Heart-Shaped Box: A Claire Montrose Mystery - Hardcover

Henry, April

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060196556 ISBN 13: 9780060196554

Publisher: Harpercollins, 2001

Synopsis

Amateur sleuth Claire Montrose gets more than she bargained for when she attends her twenty-year high school reunion and a secret admirer sends her a heart-shaped box marked with death, and she must uncover an elusive killer.

About this title

About the Author

April Henry lives with her husband and daughter in Portland, Oregon, where she works in corporate communications. Heart-Shaped Box is her third Claire Montrose mystery, after Circles of Confusion, which was nominated for the Agatha and Anthony Awards for Best First Novel, and Sqaure in the Face.

Reviews

Amateur sleuth Claire Montrose continues to beguile but is underutilized in her third appearance, following Square in the Face (2000) and the Agatha- and Anthony-Award-nominated Circles of Confusion (1999). At the 20th reunion for the Minor (Ore.) High School Class of '79, held at Ye Olde Pioneer Village Theme Park, some things haven't changed. Cindy is still a tease and a flirt, even if she does have a husband in tow. Sawyer was a dreamboat teacher; now he's a dreamboat politician and the guest of honor. Wade was strange then, but he's stranger now and was even institutionalized for a spell. Dick was a geek. Now he owns a high-speed modem company worth a fortune. He's still a geek. Claire was thin and shy and poor and smart. She's less poor now and the presence of Dante, her handsome boyfriend, ought to make her feel more confident. But reunions have a way of resurrecting old insecurities. Several women at the western-themed opening night receive mysterious presents: small, handcarved boxes. Cindy gets one before she dies in the theme park parking lot. The nondescript Kyle, a cop and a member of the returning class, does most of the sleuthing. Alert readers will ignore the slew of overly obvious suspects and quickly arrive at the true identity of the killer. The selection of cute vanity plates (Claire's previous job was vetting plate applications for hidden obscenities) at the end of each chapter are worth a thin smile at best. (Feb. 2)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

When Claire Montrose (Circles of Confusion) attends her class reunion in Minor, OR, with her art-curator boyfriend, she remembers the peccadilloes of various classmates. Cindy, ever the head cheerleader, leads a cheer for the computer nerd who made it big. Before long, though, Cindy is dead in the parking lot, clutching a heart-shaped box with her picture in it. Unfortunately, Claire and five others received similar boxes, so the sleuthing rush begins. Suspects include the aforesaid nerd, an ex-mental patient, Claire's high school boyfriend, and others. Lively action, a tidy circle of appealing characters, and a focused, small-town location make this a solid work for all collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Henry's previous Claire Montrose mysteries have fallen short in the plot department, but this one takes a step in the right direction. As the story begins, Montrose has traveled to tiny Minor, Oregon, scene of her 20-year high-school reunion. When female classmates begin to be murdered, Claire must question just how well she knows her former friends. Providing moral support is Claire's boyfriend, New Yorker Dante, who is so nice and understanding that he's a snooze of a character. Much more interesting are her sexy, secretive ex-boyfriend, Jim Prentiss, and actress Jessica McFarland, a former high-school hussy. Fear spreads as several women, including Claire, receive heart-shaped boxes like those clutched by the murder victims. Henry makes the most of the reunion premise, giving the always likable Claire some support in the form of an interesting supporting cast and a little genuine suspense. Now if only Henry would dump the tiresome device of ending each chapter with a vanity license plate that readers can puzzle out or look up in the back (2CHEEZY). Jenny McLarin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Harpercollins
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060196556
• ISBN 13: 9780060196554
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 264