Saks & Violins

by: Mary Daheim

Published by: William Morrow

Reviewed by Sharon Broom

Hillside Manor B&B proprietors Joe Flynn and Judith McMonigle Flynn have a new neighbor. Symphony violinist Rudi Wittener and his young girlfriend Taryn are renting Joe's ex-wife's house next door to the Flynn's B&B. The tight-knit neighborhood is up in arms because Wittener practices at all hours of the day and night and has been known to practice outside in the nude.

When a group of Wittener's friends (who all seem to be crazy) come to visit, they take up residence at Hillside Manor. Dolph Kluger, Wittener's mentor, is one of the guests. And while the neighbors would love to kill Wittener, it is Kluger who dies. Following the death, a valuable violin bow goes missing and Judith's cousin Renie's credit cards are stolen.

Judith and Renie have money problems. Renie's credit cards are maxed and her graphic design business is slow. And Judith's B&B is tied up by the police who are trying to solve a murder so there's no money coming in at the moment. Judith and Renie jump into the fray to solve the murder and keep themselves solvent.

Mary Daheim keeps the reader guessing in Saks & Violins. It's an interesting amateur sleuth novel, but there is too much happening and it becomes frenetic and confusing at times with the large cast of characters. Judith's elderly mother makes numerous appearances. Her degrading and mean-spiritedness makes her character one I'd like to knock off. She's overly demanding and calls everyone (including her daughter and son-in-law) awful names. I also found Judith to be a contradiction. She's great at solving crimes but behaves like a doormat, allowing everyone and anyone to walk all over her and then just sighs.

Armchair Interviews says: Saks & Violins is a good mystery, but one that could better.