The April Fools' Day Murder

by Lee Harris

Book Overview

A SECOND CHANCE TO DIE For his favorite charity, the high school drama club, Willard Platt fakes his own murder as an April Fool stunt. But the repeat performance later that day is the real thing. And some, including the next-door neighbor, say he deserved it. Investigator (and ex-nun) Christine Bennett is haunted by the sad state of Willard's survivors. His widow roams the road at night. His son has a troubled marriage and bizarre secret life. Behind...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0449007014
• ISBN13: 9780449007013
• Release Date: February 2001
• Publisher: Fawcett Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Lee Harris makes even minor holidays FUN.....

Christine Bennett, the Long Island housewife sleuth, finds a body lying in the front yard of a home just up the hill from her local nursery, where she has been shopping for a new tree. Sticking from the man's back is a knife. But when she calls the police to report the murder, she is informed that the whole thing was an elaborate April Fools' Day joke. No one is laughing a few hours later, though when the same man turns up dead --- stabbed to death in his garage. Thus begins the newest mystery that draws Chris Bennett into the strange and complicated lives of the Platt family. Many people had reasons to dislike the patriarch, Willard Platt, for he had ruled with an unyielding hand and cared little that his unpleasant manner ruffeled many for nearly 50 years. Christine doesn't lack for suspects but she must uncover motives that nearly every member of the family would like to keep hidden. As usual, she is certainly up to the task, for she has a logical way of collecting information that others overlook or dismiss as unimportant or of no signifigance. I always enjoy seeing just what kind of twists and turns Ms. Harris will get up to with every new book. She keeps it plausable and still always surprises me. This is another good entry in the series.

ANOTHER INCREDIBLY AWESOME CHRISTINE BENNETT NOVEL!

Guess what everyone, Lee Harris is back with one of her best holiday murder mystery novels. "The April Fools Day Murder" was on my "Can't Wait To Read" list for six months, so I was very excited to get my hands on it. I belive it was probably her best one. Christine Bennett and her husband, Jack, are back along with Sister Joseph, to try and solve the murder of Willard Platt, an old grumpy man, who was credited for donating a lot of money to the local high school's drama department. Willard was found stabbed to death at his house by his own cane. Christine Bennett is greatly disturbed by this because she just saw this older man in the supermarket earlier that day and spoke with him. Christine starts to investigate. There are many suspects including, the local high school students who came over for an april fool's day hunt, Platt's mysterious son, Roger, and wife, Winnie, who claims she is deaf in one ear and the local nursery owner who wanted a piece of Platt's land. Christine is having a hard time determining who the killer is, so she returns to St. Stephens covenant and speaks with Sister Joseph for more insight. Can Christine Bennett determine who the killer is before she gets herself killed? This is an excellent novel of mystery and suspense that can easily be devoured in one sitting.

A good puzzler

Christine Bennett meets Willard Platt when her three-year-old son Eddie hits him with a shopping cart. Christine learns that Willard has filed many pesky lawsuits. Christine relates the incident to her spouse, New York City Detective Sergeant Jack Brooks, who also says that Willard is a disagreeable individual.On April Fool's Day, a driving Christine sees a man lying on the ground. She finds Willard dead with a knife in his back, but that proves false because he is working with the high school drama club. However, later that same day someone kills Willard. That night, a driving Christine sees a woman walking on a lonely street. It turns out to be Willard's widow trekking a mile and a half to her son's house. Perhaps it is a vestige of her fifteen years in a monastery, many as a nun, but the Good Samaritan Christine takes the woman to her son's home. There, Christine witnesses the ultimate dysfunctional family, which raises Christine's curiosity and her concern for Willard's wife. She begins to investigate what happened to Willard.Lee Harris' holiday murders are always a time to celebrate because they are typically among the year's best cozies. The latest tale, THE APRIL FOOLS' MURDER, is the usual well-written suburban mystery that hooks readers from start to finish as a seemingly innocent lamb of a plot turns into a roaring story line cozy-style. In her thirteenth appearance, Christine retains her freshness due to her caring nature and curiosity. Fans of the series will relish the newest entry while newcomers will know that the kudos bestowed on the Bennett novels are not April Fool's Day jokes.Harriet Klausner