.
February 14, 2014
Not the first book in the series but it was fun to read and of course, I went backwards to read the rest. I will have to look up the date it was a book club choice.
May 15, 2022
New author for me; got the book from book sale @ Wautoma Library. Author has a light, comic sense, which isn't usually my style. I'm may want to try some of her other books, though; not sure.
January 16, 2012
Another cute romp with Robin. The first two books are still my favorite.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews