Plain Brown Wrapper

by Karen Grigsby Bates

Book Overview

Who killed Ev and why? The three most likely suspects are Ev's competitors -- publishers of the country's other popular black magazines who all had plenty of good reasons to make sure Ev never received his Journalist of the Year award. With the help of Paul Butler, a fellow journalist and an old friend, Alex tries to untangle the circumstances that led to Ev Carson's death. Their investigative trail will carry them from the West Coast to the East,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380808900
• ISBN13: 9780380808908
• Release Date: July 2001
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Truely Enjoyable

I really enjoyed this book and was so happy the first time I read it that it wasn't filled with the typical sex and drugs alot of books now a days are.

I loved this book!

I bought this book to begin reading on the way back from a trip. I actually started reading while sitting under a hair dryer. This book is a real page turner and I had to read it. I couldn't wait to finish the book to find out who was the murderer (which I would have never guessed!) and now I'm saddened because I finished the book.

Love this Book!

This is such a good book. I read it a couple years ago & just had to buy it. If you want something mysterious, but funny w/plenty of soul, then this here is your book. You'll love the Sista in this book.

Fun, witty, and smart mystery novel!

PLAIN BROWN WRAPPER is a mystery novel starring Alexa Powell, a reporter at a Los Angeles newspaper. When a friend and fellow member of the National Association of Black Journalists was murdered shortly before he was scheduled to receive a prestigious award at an Association banquet, everyone is wondering "whodunnit." Who would want to murder Everret Carson? It turns out that a lot of people have motive. So Alex Powell and her friend Paul Butler, a reporter at a paper in Washington, D.C., travel across the country for a few days, interviewing several important and colorful colleagues in the publishing industry would might know something about who killed Everret Carson. Along the way, they encouter surprise, dead ends, a bit of danger, and a bit of romance. This novel was a really, really a pleasant find. The writing is intelligent, clear, and witty. The characters are funny and smart and realistic. The storyline is well-developed. And no matter how I tried, I was unable to guess who the culprit was until the end of the novel, which is a good thing with a mystery novel. I had never even heard of this novel before, but the endorsement of Henry Louis Gates, Jr., on the back of the book told me that I should give it a try. And I have heard the author, Karen Grigsby Gates, on NPR several times-- she is an excellent reporter, like Alex Powell. This is an excellent book for travel or a vacation, and I think that even readers who don't normally read a lot of mystery novels will really enjoy this novel.

Looking Forward to the Next One

This was the most fun book I've read in a while. There were times I found myself laughing out loud. Many others, a knowing smirk. Maybe it should have been billed as a romantic comedy.No need to go into the plot, as others have already done that. I concede it wasn't the best mystery ever written, and that I really didn't give a hoot about the dead editor, but the characters felt real and I liked Alexa. Perhaps because I write romantic suspense for the 'marvelously mature,' I enjoyed this story about a mature, professional woman finding romance.