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How to Murder the Man of Your Dreams (1995)

by Dorothy Cannell

Series: Ellie Haskell (6)

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269497,794 (3.56)11
Life has been hectic in the Haskell household, but a lull in household affairs should allow Ellie time enough to slim down, pick up the threads of her interior design career, and kick the romance-reading habit that keeps her from her marital boudoir. But murder rears its ugly head when the body of the Chitterdon Fells librarian found sprawled among the library stacks. The only positive side of the untimely demise is the arrival of male romance cover model, Karisma, come to town to strut his tawny mane and sun-bronzed muscles for a fund-raiser in the late lamented librarian's name. But when hunky Karisma's entourage is poisoned, and the spouse of a Library League newlywed dies mysteriously, fantasy life careens toward a collision course with reality. Ellie must find a clever killer before she meets a sinister and decidedly unromantic fate! Fizzing with deadly wit and outrageous secrets, How To Murder The Man Of Your Dreams is a mystery to swoon for.… (more)
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» See also 11 mentions

Showing 4 of 4
couldn't get into it and didn't finish it. ( )
  kathp | Jun 10, 2022 |
This book does not live up to its fun & quirky title.

There is absolutely no sleuthing involved in this “mystery”. The primary murder doesn’t occur until the penultimate chapter, and the protagonist realizes almost immediately who did it. Although several deaths occur throughout the book, no one is particularly concerned about them.

Most of the tedious narrative centers on the day to day life of Ellie Haskell: her insecurities, her household chores, her attempt to restart her career, and her quotidian participation in village life. By her side is her oversexed husband Ben who spends most of the book trying to come up with ploys to get himself laid, and then sulks when his plans fizzle because Ellie has other things on her mind. Ellie herself lives in perpetual dread that someone will find out that she & Ben met via an escort service.

And there is a brainless Alpine nanny complete with dirndl and braided hair yodeling nonsense throughout the story.

If you’ve been dying to read 230+ pages detailing the inner thoughts of a middle aged woman who is convinced she is fat & worthless, this is the book you’ve been waiting for; everyone else will want to give it a miss. ( )
  missterrienation | Nov 2, 2021 |
After the mysterious death of the local librarian in Chitterdon Fells the Library League decides to place a bust of the deceased woman in the library. Ellie, who has just hired an au pair for her twins, agrees to contact romance paperback model Karisma to ask if he will appear in a fundraising event. In an apparent accident, Karisma meets his maker in the library. Ellie doubts that the rash of deaths in her small community is just bad luck and, setting her mind to it, finds no shortage of murder suspects. This is a cozy-style mystery: written about the happenings in a small village, with a lot of emphasis on the characters. It has a good deal of dry humor - sometimes so dry you almost miss it. The mystery itself is confusing -- lots of people die, but not necessarily of unnatural causes; the depiction of the village's two librarians is stereotypical; and two of Cannell's best characters, Freddy and Jonas, are not here -- they are away on a camping trip! This is still a fun read, if you enjoy the British sense of humor. ( )
  siubhank | Oct 29, 2007 |
Ellie finds herseld involved in hosting the pin up models for romance novels. Love seems to be in the air, but murder is also. The library ghost seems to be the one involved. ( )
  meyben | Jun 8, 2007 |
Showing 4 of 4
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Prologue: No one in the village suspected that Miss Bunch had a man in her life.
Chapter One: The Chitterton Fells library is a friendly Tudor building on the corner of Market Street and Spittle Lane.
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Life has been hectic in the Haskell household, but a lull in household affairs should allow Ellie time enough to slim down, pick up the threads of her interior design career, and kick the romance-reading habit that keeps her from her marital boudoir. But murder rears its ugly head when the body of the Chitterdon Fells librarian found sprawled among the library stacks. The only positive side of the untimely demise is the arrival of male romance cover model, Karisma, come to town to strut his tawny mane and sun-bronzed muscles for a fund-raiser in the late lamented librarian's name. But when hunky Karisma's entourage is poisoned, and the spouse of a Library League newlywed dies mysteriously, fantasy life careens toward a collision course with reality. Ellie must find a clever killer before she meets a sinister and decidedly unromantic fate! Fizzing with deadly wit and outrageous secrets, How To Murder The Man Of Your Dreams is a mystery to swoon for.

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