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Cold Case (Carlotta Carlyle Mysteries)
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Product Description
Then a new manuscript appears in her family's mailbox. The words cry out from the printed pages, Thea's voice unmistakable even a quarter century since the girl's mysterious disappearance. A new client bearing a dead man's name turns up in the office of P.I. Carlotta Carlyle, looking for her help in finding whoever is sending the book—even if it turns out to be Thea herself.
The investigation leads Carlotta to a prominent Boston family with deep connections and even deeper pockets, and which badly wants the tragic past to stay buried. But after a hit man tries to write his own ending to the saga, the cold case suddenly goes white hot—and Carlotta may be the one who ends up getting burned.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #616213 in Books
- Published on: 2005-11-29
- Released on: 2005-11-29
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Mass Market Paperback
- 496 pages
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
"Cold Case" is the police term for an old, unsolved case. Linda Barnes's private eye, Carlotta Carlyle, finds that it's up to her to discover the connection between an old disappearance and a new riddle. Almost a quarter of a century earlier, fifteen-year-old Thea Janis disappeared after publishing her precociously brilliant debut novel, "Nightmare's Dawn." Now, pages from a new manuscript are appearing, all written in Thea's unmistakable voice. Thea's family is in an uproar, and the Boston police refuse to reopen the case, insisting that they already have the missing girl's killer.
In this case, the ingenious P.I. (and part-time cab driver) must untangle a web of blackmail, political corruption, family secrets, and murder. Cold Case is written in fine, breezy style and both Carlotta's attractive personality and the story's twists and turns will keep you hooked until the last page.
From Library Journal
Although she has several mystery series to her credit, Barnes seems to save her best stuff for her Carlotta Carlyle novels. Here, the detective and part-time cabby gets involved in a literary mystery.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Statuesque, red-haired Carlotta Carlyle is brash, breezy, sassy, and smart--and very, very good at her job. Fortunately. Because her latest case is a killer, figuratively and literally. Carlotta gets a strange call from a man who begs her to find dead novelist Thea Janis. Thea was 14 when she published her first novel and became an overnight sensation. At 15, she was dead, an apparent suicide victim. Carlotta's mysterious caller believes Thea is alive--24 years after her funeral--because someone has mailed him a freshly written manuscript, which he swears is in Thea's handwriting. Carlotta, intrigued, learns that Thea was really Dorothy Cameron, daughter of one of Massachusetts' most famous politicians. Even today, the Cameron name is magic. But the Camerons are hiding dark secrets that undoubtedly had something to do with Dorothy's mysterious death. Relentlessly, Carlotta searches for the missing clues to determine whether Dorothy is still alive, and if she is, why she's remained hidden for so many years. The truth, when it is finally revealed, is both stunning and tragic. Barnes is a master storyteller, and her latest--in a series that just keeps getting better--is a riveting read that is at once poignant, funny, sad, suspenseful, and hopeful. A must for every mystery fan! Emily Melton
Customer Reviews
Interesting plot
Intrepid private investigator Carlotta Carlyle is approached by a man who claims that he has received a manuscript written by a girl who disappeared as a young teenager some 24 years ago. The girl, Thea Janis, wrote a brilliant and successful book at a very early age and then disappeared. When Carlotta begins to investigate, she finds that Thea was reported dead many years ago. She begins to investigate Thea's wealthy and politically-active family and begins to uncover some skeletons in the closet. She works with her old police buddy, Mooney, and after several red herrings, begins to unravel a tangled web of lies and deceit that run very deep in Thea's family. Some of the familiar elements of this series are missing in this book. Carlotta plays nary a game of volleyball and her little sister Paolina is absent until the very end of the book. A parting of the ways occurs between Carlotta and her current lover with suddenness and fury over a seemingly minor matter. Also, the presence of Paolina's father lurks furtively in the shadows, but never really makes an impact on the story. Other than this, readers should enjoy this entry in the series.
A ghost -like creeper without the ghosts
"Cold Case" by Linda Barnes is enjoyable from start to finish.The poems of a murdered writer surfaces 24 years after her death.Recent poems. Private I,Carlotta doesn't know if they're frauds or genuine.She only knows that the poems reveal more than writer's family wants her and the public to know.Things such as the truth behind a seemingly solved case,and secret alliances between politicians and members of the Boston PD. The role of the murdered,child writer makes this novel border on the paranormal.It gets very eerie without getting "out there."I give it a 10 for suspense. -Joe
Well constructed mystery
I surprised that this mystery did not make People Magazine's "Page Turner of the Week." I couldn't put it down. Linda Barnes reoccuring characters are well constructed. Here books don't take reading and re-reading the first few chapters several times to jump right into the reading journey. If this book were food, it might not be filet but it certainly is warm oatmeal on a cold, rainy day.
