The school reunion might have gone wrong for Claire, but it sure was a treat to this reader. The mystery was excellent. I loved the way she went back and forth with tidbits on each graduate. Its just the way we do with our annual and old pictures. It was so real with wondering if you are too fat-too thin--or too wrinkled to go to the 20th. Great book.

[...]Claire Montrose is just an average woman like you and me who happens to stumble upon a mystery and decides to investigate. She is not a cop, no police training, etc. This particular mystery takes place at her high school reunion, which was fun as well reading about seeing everyone again and how their personalities from high school now mesh with what they have become. I am having my 15 year reunion soon so this was particularly fun for me. I love that the book was so fast paced. Right from the beginning you enter the story without a lot of unnecessary reading. It engrossed me and kept me enthralled and there were some very funny parts as well. If she writes more books like this I will buy them and I am now looking for others as well. (But please, Ms. Henry, save the single parents!) Now if we can just get an adult version of the Nancy Drew books!

Class of '79. The cheerleader, the wannabe, the brainiac, the murderer. Murderer? In this third installment of April Henry's Claire Montrose series, Claire and her dashing boyfriend, Dante, embark on a weekend trip to Claire's 20 year high-school class reunion. Upon arriving, Claire is flattered to receive a handcrafted heart-shaped box lined with her old yearbook photo from an anonymous admirer--well, flattered until popular ex-cheerleader Cindy Sanchez is found lying dead in the parking lot with a similar heart-shaped box in her hand.

Ms. Henry expertly guides us through clever twists and turns as Claire's lingering adolescent insecurities give way to an emerging self-confidence and savvy which just may keep her alive.

Anyone who has ever pondered attending a school reunion will enjoy this classy mystery lightly seasoned with '70's nostalgia and Ms. Henry's trademark humor.

This is the first April Henry book I've read, and I really enjoyed it. I was reminded of Mary Higgins Clark -- you are kept moving-moving-moving through this book; the author gives you what you need to know and doesn't waste time with lots of extraneous narrative. The plot is great and Henry's style is easy to read; this is a terrific plane or beach book.

The main character, Free Meeker, is very likable, though I felt Henry went a little overboard in describing her parents: by the middle of the book I found myself thinking "okay, okay, they're free-spirit-go-nowhere-hippies, we GET it!" But it's effective in making Free even more sympathetic than just the opening car accident would have done. And I thought Don, the villian, was somewhat unbelievable, esp. towards the end. I just couldn't see a man in his business being anything less than completely jaded -- even given Free's "special circumstances". I found it hard to see him as the ultimate hero he became.

Overall though, this is a well-written. page-turner. Definitely a good summer read.

I loved this book. Free Meeker is an unlikely heroine, a confused young woman trying to escape a bad relationship and life. Involved in a huge multi-car pile-up on the interstate, Free assumes the identity of a woman killed in the crash. Free soon finds herself in a world of trouble, and April Henry continuously tightens the suspense and adds complications until the reader is squirming with anticipation and flying through the pages to the finish. Highly recommended.

April Henry's new thriller is one of those books you advise people not to start at bedtime. I normally arise at 4:30am to write, and I was completely useless the morning after I had read LEARNING TO FLY because the book had kept me up until 1:00am.

If you've read my other reviews, you know I'm a fan of Henry's cozies. But gentle reader, this is no cozy. It's a slowly tightening knot of suspense that would have had Alfred Hitchcock bidding for the film rights. Free makes one seemingly-innocuous choice after another as the reader sees the psychopathic ex-husband (whose wife's name Free has stolen) and the regretfully homicidal drug lord (whose profits Free has stolen) circle in closer and closer--it's like the scene in Jaws, where you're shouting at the swimmer, "Get out of the water. GET OUT OF THE WATER!" Of course, the swimmer never does. Neither does Free, which is why I had to stagger around the next day on only three and a half hours of sleep.

Although this book is quite pricey, as have been other recent OUP releases, this volume of Newman's Letters and Diaries is critical for seeing JHN at a critical time of his Anglican career. Here, Newman seems almost surprised by the reception of Tract 90 and it is also apparent that the Jerusalem Bishopric affair was one of the critical blows to his loss of faith in the via media. Some biographies may give us a glimpse at what was happening at the time, but here we can read Newman as he was living through it, without the benefit of hindsight.

Claire is a hapless young adult wandering through life when she gets the call that a distant aunt has died. She is the last known living relative and must clean out her aunt's trailer. She takes her dim witted boyfriend with her and they find mostly junk. One picture catches Claire's eye and she keeps it. After checking out the picture and taking a last minute whim trip to New York. She quickly has people looking for her and wanting this picture. It seems that the Nazis took it from a family who wants it back. At times this book got lost and Henry threw anything trying to make the book work. Clair job as a vanity plate approver provides a few comical moments and I had funny trying to decipher the acronyms. Sadly this story didn't connect the dots and the solution to the mystery was not supported by the clues woven in the story. I tried this series out since this author also wrote "Learning To Fly" which many refer to her as her breakout novel. I know this author has potential and I will read the next in the series.

This debut novel by April Henry is a fun mystery revolving around 35-year old heroine Claire Montrose, a woman with a boring job, an annoying boyfriend and white trash roots. When her great aunt dies and leaves her a mysterious painting, Claire's life takes a turn for the adventurous, and she is soon faced with a lot of questions and a number of characters, trustworthy and un.

This book is a quick read with an interesting mystery and, centering as it does around the authenticity of an unknown Vermeer painting, Henry relates a lot of interesting art history while keeping the entertainment level high. Details about Portland and New York are enjoyable (though how could she not bring up Powell's Books?), and the characters are three-dimensional.

Well done. I will read other books by this author.

I found out about this book through a book discussion group I'm in. It was chosen as our monthly group read. I so enjoyed all the informaton about the Vermeer painting and the history of Vermeer, that I have gone out and bought several more books on the subject. I liked the fact that the main character had a job that was different from any I've come upon in other mystery books. The license plate riddles were fun to me. Also, if you paid attention to them, you would realize they were basically sending you messages and in a way clues. I admired Claire for going off to New York on her own to settle the matter of what to do with her Aunt's painting (I never would have had the nerve). I also admired her smarts when it came to saving the painting (don't want to say more because it would ruin it for others). All in all, a good mystery, a likeable heroine. Can't wait to read more about her ventures in the next book.

Linda

Square in the Face by April Henry is the second in the Claire Montrose mysteries. It's a heart grabber when Claire starts looking for a matching marrow donor for an old friend's dying son. In the meantime Claire's mother is buying everything her new best friends on TV's home shopping network are selling. Lots of family secrets! This is a wonderful story with terrific characters. I loved Charlie, Claire's roommate. It is fun watching Claire rediscover her family, too. Humor, a little love interest, lots of intrigue, and some sad history, too. As with any mystery, the 'bad guys' leave their mark but our Claire is not going to let them get away with it. This is a strong follow-up to Henry's first book, Circles of Confusion, and moves this series onto my 'must buy' list. April Henry is a sharp young writer with ever-increasing skills, a superb imagination, and the wit to use them well.

When a friend's son needs a bone marrow transplant, she asks Claire Montrose to help her find a lost daughter. Claire feigns pregnancy to gain entrance to a secret and expensive adoption agency. There, she learns of terrible secrets the doctor is willing to kill for. The clock is ticking for the friend's son and Claire tracks down the families who may have adopted the daughter. Claire is an engaging character who, at times, seems unaware of her beauty and wit. She's a regular gal who feels out of place with her new boyfriend's high society pals. This is the second of the series and loses a little focus as the author pulls threads from the last book, which are a little diluted in this story. None the less, very readable.

April Henry has written another excellent book, I agree with the good reviews. What I liked was plate numbers, it makes the book last longer and makes you think. In Circle of Confusion, I also spent a good couple of hours looking at the art of Vermeer. Great fun.