Artful Dodging: The Torpedo Factory Murders

by M.S. Spencer

Milo Everhart is waiting out the rain in a pub when she is captivated by the handsome man next to her. Blocking the road to romance are two mysterious corpses who turn up in the tower of her Torpedo Factory Art Center. As if that weren't enough, a second crisis erupts—a proposal to gut her beloved art center.

Tristram Brodie, hard-driving lawyer and former Marine, is focused on his plan to convert the Torpedo Factory into a box store. He is drawn to the beautiful Milo, but their mutual attraction will be frustrated by both the murders and his intentions. As they edge closer to love, they must find a way to overcome not only their differences but also the still-fresh memory of her late husband.

270 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 24, 2012

About the author

Although M. S. Spencer has lived or traveled on five continents, the last 30 years have been spent mostly in Washington, D.C. as a librarian, Congressional staff assistant, speechwriter, editor, birdwatcher, kayaker, policy wonk, non-profit director and parent. Once she escaped academia, she worked for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Department of the Interior, in several library systems, both public and academic, and at the Torpedo Factory Art Center. She holds a BA from Vassar College, a Diploma in Arabic Studies from the American University in Cairo, and Masters in Anthropology and in Library Science from the University of Chicago. Ms. Spencer has two fabulous grown children and a perfect granddaughter. She divides her time between Maine and Florida.
Writing as M. S. Spencer, she has published sixteen cozy mystery and romantic suspense novels.

Reviews

[Erin O'Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Artful Dodging is a hot read--a mystery with a plausible, tantalizing romance that literally had me at “hello.”

Milo, a handicraft artist, shares an artists’ enclave with several other artists in an abandoned torpedo factory in Washington DC. She accidentally meets Tristram, a drop-dead-handsome lawyer and former Marine. The two of them, both unusually attractive people, are naturally drawn to each other.

The romantic scenes are sizzling and believable. They left me, well, a little limp yet still craving more. And I think that’s how both the characters feel too after they couple and then spin off each other in different directions, then come back together again throughout the novel as they move around each other in the age-old dance. Because, you see, the rich Sam Walton-type who wants to turn the factory into a big-box store is represented by...ah, yes, Tristram.

She resents his obvious belief in this tycoon’s idea of progress, even while he thinks she is somewhat an idiot for not seeing the obvious benefits to the proposed arrangement. Sparks fly. Clothes are removed. Love is shared, then forsaken. Gripping and enchanting! The reader also learns that each character has lost a spouse, and the past is too painful to allow another love to change their lives.

Oh, and lest I forget...this is also a murder/suspense/ mystery novel. Not just one but two corpses show up in the torpedo factory, and Milo is caught up in the mystery as the super of the building is held for the murders. Meanwhile a whole array of other characters indulge in “artful dodging” as they avoid being held as suspects too.

The “artful dodging,” then, refers not just to the suspects, but to the would-be lovers as they each try to forget their past. But will they find that the past has shaped their future?

At last, Milo must confront the murderer and also a choice between past love and future happiness. This is a tale told by an author full of humor, wit, and a sure hand for shaping both believable characters and an engaging narrative. Yes, a must-buy.

I wrote this review for Amazon on July 6, 2012 and share it with my Goodreads friends.

[Rick Bylina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I won this book in an online contest back in the summer. Though listed as a "mainstream mystery romance," there should be a nod to erotica for unsuspecting buyers. I'm not a prude. Nonetheless, I was surprised when this breezy little tale with a self-deprecating heroine, a drop-dead gorgeous leading man, and a clutch of mildly off-beat characters dipped into something else, and then dipped again, and again. If you like your sex spread out on the pages, you'll enjoy the intense love-making scenes.

Artful Dodging is well written with an intriguing murder angle that occurred a bit too far into the story. Downside, I didn't believe completely the romantic rapport between Milo and Tristram other than two horny people who wanted to rock the town. In real life, he'd be in jail for a potential date rape the first time and kidnapping the third time they rode the bullet express into the dark tunnel. Kudos, though, to the author on not revealing their pasts at first opportunity. Lesser writers would have stopped the story upfront to lay out the back story. I enjoyed the reveals.

Sadly, there wasn't much tension with respect to the murder plot. The usual finger pointing of potential suspects was there, but I never had the sense that Milo was in any danger while she snooped until the climactic scene. The murder explanation by the murderer during the climax was a bit hard to swallow, and then we had to have the murder plot(s) explained away during eighteen additional pages after the climax and between more romantic dalliances. Oh, yeah. And what's with "Isis’s irritable sneezes and the occasional shaking of her feathers?" Isis is a cat! Haha. Without the strong writing, this would have been a three, but she scores better because of the writing. It's a low-range "4."

[Rochelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book I’ve read by M.S. Spencer and it did not disappoint me. Her books are tightly written, her characters well-drawn and she keeps me guessing who did it right up until the end—which is difficult to do, because I usually guess at least halfway through. But when you read her biography, you can understand how she manages it. Ms. Spencer is well-educated, well-traveled and she brings a wealth of experience into her writing, along with a finely-honed sense of the craft. Bravo. I highly recommend this book.

[Mark Love · Rating 4 out of 5]

Artful Dodging is a well crafted tale with the perfect mix of unique characters, intrigue, passion, challenging relationships and conflicts. Add in the local scenery in Virginia, plenty of food and drink and some very heated romantic interludes and you have the perfect recipe for an entertaining read. Spencer's characters are so real, it's easy to get drawn into their lives. About the time you think you've figured things out, she throws in a curve or two to keep you guessing.


So if you're interested in a good mystery mixed with some smoking hot passages, what are you waiting for?

[Sarah Bentley · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was. Well.

It was a book with sentences written in English.

When the sex was described it was hilariously bad and made me cringe in horror, though the first time our main character has sex with her love interest it's just straight up date rape. But hey, at least the characterization of the love interest remains consistent throughout the book.

Now, the murder mystery. It was terrible. There was nothing clever about it, nor was it a comedy of errors which I think is what our author intended? I am unsure. The police investigation was so painfully incompetent as to be unrealistic; every single artist in the book should have had just as much motive and opportunity to commit the murder as the character who was falsely accused and arrested. But no, we jump straight to the character we are told is beloved by all and arrested under the flimsiest of...hell there wasn't even any evidence pointing to him. He was just a convenient placeholder to try to make the reader worried about his fate. It didn't work.

I don't mind being able to guess the murderer and motives halfway through the book, I really don't. I enjoy picking up small clues throughout the text, and the feeling of vindication when you read the end and guess right.

This was not that. While I did guess the murderers and motives halfway through the book, there was no satisfaction in it. There was no clever obfuscating, and then the author felt the need to describe how the murders were committed twice. In detail. Just in case the reader hadn't figured it out.

But hey, at least it was a quick read, and I couldn't look away from the first half the same way you can't look away from a train wreck. And then, when I was halfway through, I was determined to finish out of some desire to know precisely how bad this book was.

[Book Him Danno · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Artful Dodging is a fun well paced hot romance with the right amount of mystery. The characters are off beat allowing readers into the world of M.S. Spencer.
The sex is spread throughout the pages and sometimes takes over the story.
Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of M.S. Spencer ArtFul Dodging: The Torpedo Factory Murders

[Barbara Tobey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Confusing murder mystery. Clever way to have two separate murders intertwine. The two leading characters were interesting. I enjoyed the romance until it became too steamy for me. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley.