Killing Cousins (Torie O'Shea Mysteries)

Book Description

After the recent birth of her third child, Missouri genealogist Torie O'Shea is itching to get back to work. When she's approached to research and write a book about a recently deceased local woman who attained fame in the thirties and forties as a jazz singer, Torie figures she's found her new project. But her preliminary research turns up a startling piece of the woman's past: her infant son was kidnapped from his cradle in 1938 and never seen again. Back in the present day, the mayor of New Kassell, Bill Castlereagh, is fixing to legalize riverboat gambling in the small historic village, which has Torie and her neighbors up in arms, terrorized by visions of neon lights and dancing girls invading their quaint, picaresque town.Torie knows she has to do something to stop the mayor's plan before it gets started, but she's finding it hard to tear herself away from her research. She just can't stop herself from wondering what happened to that little baby all those years ago. And then a stranger in town turns up dead, throwing the town further into an uproar. Torie's got plenty on her plate, but with her knack for small town politics, expertise in genealogical research, a lot of perseverance, and a little luck, Torie might ferret out the truth behind a bizarre crime from the past with a dangerous reach into the present.AUTHORBIO: Rett MacPherson is the author of four previous Torie O'Shea mysteries, most recently, A Misty Mourning. She lives in a suburb of St. Louis, MO.

Customer Reviews:

Antiques, murder, and a biography.......2006-04-26

Torie O'Shea has just given birth to their third child, a son. And her mother has just married the town sheriff Colin Brooke. Torie and Colin don't get along great. So, she's surprised when he asks her to sort through the antiques and junk in the estate of Catherine Finch, a long-time New Kassell resident. Turns out he's a budding antiques dealer and since he and her mother are going on a cruise for their honeymoon, he can't do the sorting himself. Apparently there is a rush to get it completed.

As town historian, Torie had just been requested to write a biography of Catherine Finch. She was a popular jazz singer in the 1930s. Torie sees this as a way to learn more for her biography and agrees to help out the sheriff.

She soon discovers that Catherine never recovered from the abduction of their baby son in 1938. He was never found.

A stranger is found in an abandoned building in town. When it is discovered that he is a relative of Catherine Finch, Torie begins to wonder if his being in town and his death have anything to do with the sorting of Catherine's estate? As Torie digs further and further into Catherine's past, more things begin to happen. Are they related? Can Torie uncover the truth without putting anyone in harm's way?

This was the first Torie O'Shea book that I have read. You can bet it won't be the last. I loved Torie and the other residents of New Kassell. The writing is superb. Torie is such a fun character. I had trouble putting this book down. I kept wanting to know what happened next. I highly recommend this book!

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ANOTHER PLEASANT READ.......2004-09-14

Another pleasant read in a very pleasant series. I did feel that this was the weakest of the books already published in this series but I nevertheless enjoyed it. I did agree with on reviewer who felt that Tori was rather obnoxious in this one, but hopefully the author will get her back on track in the next. Again, I enjoyed it.

Skip This One.......2003-12-02

This series has been enjoyable until this installment.

Torie came across as a nosy, obnoxious, spiteful child. Her dislike of Colin for not letting her do whatever she wants is getting old. This is a grown woman with three children, not a 10-year-old child. Grow up, Torie.

Unfortunately, Torie comes across as so stupid and unlikable in this story that it was hard to really get into it. All I wanted to see was Colin lock her in a cell for good and throw away the key.

The worst part is that the supporting cast encourages her idiocy. Even Colin, who is supposed to dislike her constant meddling, allows her to read confidential files and shares confidential information with her, even after she blabs details of the murder that were kept secret to the entire town, in front of the press. Are these people stupid?

The other thing that was most annoying was that half of Torie's dialogue seemed to consist of her saying "Oh" in response to people. Did the author need to fill a page count?

I hope the next installment is better, or I won't be visiting New Kassel anymore.

A readable book........2003-07-13

This is a readable book; the plot moves along nicely and most of the characters are realistic. However, Torie is irritating. This is the first book I've read in this series and there is no explanation as to why Torie dislikes her new stepfather, the sheriff. So her motivation for being snide, and sometimes downright nasty, toward him is puzzling. He acts in an adult and professional manner in contrast to her being impulsive and often childish. I'm not interested in feeling superior to characters in a book. I want to admire the protagonist and enjoy the time I spend with her. Others may find Torie feisty--she makes me tired.
That being said, I might read the next book in the series just to see if Torie matures. And because Rett MacPherson is a good writer--why else would I find Torie so real?

Yes, They're Cousins, Killing Cousins and You'll Find...........2002-05-31

(Sung to the tune of the old Patty Duke Show theme song)..twists, turns danger and intrigue. How's does Torie do it? Great light reading.

Killing Cousins (Mort Sinclair Mysteries)

Average customer rating:

Unique and fascinating mystery; wonderful who-dun-it
Great mystery by a professional genealogist.
Classical mystery story for people enjoying problem-solving

Killing Cousins (Mort Sinclair Mysteries)
Gene Stratton
Manufacturer: Ancestry Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Accessories:

Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 0916489388

Book Description

Both find themselves with a multiple-murder on their hands! Use the clues provided, including family charts, to help them solve the mystery! Even professional genealogists will enjoy this unique challenge!

Customer Reviews:

Unique and fascinating mystery; wonderful who-dun-it.......2001-01-03

I greatly enjoyed this book. The plot involves both genealogy and genetics - and I didn't have a clue who the killer was. This was a marvelous and very different who-dun-it; highly unique, and very enjoyable. I strongly recommend it.

Great mystery by a professional genealogist........1998-09-16

I read this book when it was first published. As a true mystery fan (and amateur genealogist) I was not expecting such a puzzler. I can usually figure out 'whodunit' before the final few pages 80% of the time. This one kept me guessing all the way. I wish Gene Stratton would write several more of these Mort Sinclair mysteries.

Classical mystery story for people enjoying problem-solving.......1996-12-18

KILLING COUSINS by Gene Stratton, published by Ancestry, Inc. is a classical Agatha Christie-style tale brimming over with suspects and clues (Kirkus Service called it "a prime example of the bygone, ever-so-civilized mystery"). The detectives are a middle-aged savant and a vivacious younger woman who mesh beautifully as they solve a series of murders on an isolated island where everyone is related to everyone else. The story educates and entertains against a background of genealogy and genetics. The fact that the author is my husband doesn't interfere with my complete objectivity in this review in any way. Ginger Stratton

Average customer rating:

Killing Boy
Gloria Miklowitz
Manufacturer: Starfire
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Horror | Teens | Subjects | Books

Suspense | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0553560379
Release Date: 1993-11-01

Average customer rating:

Killing Cousins
Gene Stratton
Manufacturer: Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1989
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MZXQW2

KILLING COUSINS & THE BLONDE CRIED MURDER

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KILLING COUSINS & THE BLONDE CRIED MURDER
FLETCHER & JOHN CREIGHTON FLORA
Manufacturer: Ace Double Novel F-115
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000PCCW9K

Average customer rating:

Killing cousins (Cock Robin mystery)
Fletcher Flora
Manufacturer: MacMillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006AWM64

Average customer rating:

urban-noir chick-lit mystery

Killing Cousins (New York Mysteries)
Alex Minter
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Series | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0743463323

Book Description

A murderer is loose in Manhattan and he's making hotel guests his victims...

When the wives of two billionaire Texans are brutally murdered in New York's swanky Sutherland Hotel, Franklin and Felix Novak and Soraya Navarro need to move fast before the killer strikes again. Hoping to find a suspect, Felix and Soraya check in to the Sutherland, posing as wealthy lovebirds on vacation. Meanwhile Franklin looks into the shady dealings of the hotel's infamous owners, the Apples.

Is somebody trying to get vengeance on the Apples? Or are the Apple cousins, deranged Morris and slick Simon, fighting for power and using guests as ammunition? As Felix and Soraya close in on the killer, their relationship catches fire, while a corpse with a bullet in the belly throws suspicion on the least likely suspect.

Customer Reviews:

urban-noir chick-lit mystery.......2003-09-18

When the two Texas women C.J. Wallingford and Maude Stowe get on the hotel elevator, a pleasant looking man joins them. The two ladies, who are wearing a lot of heavy gold jewelry and earning a lot of money, think nothing of the extra passenger even after he whips out a stiletto and cuts their threats. After he robs them he dumps their bodies on the floor where the hotel laundry is done.

The husbands of the dead women hire private investigator Franklin Novak to find out who killed their wives since they don't believe the NYPD will find the killer. The owners of the hotel where the two women were staying, Stuart and Simon Apple, are very cooperative with the private detective, giving his son Felix and is friend Soraya, who are apprenticing to become sleuths, a free suite and tickets to the Knicks' game. As two other Apple properties are also hit, it looks like one of the Apples is trying to squeeze the other two out. The case becomes very personal to the group when someone they know is killed.

Once again Felix and Soraya demonstrate a rare wisdom and inner strength as they try to track down a killer despite the fact that she is grieving the death of a loved one. Felix, who cares about her, knows intuitively when to give her space or when to offer a shoulder to lean on when the pain becomes too great. KILLING COUSINS is a very urban-noir chick-lit mystery that will appeal to mystery fans who like the unique and unusual.

Average customer rating:
The Real Bravo Two Zero : The Truth Behind Bravo Two Zero

Manufacturer: Cassell P L C
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000HAYEP0

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The Real Bravo Two Zero: The Truth Behind Bravo Two Zero,
Michael Asher
Manufacturer: Weidenfeld Military
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSM8J4

Average customer rating:

Love this book

great pictures, makes it easy to identify birds

A book in the hand

Great indexing--especially for beginners

Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America

Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America
Kenn Kaufman
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Turtleback

General | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
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Similar Items:

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fifth Edition (National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America)

Butterflies of North America

Sibley's Birding Basics

Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America (Kaufman Field Guide Series)

National Geographic Field Guide To The Birds Of North America, 4th Edition

ASIN: 0618574239

Amazon.com

World-renowned birder Kenn Kaufman addresses a long-running paradox of bird field guides with his Focus Guide. While beginning birdwatchers prefer photographic guides like those by Donald Stokes, the physical traits that make identification easier are more readily discerned in the idealized paintings of illustrative guides like those by Roger Tory Peterson and National Geographic. Kaufman's groundbreaking work combines the best of both approaches by digitally enhancing photographic images to show the characteristics that are sometimes not apparent in photographs.

Some other distinguishing features include:

The guide is organized by bird family groupings rather than strict taxonomic classification; this is a feature that will appeal especially to beginners.
Text descriptions and range maps for each species appear on the page facing the plate of respective bird images.
Important field marks are highlighted.
Color-coded tabs identify each grouping of birds (waders, warblers, sparrows, etc.) for quick thumb indexing.

Kaufman's efforts follow the auspicious tradition of Roger Tory Peterson, whose portable field guide system was the first of its kind to meet the needs of the average birdwatcher. "It's the guide I've always wanted," says Kaufman, "and I suspect most birders will feel the same way."

Book Description

In 2000 Houghton Mifflin first published the Kaufman Focus Guide to the Birds of North America. Critically acclaimed for its innovative design, the Kaufman guide began introducing a new generation to birding. In 2005, this new Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America is now the most up-to-date field guide, including dozens of changes by the American Ornithologists" Union in official names of birds; the addition of new species to reflect the latest scientific discoveries; and dozens of updated range maps. Additional information helps beginning birdwatchers get started, all in the same compact format that has made this guide the easiest to use for fast identification in the field.

Customer Reviews:

Love this book.......2007-08-22

We use this all the time to identify the birds around us and when we travel. Great pictures!

great pictures, makes it easy to identify birds.......2007-06-12

we were replacing a golden field guide to birds that got dunked in the water....this one is great! Sturdy binding, good indexing, great pictures, I find it very easy to use. We enjoy identifying the birds around our home in Minnesota but are not "birdwatchers". I would recommend it highly.

A book in the hand.......2007-04-02

Kaufman's book is beautifully organized and illustrated. The descriptions are brief as befits a book intended as a pocketable field guide but the salient points for identification are presented clearly. It is not absolutely complete for the sake of brevity but the species omitted are not very likely to be encountered. If needed a local area supplement could be used. It serves its purpose very well indeed.

Great indexing--especially for beginners.......2007-03-26

My 7 year old has recently become fascinated with birds. We had a little backyard guide, but it just wasn't enough. I went to the bookstore to look at the different guides available & really loved the way this book is indexed. In the front, you see pictures of groups of birds, the name of the group & a color band--the book section has the matching color band.

It's really easy for my daughter to see a bird, glance over the first groups of pictures in the front index, pick the group that it looks like, then find the colored section in the book & find the exact bird! There isn't a ton of info no the birds, mostly just region info, food, call, etc--but pictures include males, females & juveniles--which is very nice--the maps are also very clear, so it's easy to see if it might be in your area.

We love this book & highly recommend it to beginners who don't know much about birds & their groups, etc!

For further information on the birds, we also bought the DK (Dorling Kindersley) Guide to Birds of North America--we bought the Eastern, but they also make a Western. It's 24.99 at the book store, but you can get it for less than 10 here on amazon--it goes into great detail about each bird, has tons of color pictures of the birds, their nests, eggs, babies, etc--very educational--we will use it to learn more about the birds once we spot them in our Kaufman guide.

We also ordered, on a whim & because it was only 83 cents on amazon, The Complete Birdhouse Book--The Easy Guide to Attracting Nesting Birds by Donald & Lillian Stokes. When it arrived I was overjoyed with how wonderful this book is--it is full color, talks in-depth about the bird life-cycle with full color pictures & specifically what different birds need in a home--and thus, how to construct it! What beginner ever knew the hole size, hole to floor measurement & inside dimensions & total height were so important--not to mention where it is placed & what type of things to leave in your yard for nesting material! Also, how to control predators & pests & other useful information. Full color pictures again & highly educational---a good companion for anyone wanting to attract birds to their yard!

Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America.......2007-03-21

By my side constantly. My old guide was over 10 years old & used in MD & NJ. Now in AL I can start again .. the pictures are vivid. Great detail on attacting birds and easy for me to identify the new ones here in a new local.

Can start again on listing the dates I see my NEW birds. Glad I bought this one.

Average customer rating:

Birds of the American Southwest
Lynn Hassler Kaufman
Manufacturer: Rio Nuevo Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Birds | Field Guides | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1887896244

Book Description

The American Southwest boasts a greater variety of bird species than can be found anywhere else in North America. This makes the region a mecca for serious and casual bird lovers alike. In Birds of the American Southwest, noted authority and author Lynn Hassler Kaufman describes and depicts, in full color photographs, more than eighty-five key bird species, including several which are threatened or endangered. This indispensable field guide describes in detail the habitat, field marks, and characteristic behaviors for each species. Birds of the American Southwest also provides birders with useful tips on where to find and observe them in the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts and "sky island" mountain ranges of southern Arizona and New Mexico.

A Field Guide to Advanced Birding: Birding Challenges and How to Approach Them (Peterson Field Guides(R))

Average customer rating:

For Birding on the Next Level
a "must have"
A good book in a bad publication
KICKS!!!
Want to improve your identification skills? Get this book.

A Field Guide to Advanced Birding: Birding Challenges and How to Approach Them (Peterson Field Guides(R))

Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Birds | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 039597500X

Amazon.com

Stumped by seemingly indistinguishable immature gulls covering the beach? Wonder whether the accipiter raiding your feeder is a female sharp-shinned hawk or a male Cooper's hawk? Well-known birder and author Kenn Kaufman presents some of North America's most challenging bird-identification conundrums in this guide for the advanced birder. Each chapter covers a group of difficult-to-identify or similar-looking birds, with analyses, tips, and drawings to aid in positive identification. Improve your birding skills and add more species to your life list with this excellent resource.

Book Description

Covering thirty-five of the most difficult groups of birds, from winter loons to confusing fall warblers, jaegers to chickadees, accipiters to flycatchers, this clearly written and beautifully illustrated field guide tells exactly how to solve the most challenging bird identification problems of North America.

Customer Reviews:

For Birding on the Next Level.......2007-08-08

I have quite a few birding books and have been birding for 30+ years. I feel that this book has been a key for improving my skills, more than any of the other books with the exception of the new Sibley guide and perhaps the old out of print "The Western Birdwatcher" by Zimmerman.

Kuaffman's books taught me some key points that I still employ when checking the scaups, dowitchers, gulls and looking for Western Sandpipers among other difficult identifications. His succinct descriptions and comparitive sketches make it much more possible to know how to identify a juvenile Western Sandpiper as opposed to a Semipalmated Sandpiper. I found that I would often go back to this book rather than the other shorebird books I had. Another key section in the book is the coverage of identification tips for the Terns. I had always found it difficult to separate Forster's and Common in the field despite the seemingly easy differences in field guides. This book helped out with good wing pattern comparisons and other marks that were not included in the guides. The pattern drawings of the Terns and Shorebirds alone are worth the cost of the book.

If you are ready to start on Iceland and Thayer's Gull or Rufous and Allen's Hummingbirds you can't go wrong by getting Kauffman's Advanced Birding.

a "must have".......2001-08-15

This is a great book for serious birders. It contains a great amount of important information that is well organized and helpful. This is a technical book that I would not recommend for the beginner, however, I found it practical in its structure and content.

I strongly recommend this book. I held back from awarding a full five stars because I felt that their illustrations lacked a little "life" although experienced birders will probably not find this to be a problem.

A good book in a bad publication.......2000-10-28

I bought this book and the contents are very helpful in identifying birds. The problem is it has the information duplicated from pages 145 to 176, skipping from page 112. I have tried to exchange it with another one, but it had the same problem. I tried to do that for the third time, and now I am waiting for it. I hope it arrives with all the pages and no duplications.

KICKS!!!.......1999-05-05

This book rocks the house

Want to improve your identification skills? Get this book........1999-02-25

This book is appropriate for anyone who wants to improve his bird identification skills, whether he is already "advanced" or not. Kaufman does an excellent job detailing how to go about identifying birds in many problem groups, such as accipiters, dowitchers, and fall warblers. In some cases the information amounts to helpful hints that will make identification a little easier (did you know that the nail on a Greater Scaup's bill is substantially larger than that on a Lesser Scaup's?). In others, the information is a practical necessity if you ever plan on unraveling the species in question (if you're trying to identify a Thayer's Gull without this or some even more esoteric work, forget it).

My only quarrel with this book is that Kaufman sometimes places more emphasis on small field marks, and less on overall shape and other amorphous characteristics ("jizz," to the Brits), than I think appropriate. Otherwise, darned close to perfect.

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