Bruce Kimmel's book: Murder At The Grove

Reader reviews from Amazon.com : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

“Murder at the Grove is Bruce Kimmel’s follow-up to pleasant Murder at Hollywood High. Both novels have as their central character Adriana Hofstetter. As in the first book, she is ably supported by her close friend Billy and deterred by her Mother and the same police detectives who play key roles in the first novel.

Kimmel’s strong points have always been his strong character creations and dialogue written in the appropriate style for the characters. Kimmel has a wonderful ear for teenager Adriana’s speech patterns and vocabulary and all the other characters that are from her generation. Kimmel carefully lays out his story in which Adriana Hofstetter is writing a newspaper article for her school newspaper about how people are becoming extensions of their iPods and iPhones called, “I, Pod, I, Phone.” The article seems to be her take of the classic 1950’s film “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” where people are turned into “Pods” and reborn as soulless versions of themselves. The deceased in this story is one of the people Adriana has interviewed for her story. The person later dies from a supposed drug overdose.

The story is carefully plotted; taking Hofstetter from interviewing friends and family of the deceased for a tribute newspaper article to possible suspects in a murder, which she believes was committed, instead of the “official” police report of a drug overdose. She travels Los Angeles while visiting the suspects; in doing so, the city becomes a character in itself. Bruce Kimmel has a deep affection for a city that he grew up in and is a now a memory of what it used to be.

I enjoyed reading this mystery and I was never quite sure who the murderer was. My allegiances kept shifting as to the identity of the murderer and I was not disappointed by the revelation of who the murderer was and their motive for the killing.

I originally had one quibble with the story. Why would Adriana invest so much time trying to prove that person she hardly knew did not die from a drug overdose? There was more of a personal investment as to her involvement in the first mystery. I then realized it didn’t matter that she hardly knew the victim because that’s who Adriana Hofstetter is. It is that what makes her a refreshing character because she doesn’t need a reason to prove a friend innocent of murder or that someone she hardly knew was murdered instead of dying of a drug overdose.

I recommend Murder at the Grove and look forward to next Adriana Hofstetter mystery."
— Michael Shayne, Boca Raton, FL