Deadly Beloved

by Jane Haddam

Gregor Demarkian (15)

On This Page

Description

A gated Philadelphia suburb is home to a shocking murder in this mystery featuring Armenian-American ex-FBI agent Gregor Demarkian.   Fox Run Hill is the kind of place that men move to with their second wives, but Patsy MacLaren Willis has been married to Stephen, her first husband, for twenty-two years. Though outwardly happy, Patsy feels disconnected, hating their empty life. To wrench herself free, she shoots Stephen three times and leaves him dead in their bed. Calmly, she drives away show more and disappears.   While investigating the case, former FBI agent Gregor Demarkian finds that every wife in Fox Run Hill has good reason to kill her husband--except for Patsy. It's well-known that suburbanites lead lives of quiet desperation, but the families in Fox Run Hill are more desperate than any Demarkian has ever seen. show less

Tags

Recommendations

Member Reviews

3 reviews
Far more of the usual police proccedural than has been the case with several of the earlier books in the Gregor Demarkian series. In this one, the preparations for Donna Moradanyan's wedding are about to consume Philadelphia's Cavanaugh St--almost literally. Slowly but surely, every available surface is being covered by white and silver wedding decorations, sparing only the street and sidewalks themselves. As usual, Haddam provides a light-hearted, affectionate look at life in the Armenian-American community of Cavanaugh St.

But the comic touch so evident in previous books is missing from the main plot in this one. Here it's a straightforward investigation of 3 murders involving pipe bombs and a vanished wife. The plot is well done.

All show more the old favorite denizens of Cavanaugh Street are back and are as quirky as ever. The first real hint surfaces that Gregor and Bennis might progress beyond just "friends". show less
This volume has one of the best plots in the series. A woman in a suburban gated Philadelphia development murders her husband and disappears. Her car is blown up in a parking lot later the same day. Haddam goes into the lives of her neighbors and her old friends from Vassar.

Good read.
I enjoyed this book but can't figure how the previous book can end with Gregor and Bennis talking about going to Spain together and then no mention of it in this book and they are back to their sibling like relationship.

Members

Recently Added By

Author Information

Picture of author.
45+ Works 4,878 Members

Some Editions

Catalano, Sal (Cover artist)

Series

Common Knowledge

Canonical title
Deadly Beloved
Original publication date
1997-09
People/Characters
Evelyn Adder; Henry Adder; Joey Bracken; Molly Bracken; Gregor Demarkian; Peter Desarian (show all 18); Russell Donahue (Russ); Bennis Day Hannaford; John Henry Newman Jackman; Tibor Kasparian (Father); Kevin Lockwood; Sarah Lockwood; Donna Moradanyan; Tommy Moradanyan; Karla Parrish; George Tekamanian; Liza Verity; Patsy MacLaren Willis
Important places
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA; Pennsylvania, USA
First words
There was a fog in Fox Run Hill that morning, a thick roll of gray and black floating just an inch above the ground, like some mad scientist's dream mist in some ancient horror movie. (Prologue: Walking Down the Aisle to the ... (show all)Funeral March)
Quotations
'I can always be myself with you.'
'No, you can't.'
'I should know, Gregor. It's me we're talking about.'
'Bennis, in case you haven't noticed, there is something you and I don't do together. And as long as we don't ... (show all)do that together, then, unless you're much less vital a person than I have ever suspected, there will be times when you could not possibly be yourself with -'
'My, my,' Bennis said, 'what's this conversation starting to be about?'
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Elizabeth would have loved to be present at a wedding like this.

Classifications

Genres
Fiction and Literature, Mystery
DDC/MDS
813.54Literature & rhetoricAmerican literature in EnglishAmerican fiction in English1900-19991945-1999
LCC
PS3566 .A613 .D38Language and LiteratureAmerican literatureAmerican literatureIndividual authors1961-
BISAC

Statistics

Members
149
Popularity
219,264
Reviews
3
Rating
½ (3.55)
Languages
English
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
5
ASINs
1