Murder with Reservations (Dead-End Job Mystery, Book 6)

By Elaine Viets

Book Overview

Helen Hawthorne has a knack for keeping a low profile. But in South Florida, it's going to get a lot harder to fly under the radar... Working at Sybil's Full Moon Hotel in Fort Lauderdale keeps Helen safe and sane. But when a maid is found dead in a Dumpster, those days just might be over. Dead bodies mean another chance for the cops to find her. To make matters worse, her ex-husband is hot on her trail. Sadly, the cops don't seem to care much about a murdered maid-but they take notice of her coworker's shady story. If Helen doesn't manage to dodge their questions and shake off her ex, it could be checkout time.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451221117
• ISBN13: 9780451221117
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Berkley
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.0" x 5.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

Helen Hawthorne doesn't act so smart or tough in this one...

I have greatly enjoyed this series by Elaine Viets BUT this book annoyed me. Helen has always been smart and tough in the past but she acts like a silly, confused twit in this book. Her actions really ticked me off a few times and I had to put down the book. Why would she refuse help from the current love of her life - when he is able to make her problem go away? Or at least make it better. She is intelligent and educated yet is unable to speak to the police with any common sense or articulation. I am starting "Clubbed to Death" right now. I hope Helen grows a brain - and a backbone - in the next installment.

Still good

I've enjoyed this series since the beginning and this one stands up to the quality of the others. I especially liked the teaser to the next book.

Maid to Order

This Dead-End Job Mystery was the best one I have read so far. It had everything: suspense, intrigue, mystery, revenge, and romance. Helen works as a hotel maid. I gained a lot of insight into this thankless occupation. After a couple of weeks on the job, Helen discovers a dead body in the hotel dumpster. To add to this stress, her ex-husband, Rob, has tracked her down. The support of her ladlady and boyfriend help make everything all right. You will enjoy this book!

Funny, fast, beautiful prose and colorful characters

I agonize too much about writing reviews of books I really love, so I'm going to throw all that out the window and tell you that you are going to love this novel. More, you're going to fall in love with Helen and her friends. I am enchanted by novels where I find myself wishing to meet the characters. In this series, I long to spend time by the pool with Helen and Peggy and Margery and Phil. I'll bring the margaritas, I promise! Elaine Viets will also change the way you think about so called "deadbeat" jobs. I have been a waitress but never a motel maid, and I will forever be a different and better hotel guest after reading her book. This is a lesson so gently and wittily given there's no pinch. I'm buying this series in hardcover, because I can tell these novels will become what my sister calls "good friends," the books you pick up when you're exhausted and just want to relax and get away. I'm so glad I read this book. You will be, too.

Best yet of the Dead End Jobs series!

Helen has a knack of discovering dead bodies, and this time she finds one in the hotel where she is working in another non-traceable job. Helen's louse of an ex-husband is hot on her trail in this episode, since he has lost another of his meal-ticket girlfriends and desperately needs Helen to pay up on his divorce settlement. Is there really a hidden stash of robbery money in the hotel? Should Helen flee again or stay and fight for justice? Helen's boyfriend and her Landlady have very different ideas of how she should keep her freedom in Ft. Lauderdale. This is just a fun mystery for the poolside, or beach and as usual, Elaine Viets does not disappoint. I can't wait to read the next one to see what happens to Rob!