From the Bookshelf of Gentle SPECTRUMS…

Death by Didgeridoo (Jamie Quinn Mystery #1)

Barbara Venkataraman

Start date: July 31, 2016

Finish date: July 31, 2016

Discussion: GENTLE SPECTRUMS 2016

Why we're reading this: Here is one for music.
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GENTLE SPECTRUMS 2016

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What Members Thought

Dec 16, 2016 Cyndi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Great book!!! Very original. Who would have thought of ridding the world of a jerk with a didgeridoo? I've thought of using other musical instruments, like a piano, and the damage I could do with a tuba, but not a didgeridoo. The writing is top notch! Can't wait for the next one.

Reread July 2018 — another visit with Jamie and the gang. I love when Jamie and Duke butt heads. He is such a great character! ...more

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Jul 31, 2016 C. (Comment, never msg). rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: riedel-titles-2016

**Remembering our beautiful white boy, Love, physically gone two years ago, it is hard to believe. We miss him!**

Barbara Venkataraman approaching me as a reviewer was a rare treat. Canada is sometimes excluded from mail-outs. Her début mystery title "Death By Didgeridoo", 2013, stands out. I wondered how this Australian woodwind instrument would fit. The next surprise is humour. Barbara has penned humour and also fantasies, another genre I like. Hang onto your hat: she is a lawyer of family law, **Remembering our beautiful white boy, Love, physically gone two years ago, it is hard to believe. We miss him!**

Barbara Venkataraman approaching me as a reviewer was a rare treat. Canada is sometimes excluded from mail-outs. Her début mystery title "Death By Didgeridoo", 2013, stands out. I wondered how this Australian woodwind instrument would fit. The next surprise is humour. Barbara has penned humour and also fantasies, another genre I like. Hang onto your hat: she is a lawyer of family law, like her protagonist, Jamie Quinn! These are special circumstances in which the author is expert at the background she created. Because "cozy" and "standard" mysteries abound, the first thing I cherish is uniqueness.

Next, I appreciate narration via feelings, so readers connect with heroines. We do. Physical-oriented writing doesn't work. Literature needs to create fodder for minds through an emotional climate. Barbara succeeded at that tenderly. Jamie is recovering from her Mother's death, postponing her practice to mull over a career move. It comes from her Aunt, whose son is a homicide suspect. This family lawyer is beseeched, even though she knows nothing of that field! Modernity bubbles through, as Jamie's best friend advises her via text-messages. Through her nervous inexperience and employment lapse, she comes down to the reader's level of comprehension. We learn the steps she needs to take and worry for her cousin, Adam, along with her.

He is an Asperger's sufferer, who would never kill. The deceased ex-rocker was his music teacher. They both loved animals. Convincing police of Adam's misunderstood presence is believably paramount. His mental state could not hack being arrested. Jamie's pursuit of varied angles is logical, fluid, and carries us with her. I give four stars because build-up about the ex-rocker being despised did not translate. Only band mates were discussed, in name only. Regardless, I enjoyed and appreciated Barbara's talent thoroughly and will soon read her next two!

* My copy is not a Kindle but there was no print entry. * ...more

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Feb 05, 2015 Yvonne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Jamie Quinn is still recovering from the death of her mother when her cousin Adam lands himself in serious trouble. Jamie’s aunt begs for her help in defending the murder charges Adam finds himself charged with – the death of his good friend and a former rock star. Jamie is not happy about this as she’s a family attorney, not a criminal one. However, she can’t let her cousin languish in jail for a crime she knows he didn’t commit.

Adam suffers from Asperger’s syndrome. In his anxiety at seeing hi ...more

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Aug 25, 2015 Kristine rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery-suspense, 2015

This is a great start to a new series!
Jamie Quinn has been floundering since the death of her mother, she has been going through the motions of life, but not really living. Jamie receives a phone call from her Aunt Peg pleading for help, Jamie's cousin, Adam, has been arrested on suspicion of murder. Jamie knows her cousin couldn't do the crime he's being accused of. With the help of Jamie's friend, a former divorce client, everyone sets out to uncover the truth of what really happened.
I re ...more

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Sep 02, 2016 Patricia Burroughs marked it as to-read · review of another edition

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