Fall to Pieces

Kate Banning #3

by Cecelia Tishy

Amateur sleuth and single mother Kate Banning steps in to prevent the murder of popular country music star LilyAnn Page, who has been targeted by a series of deadly "accidents." Reprint.

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Cecelia Tishy, author of the Kate Banning Mystery Series, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but lived in Boston for twenty years before moving to Nashville, where she teaches American literature at Vanderbilt University and launched her second career as mystery novelist.

Reviews

[Jaie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was the most annoying and frustrating mystery novel I've ever read. There are so many useless and pointless details that add up to absolutely nothing, and I'm not even talking about false clues. I don't need to know how many slices of pie a random person had in a restaurant. The main character's morning routine is of no interest or relevance. Moments of actual plot are so rare that I found myself exclaiming, "Finally!" whenever one arrived. These pointless details are even used to manufacture suspense, but this backfires. I found myself saying out loud, "Get to the point, already!"

I guessed who the killer was about halfway through, but that's only because I know how mysteries work. This book doesn't play fair or give you guessable clues along the way. The whole thing is misdirection and wasted time. Even the detective can't figure things out until she stumbles upon a particular clue completely by accident.

I don't think I'll be reading the other books in the series. There are better mystery series out there.