The Next Ex
A Madeline Carter Mystery by Linda L. Richards
Review: On a chilly winter afternoon, start a fire in the fireplace, open a bottle of wine, curl up in an easy chair, and be prepared to thoroughly enjoy Linda L. Richards’ second Madeline Carter mystery, The Next Ex.
The plot here is generally along the lines of a typical Nancy Drew mystery, right down to the Nancy (read Madeline)-in-peril chapter towards the end. Since the characterizations and dialog are so well written, this doesn’t detract from the overall satisfaction of the book, especially for readers who enjoyed Nancy Drew as children (or even now as adults!). But it does make the storyline somewhat predictable. If there’s a weak aspect to the book, it is Madeline’s relationship with Gus which seems a bit superfluous and distracting to the story; maybe the author was trying to add depth or conflict to Madeline’s persona by unnecessarily adding a love interest.
Madeline Carter is a very appealing and interesting character and The Next Ex a delightful mystery. It will be interesting to see where Linda L. Richards takes Madeline on her next adventure.
Acknowledgment: Book Trends provided an ARC of The Next Ex for this review.
Review Copyright © 2005 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Selected reviews of other mysteries by this author …
Calculated Loss
Mira Books (Mass Market Paperback), September 2006
ISBN-13: 9780778323457; ISBN-10: 0778323455
Location(s) referenced in The Next Ex: Hollywood, California
— ◊ —
The Next Ex by Linda L. Richards
Publisher: Mira Books
Format: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN-10: 0-7783-2240-8
ISBN-13: 978-0-7783-2240-5
Publication Date: November 2005
List Price: $6.99
Synopsis (from the publisher): Even by Hollywood standards, five is a big number if you're counting ex-wives.
Teaching an indulged rich wife to dabble in the stock market is the last thing former stockbroker Madeline Carter wants to do. But she's lived among the Hollywood elite just long enough to recognize the ubiquitous "favor for a favor" when she sees it, so she reluctantly agrees to tutor the current wife of "A" list film producer Maxi Livingston.
Up until a couple of days ago the only thing Madeline knew about Maxi was what she'd read in the tabloids. But she soon learns a whole lot more, including the fact that the current Mrs. Livingston has plans to build a nest egg for herself — in the stock market. Interesting.
But "interesting" doesn't begin to cover it when Maxi's ex-wives are killed off one by one and Madeline finds herself in the middle of a scenario worthy of the most imaginative screenwriter — where she is the prime suspect.
Very interesting, indeed.