Mystery

Blue Rose Trilogy, Book 2

Tom Pasmore, ten years old, survives a near-fatal accident. During his long recovery, he becomes obsessed with an unsolved murder and finds he has clues to solving it that he shouldn’t. Lamont von Heilitz has spent his life dealing with mysteries, until he wanted to know nothing more of the terror of life and the horror of death. When a new murder disrupts their world of wealth, power, and pleasure, the two must form an unlikely partnership to confront demons from the past and the dark secrets that still haunt the present.

©2010 Peter Straub (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Intriguing, immensely readable.... Engages the mind.” (The Washington Post Book World)

“The near-perfect mystery.... Full of intricate, engrossing, flesh-and-blood suspects and heroes.” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

“Sensational.... A terrific page-turner, superbly plotted, unforgettable characters.” (Kansas City Star)

Excellent Book!

I had read this book years ago and remember liking it, but I had forgotten so much of the story it was like reading it for the first time. 25 years on, it is an amazing read. Compelling from the first page and full of great characters. I especially liked the second act which takes place at an exclusive lake resort in Wisconsin. The conclusion wraps up every character arc neatly and is very satisfying.

Interesting But Convoluted

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I wouldn't declare it was the second book in the series that includes "Koko", that makes absolutely no sense and a reader hoping to read or listen to a continuation of the characters from Koko will be disappointed. I was in that aspect.

Has Mystery turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, not at all, I like mysteries and this had a decent one, though there were way too many characters.

Which character – as performed by Patrick Lawlor – was your favorite?

I liked Tom a lot, he was charming and endearing and you root for him and WANT to see what happens to him. You care about.

Do you think Mystery needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No, it's such a dense book that you're kind of waterlogged by the end of it and you don't really want to know any more about the characters. You're good to leave them where they are.

Still Great Decades Later

I read this book about twenty-five years ago and absolutely loved it, but I couldn’t remember very much about it when I approached it again. It was fascinating to have scenes open up memories from the first time I read it and I was very glad that the book held up to my good expectations.

The plot revolves around two mysteries. The first happened a generation earlier and while I figured out what had happened in that earlier mystery very quickly, I couldn’t be sure that I wasn’t actually having memories of the first read give me the inside lane in doing so.

The second mystery has to do with who is trying to kill our young hero. Naturally there is a connection between the two things.

But what really made the story work for me was the way Straub developed the relationship between his young hero and the elderly “Sherlock Holmes like” figure. It was often touching and superbly handled and it is what made the story great.

The plot twist was very good.

Slow moving to get to the interesting part. I almost stop listening but I am glad I kept going.

Straub Does It Again

Another good mystery by Peter Straub. There are some interesting social/economical conflicts played out in the story as well as the unraveling of some family secrets including murder.