Death Pays the Rose Rent

Tori Miracle #1

by Valerie S. Malmont

Lickin Creek, Pennsylvania, is light-years from New York City, where Tori Miracle earned her first fifteen minutes of fame as a novelist.  Now Tori and her two cats have come to Lickin Creek to visit her friend Alice-Ann--and to attend the town's annual Rose Rent festival honoring Alice-Ann's obnoxious husband, Richard.  Generations earlier, Richard's ancestor, worried about the state of his soul, allowed churches to build on his land in exchange for one red rose as rent.  Now the town has made it an annual celebration.  But Alice-Ann is celebrating something She's about to divorce Richard--until Richard turns up dead, his body adorned by a single red rose.  

Now Tori is being pulled into a homicide investigation spearheaded by an unnervingly handsome cop, crowded with aristocrats, wanna-bes, and some ghostly presences of the past.  In fact, all of Lickin Creek, from its historic castle to its labyrinth of Civil War-era tunnels, is haunted by secrets, including the one that won't stay dead and buried--and hasn't stopped killing yet.  .  .  .

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Crime, Cozy, Murder Mystery

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 1994

About the author

Valerie Skuse Malmont grew up in a foreign service family and lived in several different Asian countries. She now lives in Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[Kavita · Rating 2 out of 5]

What is it with these modern American cosy mystery writers that really gets on my nerves? The characters always seem to be really nasty, misogynist and stupid, and this book was no different. The main female character, Tori Whatshername goes barging into other people's homes and behaves badly with the host. The host, in his turn, also behaves badly with our 'heroine'. Then soon enough, everyone is behaving badly with each other and it's a perfect fest of badly behaved small town people.

Speaking of badly behaved people, why do these books always have a disgusting macho character who makes fun of the female lead character and firmly puts her in her place and then they fall in love? Really? How exactly is it gentlemanly to push a woman you asked out on a date into the car so that she falls on her face? And then proceeding to laugh and joke about 'women who can handle themselves'? WHY do authors have to do this? It's disgusting, it's not funny. If anyone's even listening, please don't do it.

The plot was mediocre. The first hundred pages were a snoozefest, but it picked up after that and how! The corpses began to fall faster and faster as you turn the pages. Sadly, some of the murder situations were pretty contrived. The background to the murder was rather - supernatural, and this NOT being a supernatural story, the author simply could not make it believable.

The writing was good. The descriptions and some of the events were interesting and if only the characters had been better, I might have actually enjoyed the book in spite of the stupid plots.

Overall, a book much better left unwritten, and definitely better left unread.

[Mystereity Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

Tori Miracle was an aspiring crime reporter in New York City when, after being shunted to the unwanted role of fashion reporter, quit her job to become a novelist. After penning her first novel, The Mark Twain Horror House, she waits in her tiny, rundown apartment to hit it big. After an invitation from her best friend, Alice-Ann, to visit her in rural Pennsylvania, Tori packs up her clothes, her cats and her typewriter and jumps on a bus. Soon after arriving, she learns her friend is having marital issues with her husband, Richard. Not long after, Richard is found dead and Alice-Ann is the prime suspect.

I really enjoyed this book, from the easy style of writing to the characters to the rich plot. It was easy to sink into and I really liked the off-beat but likeable characters. The only issue I had with the story is that Tori makes several references to prior events, making it sound as though there was an earlier book in the series. It's too bad there isn't, because it sounds like it would make an even better book than this one. Just a touch of the supernatural in this story, and also caves. I like caves. I would love to be exploring all those paths under the town!

I have to say, I did figure out who the bad guy was because they were constantly ignored on the list of suspects. Just a bit obvious, but like I said, the rich plot was so great that I couldn't stop reading.

I deducted half a star because of all the Edison idolizing. I'm not a fan of Edison, he was less a brilliant inventor and more a fraud who took credit for the discoveries of many of his employees, like Nicola Tesla for example. Ugh. Stop the idolizing, please!

Overall, a really great start to a series and recommended for anyone looking for a light read and a great mystery.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had actually read #2 some years ago and just got around to reading the first in the series. This one was a bit complicated...murders, caves, a machine that supposedly lets one communicate with the dead. Tori is an investigative journalist and writer (having completed her first novel) and out of work, so she travels to see her friend in Lickin Creek. I found the authors naming of some of the towns a bit ludicrous, but all in all this was a pretty good mystery. However, we do have the romance building after just a week's time.

[Christine (KizzieReads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I was constantly flipping back and forth on who did the murders, there were several comments about overweight people that just hit me the wrong way. It was constant within the first half of the book. It was meant to be offensive as some of the characters used the weight of other characters to hurl insults. Also, the romance was a bit rushed. They only knew each other for a day or so, and all of a sudden they care deeply about each other.

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting setting, enjoyable characters, unusual mystery.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in a fictional town in a fictional county somewhere between the real Adams and Franklin counties in Pennsylvania, but sounding more like an outsider's stereotypical misconceptions of rural West Virginia or Tennessee, this series has its flaws, most notably (in my opinion) the rather condescending description of the colorful locals. I live here, I know these people, and while most of them aren't urban sophisticates, they're a lot more three-dimensional and less hickish than portrayed in these books. But putting that aside, if you like mildly humorous cozy mysteries, I think this series will keep you entertained.

[Missy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book #55 read in 2007

Although I thought this was slow-going at times, I really enjoyed the story. I like Tori Miracle a great deal because she was a little self-conscious and funny. She seemed "real". The supporting cast was okay too. I will read more in this series.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining read with interesting characters and location.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book - I think I'd like to read more in this series.

[Pam Bales · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book one in the Tori Miracle mystery series, this was a nice read.