Rebecca Schwartz Mysteries 4-5

Rebecca Schwartz #4-5

by Julie Smith

Vol. 4: DEAD IN THE WATER

WHAT'S THE ETIQUETTE WHEN YOUR HOSTESS IS ARRESTED FOR MURDER?
San Francisco lawyer Rebecca Schwartz has occasion to wonder when she and her weekend hostess, Marty Whitehead, find a body floating in the 30-foot kelp tower at the Monterey Aquarium, and Marty's promptly dragged off to the slammer.

Rebecca quickly grasps the Emily Post solution—sign on as Marty's lawyer, try to keep her client's two young kids out of the deep end, and somehow avoid drowning in the sea of lies gushing from Marty's mouth--and everyone else’s. There’s a lot of intrigue among the aquarium's oceangoing primates, as well as rumors of a pearl beyond price. Plus a new romance for our heroine!

Volume 5: OTHER PEOPLE’S SKELETONS

WHAT SHE'S ABOUT TO LEARN WILL ROCK HER WORLD! Rebecca Schwartz, “Jewish feminist lawyer,” as she’s fond of saying, thought she knew her best friend--and her boy friend. Not to mention her family. But everything’s about to change.

Secrets spill out of these pages like hornets out of a nest, each with its own distinct sting, as author Smith weaves a thrill-packed and complicated San Francisco mystery that’s as much about how little we know about our nearest and dearest as it is about whodunit.

Rebecca’s shocked when Chris Nicholson, her glamorous law partner, is arrested for murder--but not nearly so shocked as when she discovers Chris can’t come up with an alibi. What she was doing, Chris says, involves a secret so damaging she’d be drummed out of San Francisco legal circles if anyone knew. Sure enough, when Rebecca uncovers it, her world tilts on its axis—and continues to list, ever more dangerously, as the story picks up speed and this formerly rational lawyer finds her worldview threatened by things she never knew existed. At least not in her circle! And Chris is far from the only one with a skeleton in her closet.

Fans of Nancy Pickard’s delicate psychological probes, Janet Evanovich’s wild romps, and Marcia Muller’s complex yarns will appreciate this one.

Author Alert: I wrote these after I'd written the first book in the Skip Langdon Police Procedural Series, which is a much darker proposition than the Rebecca Schwartz books. Usually. But some readers have remarked that these two are a good deal darker than the three previous titles in the series -- edgier, more realistic, and...well, just not as funny. Guilty as charged. (Sorry! They just came out that way.) DEAD IN THE WATER has some scary scenes, and some readers have been offended by the way the characters wrestle with issues of religion and lack of same in OTHER PEOPLE’S SKELETONS.

Genres: Mystery, Amazon, Cozy Mystery, Ebooks, Fiction, Collections, Mystery Thriller

385 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 21, 2016

About the author

Author of 20 mystery novels and a YA paranormal adventure called BAD GIRL SCHOOL (formerly CURSEBUSTERS!). Nine of the mysteries are about a female New Orleans cop Skip Langdon, five about a San Francisco lawyer named Rebecca Schwartz,two about a struggling mystery writer named Paul Mcdonald (whose fate no one should suffer) and four teaming up Talba Wallis, a private eye with many names, a poetic license, and a smoking computer, with veteran P.I. Eddie Valentino.

In Bad GIRL SCHOOL, a psychic pink-haired teen-age burglar named Reeno gets recruited by a psychotic telepathic cat to pull a job that involves time travel to an ancient Mayan city. Hint:It HAS to be done before 2012!


Winner of the 1991 Edgar Allen Poe Award for best novel, that being NEW ORLEANS MOURNING.

Former reporter for the New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE and the San Francisco CHRONICLE.

Recently licensed private investigator, and thereon hangs a tale.

Resident of New Orleans, Louisiana

Reviews

[Bonnye Reed]

TheFussyLibrarian

[Susan Tuttle]

Love the Rebecca Schwartz series. Julie Smith never goes too much into backstory, and she hooked me right at the beginning. I recommend this series to everyone who love sassy, flawed, courageous heroines spiced with a soupçon of humor.

[Judy]

This compilation has two (volumes 4 & 5) in the Rebecca Schwartz series. Julie Smith is probably better known for her mysteries featuring Skip Langdon which are set in New Orleans, but I liked these somewhat lighter mysteries set in northern California. In this one, Rebecca heads down to Monterey to visit with an acquaintance and enjoy the Monterey Aquarium where her friend works, but her behind-the-scenes visit is spoiled when they find the director of the aquarium's body floating in one of the tanks. On top of that, it appears that her friend is being framed for the murder. Rebecca goes into defense lawyer mode, and also agrees to take care of her friend, now client's kids. In the 5th book, Rebecca's law partner reveals herself to be a psychic, and uses that ability, along with Rebecca's more mundane investigation skills to track down a murderer. The book also includes a bonus short story. Both books have some fun twists and interesting personalities. I enjoyed them enough that I'm going back to read the first three in this series.

[Ericka N.Blackwell]

Meh 2 books in the middle of the series

I'd never read this author, got this box set free and wasn't really feign any of it. I didn't care about the main character. This was an author issue. The subtle religious overtones, serious judgmental behavior, forays into philosophy dragged these stories out longer. When the characters were connecting and building their relationships and discovering their complexities is where this author excelled. The mysteries were cool. Doubt I'll go back and read books 1-3 or go forward, just too unnecessarily convoluted around the main character's religious, philosophical, ethical questions.

[K.T.]

I really liked both these novels in the boxed set. Having read a couple of the Paul McDonald books, I was surprised to discover it was the same author. I wasn't over enamoured with Paul, reading two books and then stopping. But Rebecca is a whole different take on detective novels. Exceptionally well written, she's got much more about her and seems to contain everything Paul lacks. Apart from being a commitment phobe. Both of them are equally flawed in that area. She's feisty, brave and full of determination. She grew on me very quickly and the mysteries were sound and gripping. Loved both of them. Would definitely read more in this series, as long as Julio gets to stay...

[Sharon M. Turner]

A very involved lawyer.

Rebecca Schwartz is a compassionate friend and lawyer. These two books and the short story "Blood Types" are well written, very interesting, and filled with great descriptions and wonderfully real conversation. You are lead through the death or deaths and the search for clues in a logical manner and great endings. I'll be looking for more by Ms. Smith.

[Amy]

Fantastic series

These last two books definitely were quite a bit darker than the first three in the series, but they were equally as witty and consuming. Having read this entire series in about a week to a week and a half and looking back, I can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoyed the development of the colorful cast of characters in this series. I'd highly recommend this series to anyone who loves a good mystery!

[Susan Drago]

Good Series!

Fast-paced, well-written. All the mysteries are different, and each could stand alone, but it's much more fun to just keep reading. Rebecca goes through quite a bit of soul-searching, and growing with each new challenge.
Clean books with only occasional cussing, no steamy love scenes.

[Keith Withers]

Intriguing

Highly intriguing series of books from a quality mystery /drama writer.. Julie Smith has the ability to involve the reader in all the action whilst still holding them on the edge of the scene.

[Lee Hoekje]

In general I like all of the Julie Smith books I have read, and I think I have read them all. They are easy reads with out being insulting to the readers intelligence. The first one of this pair is interesting in that it teaches a lot about salt water aquariums and the fish.

[Sharon]

2 stories, 2 mysteries, each involving somewhat quirky groups of characters and background activities beyond the scope of the crimes to be solved. For me too much excess narrative resulting in my drifting away from the story. 3 star reads

[Juquita Self]

Good

Like the other Rebekka Schwartz books these were great but again I do not like the foul and vulgar language. She could have her characters us good gosh or some other non foul comment.

[Janet]

I have to say that I enjoyed myself more reading about the Monterey Aquarium than finding out who murdered the boss lady. Fluff and fun is what I expected, and it was mostly there. Enjoy a quick and easy read!

[Bonnie]

I couldn't get very interested in this story. Part of the problem is obvious: I started with book #4 in the series. Maybe I'll get the first book sometime, but I don't know if I'm interested enough to do that.

[Barbara Finley]

a lawyer who could find the truth no matter where it takes her. I enjoyed this book very. Good job, waiting on the next read.

[Mike Whitehouse]

Good and soso

I enjoyed book 4 it kept me interested with a good story line, but I found book 5 dragged on, the only good thing was the villain was a complete surprise and the bonus book was a lesson of Paternal love a man has for his daughter.

[Janice Williams]

many twist and turns, kept you guessing till the end

[CHERYL YEAGER]

Rebecca

Loved the stories. The characters were just hilarious. The crimes were secondary to the way the characters interacted with each other.

[Lisa Tollard]

Bloodtypes

Just had to have just a little more from Rebecca Schwartz. I will miss her . Can't wait to read more from this author

[Christine Hayes]

was good

[Beverly]

Fun mysteries based in SF. Books canbe read individually but are more interesting read in order as they have interwoven information about the main characters.

[Heather Williams]

Good book

Good book. Didn't know who did it until the last minute. Can't wait to finish the series and see what's next

[Delia Papas]

Murder

Innocent starting of a summer day. Hikes, dogs, kids and accident. Never know how it will affect others. Mystery until the end.

[Patty McClain]

Took awhile to read was more exciting in books 3 and 4. Didn't get to see how relationship between her and Rob and her and Julio ended.

[Colleen]

Excellent reads

Thought provoking yet entertaining! A bit of humour mixed with murder mystery and just real people living real lives in a raw world!

[Deborah Taylor-French]

Grab these page-turners. Go for the series.
I liked the main character, Rebecca Schwartz because she behaved as a well-educated and bright person, but she also challenged her own thinking. Rebecca also is a risk taker, which is what readers want from an amateur detective.

These are entertaining and thought-provoking mysteries.
I have read all five and recommend Julie Smith's Rebecca Schwartz Mysteries.