Straight As an Arrow - Hardcover

Sibley, Celestine

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060163054 ISBN 13: 9780060163051

Publisher: Harpercollins, 1992

Synopsis

A bungled attempt on the lives of her friends Nora and Phil Noble sends Kate Mulcay off to Ila Island, where she discovers that her own beach house has been occupied in her absence and Phil has been murdered

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

Atlanta reporter Kate Mulcay (Ah, Sweet Mystery, etc.) hurries to Ila, a barrier island off Florida's coast, in response to a call for help from Nora Noble, who, with husband Phil, lives there year- round. Kate and her late husband Benjy vacationed there, in a house they built themselves. Now, according to Nora, someone is out to decimate the tiny population. Two men, both ardent protectors of the island's pristine state, have died; a young woman visitor has disappeared; and Phil is in the hospital after a heart attack caused by someone aware of his phobic fear of snakes. Death and mayhem follow Kate's arrival as she struggles to find the driving force behind it all, aided by wily old-timer Ash, who sees all and says little. He's a sturdy support when she homes in on the fairly obvious villain and flies a plane, for the first time, to save the latest victim. Much coming and going in cars, boats, and planes; endless talk of dogs, cats, and more exotic animal life; mostly dull and chirpy characters--all make for a fussy, only mildly engrossing story. Add a plus for nature lovers. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly:

Intelligent, plucky widower Kate Mulcay (last seen in Ah, Sweet Mystery ) carries this murder mystery, the resolution of which will be apparent even to novice armchair sleuths. Atlantan Kate is called to Ila Island off the Florida coast, where she has a vacation home, by her friend and year-round resident, Nora Noble. Suspecting that island residents are being killed, Nora asks Kate, who is a reporter, to investigate. Before Kate can get there, Nora's husband, Phil, who is afraid of snakes, suffers a non-fatal heart attack when he finds a rattler in the living room. Soon Kate is attacked by a wildcat in her cabin. Then Phil suffers another heart attack (fatal this time) when he sees a snake in the cockpit of his island-hopping plane. Kate becomes convinced that Nora's isn't just an hysterical reaction and that a killer is loose on the island. Attentive descriptions of the tiny island and its inhabitants enliven a predictable story.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harpercollins
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0060163054
• ISBN 13: 9780060163051
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 213