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Christine Bennett #8
The Valentine's Day Murder
THE BIG CHILL
What really happened that tragic Valentine's night on Lake Erie? No one knows. Three old buddies--reckless Matty, successful Clark, clever Val--decided to cap Val's birthday celebration with a stroll across the frozen lake. They never returned. Matty's scarf was found snagged on broken ice.
After the thaw, only the bodies of Clark and Matty are recovered--the latter with a bullet in it. Val remains missing, now a murder suspect. His desperate wife pleads with ex-nun investigator Christine Bennett to find him and prove his innocence.
A tall order, especially when Chris starts hunting for clues in the lives of these respectable suburbanites and their wives. And when she closes in on a truth that chills her to the bone, she suddenly finds herself skating on very thin ice.
From the Paperback edition.
What really happened that tragic Valentine's night on Lake Erie? No one knows. Three old buddies--reckless Matty, successful Clark, clever Val--decided to cap Val's birthday celebration with a stroll across the frozen lake. They never returned. Matty's scarf was found snagged on broken ice.
After the thaw, only the bodies of Clark and Matty are recovered--the latter with a bullet in it. Val remains missing, now a murder suspect. His desperate wife pleads with ex-nun investigator Christine Bennett to find him and prove his innocence.
A tall order, especially when Chris starts hunting for clues in the lives of these respectable suburbanites and their wives. And when she closes in on a truth that chills her to the bone, she suddenly finds herself skating on very thin ice.
From the Paperback edition.
272 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 28, 1996
About the author
Lee Harris
97 books77 followersA pseudonym used by Syrell Leahy.
Lee Harris is the author of the mystery novels featuring ex-nun Christine Bennett, who first appeared in The Good Friday Murder, an Edgar Award nominee. She also writes the New York Mysteries, which debuted with Murder in Hell's Kitchen. In 2001, Lee Harris received the Romantic Times magazine Career Achievement Award for her distinguished contribution to crime writing.
Lee Harris is the author of the mystery novels featuring ex-nun Christine Bennett, who first appeared in The Good Friday Murder, an Edgar Award nominee. She also writes the New York Mysteries, which debuted with Murder in Hell's Kitchen. In 2001, Lee Harris received the Romantic Times magazine Career Achievement Award for her distinguished contribution to crime writing.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 17, 2020
Why would three grown men take off across the frozen expanse of Lake Erie on a hike to Canada? That's what everyone asks when Matty, Clark, and Val (Valentine) set off across the lake after celebrating Val's birthday. The men disappear--leaving only a hole in the ice and a red scarf behind. Was it really a harmless challenge gone wrong? Or did one of them set out across the ice with murder in his heart on Valentine's Day?
Right after the disappearance, Val's wife asks Christine Bennett to look into the mystery because she's sure her husband is still alive even though the police are certain all three perished that night. But Chris's life is pretty full already--she's expecting her first child and she & her husband Jack have just hired builders to put an extension on their house--so, she turns the woman down. Later, after the ice thaws, two bodies are found and one of them was shot. Now the police are willing to believe that Val is alive, but they also think he's a murderer. His wife is just as certain he's not a murder as she was that he is alive and she wants Chris to prove it.
Chris is reluctant at first, but Jack urges her to go ahead ("You know you're interested"). Soon, she's knee-deep in another investigation and it isn't long till she realizes that nothing is exactly what it seems. The answer is even more tragic than the apparent murder between old friends.
I've really enjoyed digging into these mysteries again (I know...what about all the books you haven't read at all? Shhh. I'm comfort reading.). Interesting characters and interactions and this book packs a few surprises at the end that may have been timely in the 90s, but they're actually even more relevant today. As I noted in my previous re-read (The Christening Day Murder) these may not be clued in the way an armchair detective might like, but they are good little mysteries with solid plots--and just right for quarantine comfort reading. ★★★ and 1/2.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
Right after the disappearance, Val's wife asks Christine Bennett to look into the mystery because she's sure her husband is still alive even though the police are certain all three perished that night. But Chris's life is pretty full already--she's expecting her first child and she & her husband Jack have just hired builders to put an extension on their house--so, she turns the woman down. Later, after the ice thaws, two bodies are found and one of them was shot. Now the police are willing to believe that Val is alive, but they also think he's a murderer. His wife is just as certain he's not a murder as she was that he is alive and she wants Chris to prove it.
Chris is reluctant at first, but Jack urges her to go ahead ("You know you're interested"). Soon, she's knee-deep in another investigation and it isn't long till she realizes that nothing is exactly what it seems. The answer is even more tragic than the apparent murder between old friends.
I've really enjoyed digging into these mysteries again (I know...what about all the books you haven't read at all? Shhh. I'm comfort reading.). Interesting characters and interactions and this book packs a few surprises at the end that may have been timely in the 90s, but they're actually even more relevant today. As I noted in my previous re-read (The Christening Day Murder) these may not be clued in the way an armchair detective might like, but they are good little mysteries with solid plots--and just right for quarantine comfort reading. ★★★ and 1/2.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
February 27, 2021
Yet another spell binding mystery by Lee Harris. I am not reading them in the order they were written, rather in the order of the calendar year. Featuring Christine Bennett, a former nun turned crime sleuth, this book begins on Valentine's Day with the disappearance of three men, one of whom is named Valentine and whose birthday is Valentine's Day. What really happened on Lake Erie that Valentine's Day is a mystery. Did Valentine, Matty and Clark really try to walk across the ice to Canada? Where are the bodies? Did anyone survive? Read it. I didn't solve it. (I got close)
September 1, 2020
Not to be confused with the gangland Valentine's Day massacre, this story involves the solving of a murder case by a former nun (Chris). The police are at a standstill trying to figure out the drowning of two men and the whereabouts of a third. Chris is able to resolve the whole situation after several trips between NYC, Buffalo, Connecticut and Ontario.
February 10, 2019
Easy reads but so far ending that are not 100% easy to solve. Love that!
December 2, 2019
Boring, drawn out, and quite predictable.
January 17, 2020
Another good story. Lee Harris sure knows how to put together a good mystery!!
February 5, 2021
fun for valentines day.
June 15, 2021
Not sure if I'm going to continue this series. Maybe one more book to see how things go, but I find Bennett's leaps of intuition a bit hard to believe.
August 3, 2021
I'm usually pretty good at guessing the ending. Pleasantly shocked at the end.
February 15, 2017
Second time around because it's Valentine's Day. So far I'dont remember this mystery as well as the others. Number 8 in the Christine Bennett series and this had more twists and turns and a lot more bits and pieces of information to sort through. Three old buddies--reckless Matty, successful Clark, clever Val--decided to cap Val's birthday celebration with a stroll across the frozen lake. They never returned. It also happens to be Val and his wife's wedding anniversary and he is named after the holiday that's being celebrated (i.e. Valentine's Day). Ouch! Chris finds out she and Jack are expecting their first child and she is a little nervous because she's over 30. I was very involved with all the details trying like Chris, to fit the puzzle pieces together. The author even has an interesting sub-plot regarding the missing men that I'm sure was a relevant issue in the 90's. I've been reading this series out of order because of whatever holiday comes up, and I do intend repeat them. Our heroine is very likable but I would like to see what happens when she doesn't tell any of her suspects about her former life as a Nun.
August 29, 2014
#8 in the Christine Bennett series. The series has followed ex-nun Christine since she left the convent at age 30, after 15 years. In the three years since then, she has fallen in love, married a police detective/law student, become pregnant, and incidentally solved eight murders, most of them cold cases. An intriguing series.
Christine Bennett series - When three old friends disappear on Valentine's Day, two are later discovered murdered and the third, still missing, is accused, prompting his desperate wife to appeal to ex-nun-turned-investigator Christine Bennett for help.
Christine Bennett series - When three old friends disappear on Valentine's Day, two are later discovered murdered and the third, still missing, is accused, prompting his desperate wife to appeal to ex-nun-turned-investigator Christine Bennett for help.
February 13, 2013
Classic murder mystery book read by 95-year-olds in their nursing home...and apparently me.
August 19, 2014
aw, even on Valentine's...I can think of a few
March 31, 2011
solid series read
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews