Barbara Simons is a clever, quick-witted woman who doesn't know the mess she gets herself into until she is up to her armpits in danger. She has a knack of getting through situations in an imaginative and funny manner. A must for the mystery reader who likes to giggle while reading

Carole Epstein successfully mixes suspence with humour as she leads her heroine through experiences Barbara Simons could never have anticipated.Those who know Montreal will have no difficulty relating to the environment Epstein portrays;those who are strangers to the city will enjoy the ambiance and the realism of the current political tension.

well thought out descriptions of montreal,its characters and locations...the characters are believable and the ending excellent.a good read.

THE PLOT Barbara Simons, retired airline exec, has purchased a ride-along-with-the-police-for-a-night in an auction, and this is her night -- after several hours of boredom, the police respond to a murder scene. By happenstance, it is someone that she knows: a former exec of the same airline has been murdered. Ever inquisitive, Barbara comforts the widow, talks to the deceased's sister, goes to the wake and then to the funeral.

WHAT I LIKED There are several elements in this book that make the story fly along faster than the previous book in the series (Perilous Friends). There are fewer sub-stories distracting from the main plot, and the streamlining makes for a more coherent story. The writing itself is better as well, and the new characters are fleshed out where appropriate. Most importantly, there is the reintroduction of romantic options for Barbara in terms of the handsome cop Greg, as well as a not-yet-defined relationship with a new male sidekick. The ending is a little weaker than the rest of the story, and it all comes together a little too quickly for my tastes, but that seems to be a factor of the sub-genre rather than the writing or this particular book -- in fact, it is handled rather well here, except for a small problem of logistics in terms of the bad guy transporting a gun around Montreal (can't say any more than that without giving away the ending). A little unrealistic, but not enough to affect the ending. If the next book in the series is as good or better than this one, sign me up for a copy!

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE There isn't anything big that I didn't like in this book, just one small thing. The relationship-cliffhanger from the end of the last book is not a major part of this book, and is instead left sitting there in some sort of relationship limbo for a good portion of this book (until pg. 121). One of the reasons I tracked this book down was the ending of the last book -- I didn't like the cliff-hanger aspect, but I had to know what happened (normally, my To-Be-Read pile is so big that I never take the time to search for a specific book). But, her out-of-town bf had been coming in the last book for what she thought was going to be a big weekend with some important announcement or question, and I expected some sort of resolution here. It doesn't happen.

OVERALL RATING 4.25 / 5.0

PERILOUS RELATIONS opens with the former executive vice-president, and still-unemployed, Barbara Simons collecting her prize from a charity auction: a ride-along with a couple of dour french-speaking police officers through the night-time mean streets of Montreal. What starts out as a boring (and hunger filled) ride for Barbara becomes intrigueing when coincidence lands her(along with the humorless officers) at the evidently burgled home of her former employer. In true Simons fashion, Barbara finds herself smack in the middle of a murder scene, and very soon thereafter running a sideline investigation into the sudden death of her former boss at the behest of his not visibly bereaved widow. As with PERILOUS FRIENDS, readers of PERILOUS RELATIONS are in for a romp as Barbara wise-cracks her way among the rich and famous of Montreal. The dialog is witty, the characters are fun, the relationships are real, the mystery meshes well with the side plots, and the food and fashion are out of this world. For all the laughs (and there are plenty)the darker subtext of the book addresses the on-going tensions between the French and English speaking sections of Montreal. I hope Barbara Simons is around for many more Perilous adventures.

Former public relations expert, Barbara Simons is wealthy enough to remain unemployed, at least for awhile. However, she does not remain idle for very long. When her former boss, Walter Whitestone, the ex head of an airlines, is murdered in his home, the egomaniacal Barbara begins to investigate over the objections of the local police.

She immediately concentrates on the family, who she knows very well and concludes that almost everyone of them is capable of murder. Barbara also questions business associates of the deceased and his lovers. Her inept interference seems to alienate every person she speaks to and even manages to unite the French and English speaking factions against her. Still, for someone who hates to see her clothing soiled, Barbara risks her own life to satisfy her curiosity.

Though not quite at the caliber of the fantastic premier novel (PERILOUS FRIENDS), the second Barbara Simons novels is a very good who-done-it due to the clumsy investigative techniques and antics of the arrogant, at least in her mind, female Sherlock Holmes. The story line is obvious, but it is Montreal and Barbara that turn Carole Epstein's book into a fun to read amateur sleuth novel.

Harriet Klausner

This is an interesting book and an indepth history of household furnishings and the reason they were important to folks at the turn of this century.

Chapter One is "First Impressions" which deals at length with entry foyer furniture and how it was used. Hall racks, card stands and hall chairs are all discussed in this chapter.

Chapter Two is "Death in the dining room" - which gets it's name from the slain game often depicted on victorian dining room furniture - such as side boards and buffets.

Chapter Three is "Words to Live by" - Samplers, wall hangings and other embroidered or metal stamped messages.

Chapter Four is "When the Music Stops" which covers the societal importance of pump organs and how music was very important to a Victorian woman.

Chapter Five is "Posture and Power" - a chapter about living room (parlor) furniture.

There are a zillion interesting little factoids about life at the turn of this century. And it does give you a good feel for etiquette and expectations and the rules back then.

And it answered questions for me - like "Why was parlor furniture so uncomfortable and rigid?" Because Victorians placed great emphasis on the importance of self-control as an invaluable discipline. Comfortable furniture suggested mental laziness. (My paraphrase)

So it does give some insights into why things were the way they were. Lots of history there.

But when I picked it up, I thought it was a book on old houses, not old furniture. I thought the title was an allusion to the fact that 100 years ago, funerals were held in the dining room, which is the reason many old house dining rooms have an entry door - so the visitors could graciously and easily leave the house after the viewing. It is not that kind of book. But I still enjoyed reading it.

It is a large book with one or more pictures of antique furnishings on every page. A good resource for someone who wants to recreate a historic interior.

Tunku Vardarajan in the India today says, India: a Mosaic is a con job. The word "mosaic" suggests a variety in the book. Instead the book talks about "bleeding-hearted" essays. According to him, the articles in the book were published elsewhere and are "profoundly stale." From my reading of the book i found the book to be a "do not buy."