From Publishers Weekly
The sleuthing is lightweight in this seventh Ellie Haskell story (following How to Murder Your Mother-in-Law), but Cannell's energetic style, loquacious storytelling and subtle humor are firmly in place. After the death of the local librarian in Chitterdon Fells, the recently married milkman adopts her rambunctious dog and the Library League decides to place a bust of the deceased woman in the library. Ellie, who has just hired an au pair for her twins, agrees to contact romance paperback model Karisma to ask if he will appear in a fundraising event. Karisma consents, but, before he arrives, the portly milkman meets an undignified end, suffering a heart attack while trying to wrestle a piece of steak from his new dog. Then, in an apparent accident, Karisma meets his maker in the library. Ellie doubts that the rash of deaths in her small community is just bad luck and, setting her mind to it, finds no shortage of murder suspects. While readers will relish Cannell's witty intelligence, some may wish that this tale, with no clear murder until near the end and little active detection, placed more emphasis on its mystery elements. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Ellie Haskell, happily married to a former paid escort, finds herself absorbed in her twin toddlers, romance novels, and the idea of a career in interior design. Also distancing her from her handsome hubby are events in Chitterton Fells: the town librarian dies under mysterious circumstances, Ellie's nemesis cousin descends on her, and the Library League invites Ellie's fantasy, Karisma?a hunky paperback cover model?to a fundraiser. While told with tongue firmly and dramatically in cheek, the plot loses some humor to often viciously articulate prose and recherche detail. For series fans (e.g., The Widow's Club, Bantam, 1988).Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From the Publisher
Life has been hectic in the Haskell household, but a lull in household affairs should allow Ellie time enough to slim down, pick up the threads of her interior design career, and kick the romance reading habit that keeps here from her marital boudoir. But murder rears its ugly head when the body of the Chitterdon Fells librarian found sprawled among the library stacks. The only positive side of the untimely demise is the arrival of male romance cover model, Karisma, come to town to strut his tawny mane and sun-bronzed muscles for a fund-raiser in the late lamented librarian's name. But when hunky Karisma's entourage is poisoned, and the spouse of a Library League newlywed dies mysteriously, fantasy life careens toward a collision course with reality. Ellie must find a clever killer before she meets a sinister and decidedly unromantic fate! Fizzing with deadly wit and outrageous secrets, How To Murder The Man Of Your Dreams is a mystery to swoon for.

ANNOTATION

As Ellie Haskell arrives for a Chitterton Fells Library meeting, it seems the librarian has had a rendezvous of her own--with death. Ellie's discovery of the corpse, sprawled next to an open copy of The Dream Lover, prompts an unsettling question: Could she have been the victim of the Library ghost, a man with a delusional vendetta against romance novels.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Life has been hectic in the Haskell household, but a lull in household affairs should allow Ellie time enough to slim down, pick up the threads of her interior design career, and kick the romance reading habit that keeps here from her marital boudoir. But murder rears its ugly head when the body of the Chitterdon Fells librarian found sprawled among the library stacks. The only positive side of the untimely demise is the arrival of male romance cover model, Karisma, come to town to strut his tawny mane and sun-bronzed muscles for a fund-raiser in the late lamented librarian's name. But when hunky Karisma's entourage is poisoned, and the spouse of a Library League newlywed dies mysteriously, fantasy life careens toward a collision course with reality. Ellie must find a clever killer before she meets a sinister and decidedly unromantic fate! Fizzing with deadly wit and outrageous secrets, How To Murder The Man Of Your Dreams is a mystery to swoon for.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The sleuthing is lightweight in this seventh Ellie Haskell story (following How to Murder Your Mother-in-Law), but Cannell's energetic style, loquacious storytelling and subtle humor are firmly in place. After the death of the local librarian in Chitterdon Fells, the recently married milkman adopts her rambunctious dog and the Library League decides to place a bust of the deceased woman in the library. Ellie, who has just hired an au pair for her twins, agrees to contact romance paperback model Karisma to ask if he will appear in a fundraising event. Karisma consents, but, before he arrives, the portly milkman meets an undignified end, suffering a heart attack while trying to wrestle a piece of steak from his new dog. Then, in an apparent accident, Karisma meets his maker in the library. Ellie doubts that the rash of deaths in her small community is just bad luck and, setting her mind to it, finds no shortage of murder suspects. While readers will relish Cannell's witty intelligence, some may wish that this tale, with no clear murder until near the end and little active detection, placed more emphasis on its mystery elements. (Sept.)

Library Journal