With a Caribbean backdrop and murderers on the move, this Lady Margaret Priam headscratcher is delightful fun. This is a tasty morsel of reading enjoyment. Don't expect a ponderous, gritty tome filled with back-alley hoodlums and crusty characters. Ms. Christmas does provide her readers with color and flavor, they just happen to have more flavor than filling - similar to an afternoon tea. As with her other works, this mystery is more about getting to the destination than jumping to conclusions. The trip's the thing.

Lady Margaret is in the middle of entertaining some of her friends when her party is interrupted by a phone call. Bedros Kasparian, who owns an upscale antique business, is calling her for assistance. He has, most inconveniently, found a dead body in his shop. Lady Margaret excuses herself and goes to his shop where she gives him moral support and begins to put together some clues which she hopes will lead to the murderer. Kasparian himself is a suspect, but Lady Margaret thinks not. She rubs elbows with some California and New York society people and pursues a few red herrings, before she confronts the murderer and almost becomes the next victim. This is a pleasant and well-written mystery.

As a Joyce Christmas fan, I was very disappointed in this mystery. I echo the thoughts of the previous reviewer. After getting through this contrived, obvious tale, I also thought that the author needed a nice long vacation! I was actually happy I bought this at a used bookstore and did not pay full price.

Joyce Christmas must need a vacation...poor plot, a character (Diane Stark) change that's unbelievable, and a ridiculously contrived ending that really doesn't "end" anything. Phooey!

New York's high society women have excitedly accepted Lady Margaret Priam into their exalted circle because of her English aristocratic background. She migrated to America because she needs to earn a living, something she was not allowed to do in England.

Though most people she meets in the city are just acquaintances, Lady Margaret considers Dianne Stark, wife of a very rich, but much older person, to be a close friend. Dianne tells Margaret that someone is stalking her by sending her threatening letters and hideous flower arrangements. No one else seems to be taking the threats seriously. However, that changes when Dianne's sister, a near look alike, is shot. Subsequently, Dianne disappears. Margaret begins to search for her friend before someone else gets hurt.

GOING OUT IN STYLE is a stylish amateur detective story. The fascinating protagonist's struggle to survive in a strange city when she knows she is living a shallow lifestyle feels real and adds to the flavoring of the story line. Joyce Christmas writes a smashing mystery that is sure to be a bloody success.

Harriet Klausner

I enjoyed the three earlier Betty Trenka mysteries, but this one was plodding, uninspired. A big problem is that of the Obvious Villain. Where, exactly, is the mystery? Moreover, it struck me as implausible that parents allowed their children to hang out with that very odd couple 15 years older. Not one parent put a foot down? The really interesting twist was in the development of a neighbor's personality--one who turns out to be a lot less insightful than he's been portrayed to date.

A very bland tale. Where is the mystery? I am afraid that Joyce Christmas has lost her touch. This tale about pseudo-satanists and angst-ridden teenagers is obvious and totally charmless, most unlike the three previous Betty Trenka mysteries. Has Joyce lost her touch?

Forced into retirement after three decades as an office manager, Betty Trenka moves to East Moulton, Connecticut where she still seeks to find something productive to do with her time. While visiting her neighbor Ted Kelso, Betty meets Brad Melville, who has a nefarious reputation amidst parents of teenagers throughout the town. However, teens think so highly of Brad, he has become a cult-like figure to them. Betty also meets Brad's girl friend, Raven, who gives the appearance of being a witch. Brad and Raven frighten Betty.

When the school secretary becomes ill, the principal temporarily hires Betty to take over the job. Betty also hires troubled fourteen-year-old Tommy Rockwell to mow her lawn. Betty becomes concerned with Tommy's quest for power and vengeance against his peers who seem to always pick on him. Even more worrisome to Betty is the influence of Brad on Tommy. She thinks something deadly is coming and there is little she can do to stop it.

The fourth Betty Trenka cozy is a warm New England tale that fans of the Jessica Fletcher series will enjoy. Like the previous three tales, MOOD TO MURDER, is a character-driven story. Betty remains an intriguing individual whose philosophy on the whims of life is the key to her essence and the overall plot of the novel. The secondary characters add a husky New England flavor to the mix. Though the story line is entertaining, there is little action until the climax. As with her Lady Priam mysteries, Joyce Christmas provides a gift to those readers who enjoyable a serene cozy.

Harriet Klausner

Picked this up for a quarter at a garage sale, and like coming across a train wreck while taking a walk, i couldn't stop looking, even as I was continually amazed that anyone would publish such frankly horrible prose. The plot is lame, the office politics lamer, and the idea that in 1993 the world conforms to 1950's era social mores is laughable. Everything about this book [was bad].

I have enjoyed both Betty Trenka books very much. While I like the catchy titles of the Lady Priam series, I couldn't get into them. Perhaps it's because I personally identify with Betty. I'm hoping Ms. Christmas will devote more writing time to bring us future Betty Trenka books

This is a poor effort from one of my favorite mystery authors. The plot is trite and silly, and the previous reviewer is correct. There is no mystery here until the last few pages. The last Lady Margaret book as well as the last Betty Trenka book were also very disappointing. I hope that Joyce's newest release, featuring both Margaret and Betty, makes up for three mediocre books in a row.

I have read and enjoyed all of Joyce Christmas's books. I always looked forward to her latest. Until this one. I bought the book,and expected a good mystery. There was no mystery until the very last pages. I was not interested in seeing how manipulative her main character could be. I found this book to be a big disappointment. I will think twice about buying another of her books.

Her parents were the Earl and Countess of Brayfield. Her brother David currently holds the tile and the family estate Priam's Priory. Lady Margaret Priam had a typical upper class British upbringing, but she has been state side for a decade and resides in an expensive place on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Her title and bloodlines make her acceptable by the city's elite, which allows her to comfortably live without a formal job.

One of society's most powerful mavens asks Margaret to look out for her friend's daughter who is coming to live in New York. Margaret provides temporary lodging and arranges for the lass to work as a society woman's assistant. Lucy Rose appears to be a sweet innocent, but she is actually a manipulative, calculating individual who has set her eyes on her employer's rich and famous husband. Despite warnings from Margaret and others, Lucy continues her pursuit regardless of who gets hurt in the process.

Anyone who has read a Regency romance will understand the essence behind the Lady Margaret Priam mysteries, which is placing the Regency mindset in the year 2000. Joyce Christmas makes her world seem believable as her descriptions bring life to it. DYING WELL is a fascinating mystery that has only one chapter involving death and related follow-up scenes. The brunt of the tale deals with the events that lead to the murder. Anyone who enjoys a cerebral, character-based mystery will want to try this charmingly original novel.

Harriet Klausner