Mood Indigo

by Charlotte Vale Allen

Book Overview

It is winter 1934 when DeeDee dies after falling from her apartment balcony. Honoria plays gumshoe to detect the cause. "Mood Indigo"-it's Manhattan; it's a clever, unique woman working her way... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0965743713
• ISBN13: 9780965743716
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Island Nation Press
• Length: 284 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.2" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Awesome read!

This is the first book I have read from this author, but will not be the last. I sat down for a short break, thinking I would read a chaper or two, and ended up reading the entire book in one evening. I simply could not remove my self from the world of Honoria. If you are looking for an escape, this is it!

Mood Indigo is my favorite book!

Mood Indigo is my favorite book. The writing is excellent.Mood Indigo is brilliant; it kept me guessing "who did it" until the end. Usually in mystery books I can tell right off the bat who the killer is. But not this time. And usually I can say at least one thing I didn't like about a book. But not this time.I highly recommend Mood Indigo to anyone who wants to read a mystery with exceptional characters in a time before the internet and cell phones. I guarantee you will not be disappointment.Charlotte Vale Allen has written many books, all different, and Mood Indigo is no exception. She makes you care about the characters.Mood Indigo is a must read for mystery buffs. Once you've read the book you will see why it's my all-time favorite book.

perfectly consummated mystery

Wonderful as always, Charlotte develops and then allows us to explore vivid and complex characters. She weaves an amazing tapestry of a book, starting with only a few colors then leading us on with the promise of more and brilliant additions, and she does not disappoint.The pace of this book is exactly as a novel should be paced -giving us time to savor yet propelling us to turn the page. There are valuable insights into the reality of abuse even in the setting of the great depression. Add to all of this a perfectly consummated mystery and you have MOOD INDIGO.

Pure Charlotte Vale Allen - Once Again!

The book starts off lightly, like an evocative Blues song -with a couple of instruments playing, teasing us with a hauntingmelody line. We 'witness' the crime and are introduced to some of the main characters. We don't know them well at this point, but they are intriguing enough to keep us reading, wanting to know more.In Blues tradition, as each new segment of the song is played, more instruments are added, a few at a time, adding depth and power to the resulting sound, and we don't even realize how subtly we've been drawn into the heart of the music. So it is with "Mood Indigo". These are people we'd like to know (most of them, anyway!), and their lives, both past and present, form a rich tapestry which comes to life as we share with them this frigid winter month in the heart of New York City during a year when a lot of us weren't even born yet. The settings in which they operate and the clothes they wear, as well as the language they use, draw us back into that era.As the rhythm of this story picks up momentum, all of the players are now in place, interacting with each other in fascinating, surprising ways, giving us entrancing 'solo' action at unexpected moments. Their individual 'melody lines' weave in and out, all headed in the same direction, but traveling in their own unique way. Honoria, who occupies the pivotal position in the story, is all at the same time strong and vulnerable, in control and at the mercy of, loved and feared - wonderfully, powerfully human. She is the rich, underlying 'melody line' throughout the piece, and her commitment and loyalty draw the remaining players along with her, including us as observers to their drama. We follow eagerly, gratified to be involved.The end of the 'song' is approaching, all the 'players' are in full swing. The mystery has drawn us in, full of surprising twists, giving us clues, so far, but no answers. We proceed quickly, devouring paragraphs in great gulps as the story expands. We attempt to take it all in, not wanting to miss anything along the way. Once everyone's part in the performance has been disclosed to the fullest (in a song), and the characters' roles have been defined, giving us the answers to our questions (in a story), the individuals begin to slowly withdraw from the inner circle, backing away one or two at a time, leaving Center Stage to the one with the lead melody line. "Mood Indigo" follows this path. The music slowly fades in our heads, and the book is reluctantly closed, because we're not yet ready to be finished with either the entertaining 'song' or the remarkable people whose lives we've shared.From the haunting picture on the cover to the last typewritten line, "Mood Indigo" will captivate its readers, as it gives us yet another pearl to add to our string of Charlotte Vale Allen treasures. I laughed out loud, cried real tears, and was disappointed only by the fact that the end of the story came so soon. My thanks, once again, to the author!

Terrific as usual

In 1934, DeeDee Carlson tumbles off her fifteenth floor balcony, landing on a Packard parked near the corner of Manhattan's 73rd Street. The police believe that the woman was murdered and her boy friend Chip Stevenson is the prime suspect. Chip turns to his deceased mother's best friend, script doctor Honoria Barlow, who has some sleuthing experience, to find out who really killed DeeDee. For anyone besides Chip, Honoria probably would have said no, especially since her spouse wants her to stay away from investigations. However, for the sake of her friendship with Chip and his late mother, Honoria begins to look into DeeDee's death. She quickly learns that the victim is not quite the sweet innocent described by Chip. She also realizes that her sleuthing has riled someone who wants her to stop her investigation and will personally help her do so, if necessary. MOOD INDIGO brilliantly catches the mood of depression era Manhattan inside a smooth, well-executed mystery. The who-done-it is fun and Honoria lives up to her name as an honorable and interesting character. The support cast adds a veritable feel for the era even as they propel the tale forward. Hopefully, Charlotte Vale Allen provides more Honoria amateur sleuth tales taking place in thirties Manhattan (and perhaps the other boroughs as well). Harriet Klausner