The Mother Shadow

Claire Conrad & Maggie Hill #1

by Melodie Johnson Howe

When a temporary job for Ellis Kenilworth leads to her playing a major role in his will, Maggie Hill enlists the aid of private eye Clair Conrad to uncover the story behind this strange event

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Melodie Johnson Howe is a mystery author and former actress. She began writing as a child, composing plays such as Nevada—a western that ended with the villain being sent to his room—and began acting in the mid-1960s. For a decade, she worked in movies alongside actors such as Clint Eastwood, Alan Alda, and James Caan. In the early 1980s, she left the Hollywood grind to pursue her dream of writing mysteries.

Howe’s first novel, The Mother Shadow (1989), featured Claire Conrad and Maggie Hill, whom Howe describes as “the female answer to Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin.” It was nominated for an Edgar Award, and was followed by a sequel, Beauty Dies (1994). Howe is also acclaimed for her short fiction. Her most recent book, Shooting Hollywood: The Diana Poole Stories (2012), is a collection of short stories starring a forty-year-old actress trying to make a comeback.

Reviews

[Melissa McShane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melodie Johnson Howe's writing history (and aren't we all grateful to Goodreads for making such things so easy to find) is one of those oddities you have to wonder about. After writing two mysteries--this one is the first--she goes for about twenty years without publishing anything except a couple of short stories. This despite the fact that her Claire Conrad/Maggie Hill mysteries are excellent, funny, and clever. Couldn't she find a buyer for the third? Was there a third? Or did she just run out of ideas? Like I said, it makes me wonder.

Maggie Hill is a failed novelist in her thirties, working temp jobs as a way to avoid life. When her current employer entrusts her with a secret codicil to his will, then blows his brains out, Maggie gets caught up in the mystery of where the codicil is and why the dead man's suicide note is missing, not to mention a case of blackmail and the further mystery of why the missing codicil leaves a four million dollar coin collection to a woman the dead man had never met.

At this point, enter Claire Conrad, eccentric and talented detective, and unwitting heir to the fortune. When Maggie brings the problem to her, thinking Claire might be interested in the money, Claire ropes Maggie into the investigation. Claire is, as stated, eccentric--she wears only black or white, on alternating days, she won't ride in anything but a Bentley, and she has a butler/bodyguard who's altogether too sexy for Maggie's comfort. She's also very good at her job. Together they solve not only the mystery of the inheritance, but a secret the dead man's family has worked for decades to conceal.

With contemporary mysteries there's sometimes a desire to compare the main character to another, more famous literary detective. I think the cover copy calls Claire Conrad a "female Nero Wolfe," which means little to me since I've never read any Rex Stout novels. To me, Claire is fairly unique. She's tough and clever and funny, and I liked her interactions with Maggie, whom she invariably calls Miss Hill. Maggie's interactions with Bolton (Boulton? Again, the curse of the audiobook) are just as good. They have some serious sexual chemistry going on, though I was disturbed by the scene in which Bolton tries to convince Maggie that she needs a gun by "assaulting" her in a semi-sexual way. I didn't think Bolton was sufficiently apologetic--it's clear he was making a point and just did it stupidly--and I felt Maggie might have gotten over it a little too quickly, but aside from that their relationship is complicated and interesting.

The mystery itself is interesting, particularly as it takes a right turn away from where you think it's going at first. It ends up being two mysteries, one of which only happens because someone's trying to cover up the other mystery. Howe has an excellent narrative style, with good imagery and characterization. Unfortunately Howe chose to use the recurring phrase "virginity is making a comeback" as a metaphor for the downward spiral Maggie's life is in, and that got tedious before the first chapter was finished. Aside from that, I loved her visual style, with descriptions that made the book come alive without weighing down the narrative.

A word about the audio version of this book: the reader was good at inflection and terrible at making distinctions between voices. Bolton is English, so his voice was easy to identify, but on occasion I had no idea who was speaking. A different reader would have improved the listening experience immensely.

I'm in the middle of listening to the sequel, Beauty Dies, and don't like the idea that there won't be any more. I've become fond of these characters and wish Howe had come up with some more adventures for them to share.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mother Shadow – Brilliant Crime Novella

The Mother Shadow by Melodie Johnson Howe is a wonderful crime novella that introduces us to the female private detective Claire Conrad and Maggie Hill who becomes her assistant. What I like about this novella is that Melodie Johnson How has a writing style that reminds me of the doyen of crime writers Agatha Christie. There are no wasted words or padding, short sweet and straight to the point and the imagery given is so clear. Claire Conrad is a mixture of Miss Marple and Hercule Poroit with more money a couple of servants living in the cottage of a closed hotel.

Maggie Hill is working as a temporary secretary for Ellis Kennilworth at the home he shares with his mother, brother and sister. Maggie has been asked to report an hour earlier and duly turns up to find that Ellis is meeting with an ambulance chasing seedy lawyer. Maggie is required to type up a codicil to his will giving his coin collection worth over $4million to Claire Conrad for services yet to be rendered. Later that day Ellis kills himself then the mystery and twists kick in.

Maggie finds that the codicil is missing; her apartment has been turned over in burglary in search for the codicil and the suicide letter which also has gone missing. It is when Maggie goes to meet Claire Conrad to advise her of the missing codicil things start to get interesting. In the course of the investigation we uncover incest, blackmail, murder and financial double dealing and the hidden love child.

Throughout this thriller the shadow of Eleanor Kennilworth looms large over the story and how she is not only the head of the household but has what seems like unseen powers. It is only when her family is threatened that she reacts and when she does it is devastating. Eleanor Kennilworth is a ball breaking no nonsense matriarch whose will must be observed at all times.

The Mother Shadow is an excellent introduction to Melodie Johnson Howe’s work and her upright and correct private detective Claire Conrad and leads to more Conrad-Hill mysteries which I look forward to reading. This is sleuth writing at its finest and deserves a wider audience.

[Thebooktrail · Rating 3 out of 5]

A female detective and her female butler solve mysteries in Hollywood

Full booktrail here: Booktrail of The Mother Shadow

Story in a nutshell

Maggie Hill - thirty-five with a short-lived writing career and a broken marriage. You might say that things aren’t going too well but she’s keen to stay in California so she finds temporary work.

Her latest employer, the wealthy Ellis Kenilworth, has just asked her to type up his will that states that everything including his rare coin collection is to go to someone named Claire Conrad. Then Kenilworth shoots himself in the head.

Maggie now has to find this Claire and to see the will is carried out. But it’s not going to be such an easy thing to do. She and Claire have to protect the man’s dying wish but the hyenas are circling….

Place and setting

First published in the 1980s, this book contains some lovely items such as mentions of pantyhose and shoulder pads but it merely goes to reinforce the old glamour of LA such as depicted in the tv shows of the same era – Dynasty comes to mind?

There is a contrast in LA - rich and poor, LA and Pasadena, Maggie Hill, and Claire Conrad – the first seems to be the queen of the temps whilst Claire Conrad is more alert and organised – but when these two misfits at first come together to try and solve the mystery of the Kenilworth case, there is a lot of Hollywood and Californian banter which results.

"Pasadena has a highly polished Calvinistic shine that will never tarnish"

Claire Conrad is quite a unique character and it made for a refreshing change to have someone like her in a book about mystery and detection. Her working with Maggie Hill is a strange dynamic and at first you might think that it won’t work but it does and its compelling to read. I want to meet this Claire, I think she and I would get along great.

The complicated web of deceit and mystery is good too as it’s a mix of two mysteries circling at once. The second only really happens when people are trying to mask the first. Oh what a tangled web we weave.

There are some humorous and witty moments dotted throughout too – is this the Hollywood irony of the author creeping through? Whatever it is, it worked for me and there were gems of joy amidst the detection work –

Being a detective is a little like being a magician. When you’re doing something devious with your left hand, make sure the audience is looking at your right hand.

The Hollywood landscape, a detective story, two mysteries and a large dose of wit make this a unique read.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This woman-centered mystery from the late 80s has been a favorite of mine since high school, though most parents would probably consider it too worldly for their teens because of the language and sexual content. I'm not in tune with standards for young readers these days, but I'm sure my mother would not have been pleased if she'd known I'd read this book in the early 90s.

I recently picked up The Mother Shadow again, and though it's a bit dated (e.g. who still refers to women as "liberated"?), it continues to make me laugh out loud and even pause to admire Howe's vivid and well-crafted prose. I've too often been disappointed with the amatuerish offerings among best-selling mysteries these days, and it's probably because The Mother Shadow set the bar pretty high for me.

If you're looking for a mystery that doesn't take itself too seriously but pays attention to detail and develops very likable characters, give this oldie but goodie a try.

[Andrea]

Billed as the "West Coast answer to Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin", this story revolves around Maggie Hill, a temp whose latest job brings her into the investigations of detective Claire Conrad.

This is not a note-for-note copy of the Nero Wolfe books - there are plenty of resemblances, but some strong differences, most particularly in Maggie, who is here being introduced to the detective business, while we only meet Archie properly ensconced as Wolfe's man about town. Nor does Maggie have Archie's snap and patter, but she's an enjoyable heroine, with a jaded 80s Hollywood air.

While we don't have Archie's zing, and Conrad doesn't quite match Wolfe's eccentric and arrogant brilliance, this is still an enjoyable and complex mystery which kept me engrossed.

[Sean Michael McCord · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worthy heir of Raymond Chandler

I devoured all of Chandler’s work when I lived in L.A., and have poked my way through his lesser imitators. Melodie Johnson Howe took me completely by surprise. Claire Conrad is a wholly original character, with Maggie Hill as her Dr. Watson. What a delightful pastiche of Sherlock Holmes and Phillip Marlowe, with the City of Angels as a backdrop. I look forward to more.

[Emg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sort of uneven; some cleverness, some cutesy-ness. Characters weren't really consistent.

[Nathalie Hoffmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muito bom!!

[Kat Walter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dated, but thoroughly enjoyable. I think it was supposed to be a series, but there is only a book two.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maggie Hill is called to the home of her temporary employer, Ellis Kenilworth regarding an important document. This at first seems to be an ordinary, if a bit mysterious request. However, it becomes central to a murder investigation after Ellis’s sudden death. Maggie feels she can provide an important clue to the cause of his death, if only she could prove it. She teams up with the enigmatic Claire Conrad, who has a past with Ellis, to learn the truth about his death.

This book is a mixed bag for me. It started out slowly and was hard for me to get into reading it. The plot sometimes meanders and gets confusing. The book includes some amusing, perceptive lines from the very beginning, such as when Ellis’s self-centered widow declares, “I’m so preoccupied with my own life, how can I remember what other people do?”. However, it still took some time for me to relate to Maggie. She is smart and independent, but she can be annoying and hard to relate to.

The book picks up for me once Maggie meets Claire Conrad. The unusual pairing of the two intelligent, outspoken, but vulnerable, women is the highlight of this book. They make a great team as they work together to get to the bottom of Ellis’s murder. If the two could have begun working on the case from the very beginning of the story, the book would have been much more enjoyable.
I like the way the story is told, which reminds me of the style of author Susan Kandel. However, this mystery by Melodie Johnson Howe, contains much stronger language that instead of adding realism, almost seems to be included for shock value. The story would have been just as good or better without it. This is a unique mystery with a classic feel although it is definitely modern in the characters and telling of the story. Although the story doesn’t always flow smoothly, I was interested to see what Maggie and Claire would do next and how the case would be resolved.

3.5 stars

I received this book from NetGalley, through the courtesy of Open Road Media, in exchange for an honest review.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Mother Shadow (from Net Galley and Mysterious Press/Open Road Media) introduced two interesting characters: Maggie Hill and Claire Conrad (well, and the butler)--so three interesting characters. The Mother Shadow was nominated for an Edgar Award, but sadly, the series ended after the second book.

Here is the Net Galley blurb:

After a suicide, two oddball female sleuths investigate a coin collection that is anything but small change

Maggie Hill’s life has become temporary. Her marriage was temporary, her jobs are temporary, and if work doesn’t pick up, her time in California might be temporary, too. Her latest employer is Ellis Kenilworth, an aging coin expert with a first-rate collection and a tenth-rate family. One morning, he has Maggie type up a codicil to his will, changing the document so that his million-dollar rare-coin collection goes not to his kin, but to a woman named Claire Conrad. By the end of the day, the codicil has vanished, and Kenilworth has killed himself with a shotgun.

When the hyena-like family starts to circle Maggie, she reaches out to Conrad. The heiress is an eccentric private detective who wears only black and white—and whose sense of honesty is as clear-cut as her wardrobe. Together, they fight to protect an old man’s final wish, battling against a family so greedy that they would steal the coins right out of the dead man’s hand.

Although the book has flaws and is certainly dated (shoulder pads and panty hose), I loved the idea of these three sleuths (can't overlook the handsome, multi-talented English butler) and look forward to the second book, Beauty Dies, originally published in 1994, because I feel sure that the characters continued to develop. I'm sorry the author decided to end the series before the characters had a chance to pursue more adventures, but I think I'll look for Beauty Dies anyway.


Mystery. originally publ. 1989; republished Feb. 2013. print version 263 pages.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the contrast between this detecting team – Maggie Hill, queen of the temps, and sophisticated, shrewd and insightful Claire Conrad – as they untangle one of the most complicated webs of self-deception, deceit, blackmail and murder.

Maggie Hill’s your feel everything woman and Claire Conrad seems all brain, few emotions, but together, along with Claire’s handsome, butler and bodyguard, solve one of the more intriguing and complicated crimes emanating from perhaps the most prestigious family in Los Angeles – this is the beginning of a brilliant series of mysteries that are equal to anything out there.

You’ll be riveted to this one!

[Otto Penzler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mother Shadow is Melodie J. Howe’s Edgar-nominated debut about Maggie and Claire, two smart, clever, and tough female sleuths. Howe’s mystery has been likened to the novels about Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe. When Maggie’s wealthy employer unexpectedly kills himself, she is left to deal with the will and his family. But there’s more to Mr. Kenilworth’s family than meets the eye, and it’s up to Maggie and her brilliant partner to get to the bottom it.

[Katherine Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this very strange book with one sleuth who was a female Sherlock Holmes and the first person protag as amateur sleuth. I went back and forth between really liking the book and finding it to over the top. I haven't figured out where I stand. I'll read another.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: when her wealthy boss commits suicide, his temporary employee Maggie Hill finds herself circled by greedy kin. She turns to PI Conrad.