All's Well That Ends

Author Gillian Roberts finishes her Amanda Pepper series with yet another wonderful mystery. In this one, a childhood friend posits that her stepmother did not kill herself but was murdered. Nothing seems to indicate anything but suicide, but Amanda is nothing if not a loyal friend.

Reading the 14th and final book in the series proved bittersweet. The title says goodbye, and, if that weren’t enough, there hasn’t been another entry in the series since this novel was released in 2007. I would love to read about Amanda Pepper and her husband Mackenzie in their new life in his native Louisiana, but, alas, it was not to be. Like Amanda, though, I need to treasure what I have and not pine for what’s not to be. It’s time for a new show more adventure. show less

Knowing in advance that you are about to read the last novel in a beloved series is very bittersweet. There is an urgency to once again visit with favorite characters, to learn of their newest adventures, to imagine solving the latest mystery with your favorite sleuth and the most profound hesitation to read "The End."

There have been so many delights in reading this series:
• Setting in Philadelphia, PA (city of my birth)
• Amanda Pepper, English Teacher Turned Sleuth
• Loved the furry face Macavity the cat [An English Teacher would certainly be aware that Macavity is a fictional character who is described in a poem in “Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats,” by T. S. Eliot. He also appears in Cats, the Andrew Lloyd Webber show more musical.]
• It was such fun to continue guessing the true name of C.K. Mackenzie and follow the progression of friendship between Amanda and C.K.
• Loved all the interactions between Amanda and her students and Amanda and the school secretaries over the course of the series especially as some of the conversations brought very special memories of my teaching years.

I shall miss all the characters and the delights of the writing by Gillian Roberts. I haven't felt this way since reading "Assault & Beret" (the last novel of the Hat Shop Mystery series) by Jenn McKinlay. I understand that Gillian Roberts (pseudonyn of Judith Greber) has also written the Emma Howe Series so although it appears there are only two (2) novels, I will add them to my "to-read" list.

If you've enjoyed the series as much as I have, don't miss the interview available at this link:
https://mysteristas.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/judith-greber/ show less

Pleasant, well enough written, but not all the way there. Sigh.

Publishers Weekly
Roberts brings her Amanda Pepper series to a satisfying close with this 14th and final installment (after 2006's A Hole in Juan), in which the Philadelphia English teacher cum PI-in-training investigates an apparent suicide as she and her criminologist husband, C.K. Mackenzie, prepare to relocate to New Orleans. Manda's friend Sasha Berg doesn't believe that her stepmother, Phoebe Ennis, really killed herself, so she asks Manda to look into the circumstances around her death. Phoebe, married five times, may have been the victim of Merilee Wilkins, an angry business partner who blames her for the failure of their pet shop and her own marriage; Dennis Allenby, Phoebe's obnoxious son; or perhaps a date found on the show more Internet. Another murder in Phoebe's home (put up for sale) heightens the stakes. Roberts weaves in lively classroom scenes, as the studious, witty sleuth also draws on her husband's detecting skills and a student's dilemma to arrive at a surprising solution to both crimes. Having earned her PI certification with flying colors, Manda makes a graceful exit, bidding Philly Prep-and her fans-goodbye show less