Paula Paul
Author of Symptoms of Death
About the Author
Disambiguation Notice:
Paula Paul uses the pseudonyms Paula Carter for Mystery by Design Series and Catherine Monroe for The Barefoot Girl and The King's Nun.
Series
Works by Paula Paul
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Paul, Paula Griffith
- Other names
- Carter, Paula
Monroe, Catherine - Birthdate
- 1938
- Gender
- female
- Occupations
- novelist
journalist - Short biography
- Award-winning novelist Paula Paul was born on her grandparents’ cotton farm near Shallowater, Texas, and graduated from a country high school near Maple, Texas. She earned a BA in journalism and has worked as a reporter for newspapers in both Texas and New Mexico. She’s been the recipient of state and national awards for her work as a journalist as well as a novelist. Her previous novels featuring Dr. Alexandra Gladstone, including Symptoms of Death, have appeared on bookstore and online bestseller lists. She is also the author of the Mystery by Design series, which she wrote as Paula Carter. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (From Penguin-Random House)
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Shallowater, Texas, USA
- Places of residence
- Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Texas, USA - Disambiguation notice
- Paula Paul uses the pseudonyms Paula Carter for Mystery by Design Series and Catherine Monroe for The Barefoot Girl and The King's Nun.
- Associated Place (for map)
- Texas, USA
Members
Reviews
Queen Victoria has secretly found her way to the small Village of Newton-upon-Sea in hopes of hosting a séance with local psychic Alvina Elwold in order to contact the deceased Prince Albert. Queen Victoria is an undisclosed guest of Lady Forsyth at Montmarsh Castle where the covert séance is planned to take place; only Alvina is found murdered at the graveyard before she can perform and a local man swears that he saw the Queen flee the scene. When local doctor, Alexandra Gladstone is show more called to aid an ailing Lady Forsyth by her son, Lord Dunsford, it is clear to Alexandra that there is more contributing to Lady Forsyth’s condition than her illness.
A murder mystery in Victorian England, featuring Queen Victoria herself-I couldn’t resist. As I began reading, I realized that this was the fourth book in the series; however I did not feel lost at all. I immediately felt connected to Alexandra, a doctor practicing medicine in a time when women are banned from being physicians. She is confident, intelligent and has a soft spot for the people of her village. The rest of the characters, Lord Dunsford, Lady Forsyth, Nancy, and even the Queen formed an interesting, humorous and eclectic cast. The mystery of the dead medium was not that difficult to figure out or involved; however, Medium Dead provided a quick, shorter, light mystery with entertaining characters.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review. show less
A murder mystery in Victorian England, featuring Queen Victoria herself-I couldn’t resist. As I began reading, I realized that this was the fourth book in the series; however I did not feel lost at all. I immediately felt connected to Alexandra, a doctor practicing medicine in a time when women are banned from being physicians. She is confident, intelligent and has a soft spot for the people of her village. The rest of the characters, Lord Dunsford, Lady Forsyth, Nancy, and even the Queen formed an interesting, humorous and eclectic cast. The mystery of the dead medium was not that difficult to figure out or involved; however, Medium Dead provided a quick, shorter, light mystery with entertaining characters.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review. show less
Irene seems to have a good life. She is an assistant district attorney In Manhatten. . She has her own apartment and seems to be content . I loved her spunk and strong personality. Yes,Irene is feeling good and loving her life. What could possibly mess it up? Could it be the phone call from her mother ? That little phone will change Irene's life forever.
In a blink of an eye, Irene is moving to Santa Fe to take care of her seventy year old mother. I did think it was quick for Irene to give show more up everything she worked hard for, but what do you do when your mother needs you? I think my favorite character was Adelle. Adelle is Irene's feisty and mean spirited mom. She says it like it is and is very stubborn. She is a woman who knows what she wants and is not shy about hurting anyones feelings. Irene and Adelle have a very strained relationship and I loved their banter between each other. The author did a great job of making Adelle a woman you hate and love at the same time.
To make money Irene opens a consignment shop which Adelle thinks is ridiculous. The adventure really starts when Irene discovers a dead body in the closet at the shop on opening day. How did the body get there? What connection does she have to Adelle? There were lots of characters that I suspected as more tragedies keep happening. Irene was impressive with her investigation and I thought the author wrote a story that was filled with deceit, secrets, and a great adventure that kept me interested in reading till the end.
The author really kicks the story in gear as the motive for murder starts being revealed and leads to a heart pounding ending. There were times when the language was a bit rough for my taste though. Overall I enjoyed the story and thought the author gave readers a good mystery with lots of action. I did appreciate the description the author gave of Santa Fe and made it easy to picture the mountains and beautiful scenery .
I received a copy of this book from The Great Escapes Book Tour . The review is my own opinion and I was not compensated for it. show less
In a blink of an eye, Irene is moving to Santa Fe to take care of her seventy year old mother. I did think it was quick for Irene to give show more up everything she worked hard for, but what do you do when your mother needs you? I think my favorite character was Adelle. Adelle is Irene's feisty and mean spirited mom. She says it like it is and is very stubborn. She is a woman who knows what she wants and is not shy about hurting anyones feelings. Irene and Adelle have a very strained relationship and I loved their banter between each other. The author did a great job of making Adelle a woman you hate and love at the same time.
To make money Irene opens a consignment shop which Adelle thinks is ridiculous. The adventure really starts when Irene discovers a dead body in the closet at the shop on opening day. How did the body get there? What connection does she have to Adelle? There were lots of characters that I suspected as more tragedies keep happening. Irene was impressive with her investigation and I thought the author wrote a story that was filled with deceit, secrets, and a great adventure that kept me interested in reading till the end.
The author really kicks the story in gear as the motive for murder starts being revealed and leads to a heart pounding ending. There were times when the language was a bit rough for my taste though. Overall I enjoyed the story and thought the author gave readers a good mystery with lots of action. I did appreciate the description the author gave of Santa Fe and made it easy to picture the mountains and beautiful scenery .
I received a copy of this book from The Great Escapes Book Tour . The review is my own opinion and I was not compensated for it. show less
*I received a copy of this upcoming book from Random House/Alibi via NetGalley in exchange for a fair, honest review**
Irene Seligman is a successful assistant district attorney in Manhattan. She enjoys her Brooklyn apartment and city life. But then her elderly mother's sixth husband dies unexpectedly, leaving her mother destitute and exceedingly needy. Seligman is guilted into moving back to Santa Fe to help her mother. She loves the old, run-down home she grew up in, but knows they will show more have to have a substantial, reliable source of income to be able to afford to live. She decides to open up a used high-fashion clothing boutique because she isn't licensed to practice law in New Mexico. With the help of her mother's knowledge of high fashion, Irene prepares to open Irene's Closet: A Second Look at Haute Couture. Just two hours away from the shop's grand-opening, Irene discovers a dead woman in the store's storage room. The woman is dressed in a $4,000 Prada outfit, but the look is not well-accessorized by the bullet hole in her head. The dead woman was one of her mother's friends, so Irene starts asking questions. Following a threatening phone call ordering her to stop her investigation, the body of another Santa Fe socialite is discovered in Irene's shop. Fearing for her mother's safety and the reputation of her new business, Irene knows she must discover the identity of the killer quickly before anyone else dies.
I had a bit of trouble getting "into'' this story because I was just shocked that a prosperous Manhattan prosecuting attorney would leave her job to go back to Santa Fe just because her 70-year old mother gave her a guilt trip. I just kept thinking that the more common sense solution would have been to help her mother financially, not drop her job and relocate back to New Mexico to live with her elderly mother. And, at times, the main character did not behave like someone who is familiar with criminal cases, suspects and police procedure, as an assistant DA would be. At one point when she is brought in for questioning about the first body discovered in her shop, Irene keeps yelling that she wants an attorney, to the irritation of the officers driving her to the station. I don't believe an assistant DA from Manhattan would have handled the situation that abysmally. But....those two annoyances did not harm my enjoyment of the story all that much. The mystery portion of the plot was well-written and engaging. There were plenty of suspects and interesting angles to the investigation. As in most cozy mysteries, Irene goes about sleuthing without thinking about the danger she might be in, or any thought at all about whether she is hampering the official police investigation or not. At one point, she is threatened with a gun but still continues to investigate without calling the police or informing them of the situation. It's pretty formula in cozy mysteries for the main character to jump in and investigate as if they have more knowledge or expertise than the local police --- but, it is a bit more serious when guns are being drawn, right? I was able to read past that as well, as we all know that in a cozy mystery the main character is not going to be shot in the face, even if she is dancing all around the murderer urging them to do it. There were some great plot twists and interesting developments that kept the pace moving throughout this book. It kept me guessing up to the end!
So, despite some formula plot aspects, this was an enjoyable, suspenseful cozy mystery! I will definitely be reading more by Paula Paul! She is also the author of the Dr Alexandra Gladstone mystery series. There are five books in that series so far.
A Killer Closet releases October 11th from Random House/Alibi. I highly recommend it for all cozy mystery fans, especially those who love the Santa Fe area and high fashion!
For more information on the author and her books, check out her website: www.paulapaul.net show less
Irene Seligman is a successful assistant district attorney in Manhattan. She enjoys her Brooklyn apartment and city life. But then her elderly mother's sixth husband dies unexpectedly, leaving her mother destitute and exceedingly needy. Seligman is guilted into moving back to Santa Fe to help her mother. She loves the old, run-down home she grew up in, but knows they will show more have to have a substantial, reliable source of income to be able to afford to live. She decides to open up a used high-fashion clothing boutique because she isn't licensed to practice law in New Mexico. With the help of her mother's knowledge of high fashion, Irene prepares to open Irene's Closet: A Second Look at Haute Couture. Just two hours away from the shop's grand-opening, Irene discovers a dead woman in the store's storage room. The woman is dressed in a $4,000 Prada outfit, but the look is not well-accessorized by the bullet hole in her head. The dead woman was one of her mother's friends, so Irene starts asking questions. Following a threatening phone call ordering her to stop her investigation, the body of another Santa Fe socialite is discovered in Irene's shop. Fearing for her mother's safety and the reputation of her new business, Irene knows she must discover the identity of the killer quickly before anyone else dies.
I had a bit of trouble getting "into'' this story because I was just shocked that a prosperous Manhattan prosecuting attorney would leave her job to go back to Santa Fe just because her 70-year old mother gave her a guilt trip. I just kept thinking that the more common sense solution would have been to help her mother financially, not drop her job and relocate back to New Mexico to live with her elderly mother. And, at times, the main character did not behave like someone who is familiar with criminal cases, suspects and police procedure, as an assistant DA would be. At one point when she is brought in for questioning about the first body discovered in her shop, Irene keeps yelling that she wants an attorney, to the irritation of the officers driving her to the station. I don't believe an assistant DA from Manhattan would have handled the situation that abysmally. But....those two annoyances did not harm my enjoyment of the story all that much. The mystery portion of the plot was well-written and engaging. There were plenty of suspects and interesting angles to the investigation. As in most cozy mysteries, Irene goes about sleuthing without thinking about the danger she might be in, or any thought at all about whether she is hampering the official police investigation or not. At one point, she is threatened with a gun but still continues to investigate without calling the police or informing them of the situation. It's pretty formula in cozy mysteries for the main character to jump in and investigate as if they have more knowledge or expertise than the local police --- but, it is a bit more serious when guns are being drawn, right? I was able to read past that as well, as we all know that in a cozy mystery the main character is not going to be shot in the face, even if she is dancing all around the murderer urging them to do it. There were some great plot twists and interesting developments that kept the pace moving throughout this book. It kept me guessing up to the end!
So, despite some formula plot aspects, this was an enjoyable, suspenseful cozy mystery! I will definitely be reading more by Paula Paul! She is also the author of the Dr Alexandra Gladstone mystery series. There are five books in that series so far.
A Killer Closet releases October 11th from Random House/Alibi. I highly recommend it for all cozy mystery fans, especially those who love the Santa Fe area and high fashion!
For more information on the author and her books, check out her website: www.paulapaul.net show less
Former New York assistant DA Irene Seligman moved home to take care of her aging, demanding mother, Adelle. She thought she was leaving a world of corruption and violence behind. But after opening her store, Irene’s Closet, and getting acquainted with the locals, she learns that violence and corruption aren't indigenous to big cities. Unfortunately, her friend Juanita Calabaza, a Native American artisan, can’t seem to escape the decidedly unfashionable surge in crime.
Juanita’s show more handcrafted jewelry has been known to catch the eye of many tourists on the plaza in Santa Fe’s historic district. However, lately, she’s been attracting the wrong kind of attention, from the police. Juanita foretells the death of one of her son's associates, which comes back to haunt her when the man actually turns up dead. Now Juanita’s trading in her turquoise beads for an orange jumpsuit. Irene will need to call upon all her old investigative skills to find a killer before it’s too late.
--
Series: A Mystery - Irene’s Closet
Author: Paula Paul
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Alibi
Accessories to Die For is an extremely original story. Ms. Paul writes an intriguing and entertaining story that will get the attention of the reader. Her writing is faultless, with little to no issues transitioning from one scene to another.
Irene Seligman is a well-rounded character with plenty of personality and a few character flaws that make her a wonderful main character that reader will enjoy learning about. She is intelligent with a curious streak that lands her in trouble more often than not. Although someone might wonder about her loyalty to her friends and family due to her legal training. Sometimes she forgets that she is no longer a DA and has trouble convincing herself to stay away from the police investigation side of crime.
Irene’s mother is a study in what a seventy-year-old woman should not be doing. She worries about what people will think, yet goes out of her way to meddle in situations that no proper lady would get involved with. Adelle doesn’t seem to understand that there are limits to what she can get away with at her age. PJ and Angel are fantastic characters play a more prominent part of the overall plot of this story.
The use of the Indian lands as well as Santa Fe and surrounding towns is a great location and setting for this story. The landscape makes for some interesting situations, and it is easy for the reader to imagine the lay of the land as it is described throughout the book.
The plot of this story is unusual for a cozy. There might be a bit too much violence for most readers of this type of material. Accessories to Die For is a good mystery but it is not easy to read. Some of the cultural background needs to be explained to the reader in order to follow the basic plot. This book cannot stand on its own without reading the other books in the series.
Although the story is fundamentally well written the solution to the murder among other issues are not resolved in a believable manner. Vital clues that would help the reader learn of the killer's identity and make the story far more enjoyable are left out of the story and are only brought to the reader's attention after the killer has been revealed. This makes for some frustration and disappointment.
Overall, if the reader has read the previous additions to this series they may well enjoy this book. Unfortunately, the ending leaves too much to be desired to make this a great book. show less
Juanita’s show more handcrafted jewelry has been known to catch the eye of many tourists on the plaza in Santa Fe’s historic district. However, lately, she’s been attracting the wrong kind of attention, from the police. Juanita foretells the death of one of her son's associates, which comes back to haunt her when the man actually turns up dead. Now Juanita’s trading in her turquoise beads for an orange jumpsuit. Irene will need to call upon all her old investigative skills to find a killer before it’s too late.
--
Series: A Mystery - Irene’s Closet
Author: Paula Paul
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Alibi
Accessories to Die For is an extremely original story. Ms. Paul writes an intriguing and entertaining story that will get the attention of the reader. Her writing is faultless, with little to no issues transitioning from one scene to another.
Irene Seligman is a well-rounded character with plenty of personality and a few character flaws that make her a wonderful main character that reader will enjoy learning about. She is intelligent with a curious streak that lands her in trouble more often than not. Although someone might wonder about her loyalty to her friends and family due to her legal training. Sometimes she forgets that she is no longer a DA and has trouble convincing herself to stay away from the police investigation side of crime.
Irene’s mother is a study in what a seventy-year-old woman should not be doing. She worries about what people will think, yet goes out of her way to meddle in situations that no proper lady would get involved with. Adelle doesn’t seem to understand that there are limits to what she can get away with at her age. PJ and Angel are fantastic characters play a more prominent part of the overall plot of this story.
The use of the Indian lands as well as Santa Fe and surrounding towns is a great location and setting for this story. The landscape makes for some interesting situations, and it is easy for the reader to imagine the lay of the land as it is described throughout the book.
The plot of this story is unusual for a cozy. There might be a bit too much violence for most readers of this type of material. Accessories to Die For is a good mystery but it is not easy to read. Some of the cultural background needs to be explained to the reader in order to follow the basic plot. This book cannot stand on its own without reading the other books in the series.
Although the story is fundamentally well written the solution to the murder among other issues are not resolved in a believable manner. Vital clues that would help the reader learn of the killer's identity and make the story far more enjoyable are left out of the story and are only brought to the reader's attention after the killer has been revealed. This makes for some frustration and disappointment.
Overall, if the reader has read the previous additions to this series they may well enjoy this book. Unfortunately, the ending leaves too much to be desired to make this a great book. show less
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