Reunions Can Be Murder

Charlie Parker #7

by Connie Shelton

Charlie gets her newest case (the seventh in this bestselling mystery series) when an ill-tempered female attorney hires her to find the family's missing patriarch in time for an upcoming family reunion. The elderly man took off two months earlier to do some gold prospecting in the hills of southern New Mexico. Charlie agrees to ask around but privately she thinks the old man probably just left town to avoid his irritating daughter.

However, when she visits the almost-ghost town of White Oaks, Charlie comes upon a body that could be the missing Willie McBride. The mystery deepens and Charlie finds herself hiking Arizona's Superstition Mountains in search of the truth. What she finds leaves her facing a huge moral dilemma and there is no one to ask for advice.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Fiction, Audiobook, Crime

266 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2002

About the author

My love of books started with weekly trips to the library as a child and from the moment I learned to read I can't remember a time that I didn't have at least one book going. For the past 25 years, that list has grown to include what I'm reading and what I'm writing at any given time.

I began writing my Charlie Parker series when my husband and I lived on Kauai, then continued them in my home state of New Mexico. Charlie lives in Albuquerque and manages to travel to a variety of locations, wherever her investigation business and her husband's helicopter business take them. My second series featuring Samantha Sweet, the 50-ish woman who breaks into houses for a living, is set in Taos, New Mexico.

In addition to reading and writing, I've traveled quite a lot, taught writing courses, and been a speaker at a whole lot of mystery conventions and writing conferences. In my spare time I also love to paint, draw, cook and spend time at the beach.

Series:
* Charlie Parker Mystery

Reviews

[Kathleen Hagen]

Reunions Can be Murder, by Connie Shelton, B. narrated by Stephanie Brush, produced by Books in Motion, and downloaded from audible.com.

Charlie Parker, (Charlie short for Charlotte, is a CPA in partnership with her brother, Ron, who has started a private investigation business. Ron is out of town when a particularly obnoxious woman comes and insists on hiring Charlie to find her father in time for their family reunion. The woman makes such a fuss that Charlie takes the case and begins looking for the man, Willie McBride. It becomes clear that Willie hasn’t lost his adventurous spirit, is always going off to find lost mines and buried gold in New Mexico and Arizona, and that he does not want to be found, is not interested in a family reunion, and doesn’t think much of his children either. Then, a corpse is found and soon two more people die in an explosion in a mine. Charlie, drawn into this against her will and disliking her employer, finds she must solve the mystery of where Willie McBride is. It’s a nice easy read and a nice fast-paced adventure. Stephanie Brush is an excellent reader who I haven’t heard before.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very little of Drake, and not great when he was around; kind of odd really. Also little to see of the brother, but there was one scene in particular I liked very much. I liked Charlie a lot in this one. I also enjoyed some of the secondary characters in this outing, especially Keith. High 3s; would have been 4 with a better use of Drake.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unlikeable client hires Charlie to find her missing gold prospecting father.

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlie Parker is the accountant for her brother's private investigator business. But when he is gone on vacation and a demanding female client wants help this instant, Charlie takes on the case to find the woman's missing father. Little did Charlie know that this hunt would take her from New Mexico to the mountains of Arizona and back as people were killed, she was chased, and she followed clues to find the missing 84 year old man who was faascinated with prospecting.

A interesting cozy with lots of twists, turns, and surprises. Very enjoyable.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlie and Drake is so interesting, and I was also comparing Charlie and Sharon McCone, another of my fav female sleuth.

This book is centered on an old man going to prospecting. the scenes from the book sure painted some really dry places I don't want to be in and this 80 yo man wants to be alone out there by himself. Of course, his oldest daughter and son wasn't a great prize, just waiting for him to croak to take over the family inheritance.

going to find the next one....

[Jennifer Duff · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite this far

I am reading this series straight through from book one and honestly feel that Ms. Shelton has truly found her stride here with Charlie's character, as well as those of her clients and the people she meets as Charlie solves this latest case. Looking forward to the next book!

[Laurel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Charlie and her dog. The other characters, the action, and the portrayal of what should be a good setting are all kind of lackluster. Lots of Charlie driving, walking, and riding around. I'm more of a cozy mystery in a tight location person so that was annoying. All told, though, this was an easy read with little stress which is good before bed.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlie sets out to find 80 year old Willie McBride who has been missing for a few months according to his daughter. On her hunt she finds a body who turns out to be another old timer who was a friend of Willie’s.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kindle

[Kathie D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good series and a different reader from the first 6, thats an improvement

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book, a page turner

I enjoyed how the book made you not want to put it down. I look forward to reading more. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did

[Connie Whitcomb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like the Charlie Parker series and this book was especially good.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story but happy to finish this audiobook with the irritating narrator!

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice read, interesting characters.

[Jan Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. As an accountant I like one not portrayed as boring or anal or other negative stereotypes.

[Kelly Rosales · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the series that is set in Albuquerque. The writing is not amazing, but the main character and setting are enjoyable to me.

[Camille · Rating 3 out of 5]

From my blog: http://books-camilleelise4.blogspot.com

Reunions Can Be Murder by Connie Shelton


I got the audio version of this book to listen to from my library.

So, I listened. And listened. And listened.

While cleaning. While baking. While driving.

80 something year old Willie McBride has gone missing, and his daughter, Dorothy, has hired Charlie to find him in time for their family reunion.

As much as Charlie detests Dorothy, she takes on the case and heads out to find his whereabouts, starting with following his trail to a nearby town to hunt for gold. As it turns out, his hobby is prospecting for gold, which is where he often goes off to with no notice to his family.

But as Charlie investigates she finds herself caught up not only in a gold rush scandal, but tied up with drugs, explosions and dead bodies.

Will Charlie be able to solve the mystery of Willie McBrides whereabouts? Or will the truth put her in grave danger?

Read Reunions Can Be Murder to find out!

I definitely enjoyed getting to know Charlie Parker better in this novel. It took a while to adjust to the first-person narration, as I rarely read a book with this narration style.

I was again unable to figure out the "whodunnit" element of the mystery, and kept listening and listening, intrigued to find out! I will say, Connie Shelton weaves a good mystery tale!

I definitely think this book is a great choice for anyone who loves a great mystery! And as I mentioned in my last review of a Charlie Parker mystery, the novel is clean fiction! While Charlie and her husband are still newlyweds in this novel, once again Connie Shelton doesn't give explicit details. We know they are happy and madly in love, but there is no need to read the explicit details of their romantic lives. I think it's so much more romantic to know they're happy than to read X-rated details about what they do in the bedroom.

This is the seventh book in the Charlie Parker mystery series, and I highly recommend this book, though I didn't love it quite as much as Honeymoons Can Be Murder. You can read my review of that novel by clicking here.

All-in-all, 3.5 out of 5 stars!

[Lesley Looper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping this book would be more genealogy-related, since "reunions" is in the title, but it was still a decent story. Glad I read it, even if it took me 3.5 months.

[Elaine]

#7 in the Charlie Parker mysteries

[Skeeter Jorgensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlie Parker mystery. It was very good, kept me interested to the very end, lots of suspense and twists. Looking forward to more of the Charlie Parker series.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the Charlie Parker books. They hold my attention.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy crime read. Main character is likeable enough....

[Nancy Shaffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read on Kindle.

[nellie long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome adventure!

I have gotten to know Charlie well, it is fun to see what she and Rusty will get into next!

[Susie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m going to need the author to write a lot more of these!