Stefanie Matteson

Charlotte Graham, a sixtyish silver screen legend, has a reputation as a sleuth. Charlotte visits a friend’s health spa for a health cleanse and ends up involved in figuring out who murdered two of the spa’s other guests and why. This is a fairly well done story. However, initially, there are a lot of characters introduced, which makes it a bit difficult to remember just who everyone is and how or if they are related to the story. I found the many, many wordy descriptions of the spa and show more its offerings a bit too much. In fact, I think the book would have been more enjoyable with less focus on what the spa was known for and supposed to do—or even if the setting were something else besides an old fashioned spa for the uber rich. Frankly, I am not really interested in knowing what you can get for huge amounts of money at these spas, and found it less than interesting to wade through the many, many descriptions of the offerings, the staff and the clientele. I personally think the author should have focused more on the main character and her sleuthing abilities, especially as they related to this story.
The pot was an interesting though not very creative one, and involved esoteric science that the average person might never be familiar with, or at least that is what I thought as I read the book. However, the basic plot really did not concern most of this science, but it merely provided a backdrop for the setting. Character development was okay, but not as good as I think it could have been. There were lot of red herrings thrown into the mix, which only added to my difficulty keeping things straight. The main character Charlotte is a fairly good one, but I did not think the author spent enough time developing her as a bona fide sleuth, though that may come with time in later books. I have not read anything else by the author, so have nothing of hers to which I can compare this story. I do think that the reader who enjoys a cozy mystery will enjoy this one, especially if he or she has an interest in the way the rich spend their time and money to look younger. I received this from NetGalley to read and review. show less

Mystery about an aging (but still attractive) actress who takes a trip to China and becomes involved in murder. Opens with an interesting I China reading by a friend at her vacation place in Maine at what is clearly intended for Bar Harbor ("Bridge Harbor")

Second in the series in which the detective is Charlotte Graham, an aging Oscar-quality movie actress. This is set in Maine on the coat (not inland where my father's family lived, but an area often visited when young). The coastal town is called bridge Harbor but is clearly based on Bar Harbor. The mystery begins with the poisoning of a dog, but moves on to the poisoning of the dog's owner.