Books

The Feng Shui Detective
Taking the Wrap: A Mandy Dyer Mystery (Mandy Dyer Mysteries)
The Cemetery Yew
The Water Clock
The Fire Baby
The Fall: A Thriller
The Druperman Tapes
A Dreaming Detective
Counting to Infinity
Ah, Treachery!
Missionary Stew
Buried Dreams (Lewis Cole Mysteries)
I Love My Smith & Wesson
The Blue Rose: An English Garden Mystery
Tripletree
Bahamarama
Inside Track
Jack in the Pulpit
A Watery Grave
Stone Cribs
The Twenty-Seventh City (Bestselling Backlist)
The Silence of the Rain: An Inspector Espinosa Mystery
A Landing on the Sun
The Interpreter
One Foot in Eden

Average customer rating:

Very Amusing Far Eastern Sem-Detective Series!
needs more work
Fun and philosophy
overrated
Wonderful read

The Feng Shui Detective
Nury Vittachi
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Evil Intentions: A Feng Shui Mystery (Feng Shui Mysteries)
Adventures of a Feng Shui Detective: How Inner Clues Reveal Your Outer Life
The Day It Rained Letters

ASIN: 0312320590

Book Description

Mr. Wong is a feng shui consultant in Singapore, but his cases tend to involve a lot more than just interior decoration. You see, Wong specializes in a certain type of problem premises: crime scenes. His latest case involves a mysterious young woman and a deadly psychic reading that ultimately leads him to Sydney where the story climaxes at the Opera House, a building known for its appalling feng shui. A delightful combination of crafty plotting, quirky humor, and Asian philosophy, the Feng Shui Detective is an investigator like no other!

Customer Reviews:

Very Amusing Far Eastern Sem-Detective Series!.......2006-01-31

First off, the main characters are actually Feng Shui Specialists, hired to analyze buildings, rooms, houses ,etc. to bring maximum harmony and beauty to their work. The criminal investigations come about through their work, and through noticing discrepencies in these spaces that do not conform to the highest Feng Shu Standards. Mr. Wong, the boss, is among the driest, most amusing individuals you'll ever meet, and his 18 year old sidekick, Joyce, is a perfect foil, whose modern English can get Mr. Wong slightly baffled. All very interesting, with some Chinese philosophy and stories thrown in at the beginning of each segment. The reviews, mainly from Asia and Australia, say this is a cult in the bud, and they are 100% right!

needs more work.......2004-11-18

This is an entry in the "cozy mystery" category featuring C.F. Wong, feng shui master, and his assistant Joyce McQuinnie. The hallmarks of this genre are oddball characters and a goofy sort of humor. Vittachi tosses in a Singapore setting, which allows a mix of cultures and cultural viewpoints to be described and represented.

Vittachi's descriptive passages tend to feel a bit labored. However, the weakest point in the book is the characterization of Joyce. The presentation of her back story and her emotions very heavy-handed, and her background doesn't seem entirely consistent with what she knows and doesn't know. Her personality tends to change with the needs of the plotline and the need for laughs. She becomes more consistent towards the end of the novel, so hopefully Vittachi will work this out over time.

Another problem is that the reason why C.F. Wong keeps a horrid employee (not Joyce) around is utterly unconvincing. Oddly, C.F. Wong is given very little back story, even though we are told so much of Joyce's.

The novel improves as the author settles in, and the resolution of three or four mysteries is satisfying. His plotting abilites are good. I'm sure his followup books will improve as he gets more comfortable with the characters.

Fun and philosophy.......2004-07-30

This book is a perfect blend of fun -- sometimes laughing out loud humor -- and Eastern philosophy. Where else can you learn that credit cards are bad Feng Shui and that you should always throw away as much stuff as you accumulate. C.F. Wong, the Feng Shui master and amateur detective hero, is the kind of delightful literary character that will live with you long after you have finished this book.

The only disappointing think about this book is that there are no other installments of this mystery series available, at least in the U.S. Here's hoping the publisher is working on solving that problem right now!

overrated.......2004-05-19

I tried to read this book, but it was too silly. Not lighthearted, just simply SILLY! Could not finish it. The ridiculous Wendy, so boring.

Wonderful read.......2004-03-11

Both this book and Vittachi's follow-on "The Feng Shui Detective Goes South" are spot-on when dealing with the issues of Feng Shui and how it fits into the daily lives of of individuals. His detective is likable but not devoid of normal foibles and mistakes.

The writing captures the sights/smells/sounds of life in the East very well. My only preference would have been for more focus on Hong Kong (Gongers are more superstitious than any group I've encountered) especially since the author has spent so much time there. But, this is a minor point. I've spent 4 years living in Hong Kong, 3 in Beijing and made long visits to Australia and Singapore (two months in each location) and can attest to the authenticity of the world that Vittachi has painted.

Average customer rating:

Apparently a duplicate

The Feng Shui Detective Goes South
Nury Vittachi
Manufacturer: Duffy & Snelgrove
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Customer Reviews:

Apparently a duplicate.......2007-05-16

I enjoyed this story thoroughly, but when I previously read it, it was entitled the Feng Shui Detective. According to the publisher's website (www.duffyandsnellgrove.com.au), Feng Shui Detective was originally the name of a collection of short stories. Apparently it was then used for this novel. Obviously, there's considerable confusion, and I wouldn't have bought this somewhat pricey reprint if I'd known it. Other readers will want to be careful.

But to return to the story - it is set in Singapore with its collection of different cultures and mix of the traditional and the ultramodern. Vittachi plays the difference off one another with hilarious results. C.F. Wong, a respected feng shui practitioner, is performing an apparantly routine analysis of an apartment, when someone attempts to set it on fire. The event launches him in pursuit of several inter-related and ever more complicated mysteries. The story is both suspenseful, insightful, and extremely funny. Nury Vittachi has long been one of my favorite essayists, and obviously his talents carry over into fiction.

A Deadly Arrangement (Feng Shui Mysteries)

Average customer rating:

A Deadly Arrangement (Feng Shui Mysteries)
Too much Feng Shui
Fast read and interesting concept, but a bit over the top
A one sitting read

A Deadly Arrangement (Feng Shui Mysteries)
Denise Osborne
Manufacturer: Berkley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Designed to Kill
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Evil Intentions: A Feng Shui Mystery (Feng Shui Mysteries)
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Strangled Intuition

ASIN: 0425181847
Release Date: 2001-09-05

Book Description

Feng shui practitioner Salome Waterhouse can spot a bad vibe from a mile away. Usually a simple rearranging of a room can patch things up. But occasionally, she has to delve a little deeper...

In A Deadly Arrangement, the first book in the series, Salome inherits her grandfather's infamous Perfume Mansion, a place stinking of bad energy. She chooses to rent it out to artist Palmer Fordham. But before she has a chance to apply her feng shui principles, she finds Palmer dead. Now, Salome is the prime suspect in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Talk about bad feng shui...

Customer Reviews:

A Deadly Arrangement (Feng Shui Mysteries).......2005-05-26

I loved this book. It was such fun to read a book about a character that thinks and operates like I do. As a feng shui practitioner thinking and seeing things from the feng shui aspect is automatic. I only marked the book down because I found way to many homonyms. One or two I can overlook but there were many in this book and careful editing would have caught them, spell check will not. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Osborne's books.

Too much Feng Shui.......2003-02-11

Salome Waterhouse finds Palmer Fordham dead. He rents the house from her that has been in her family for years. She is a Feng Shui practicioner. She had received an anonymous payment and request to perform a Feng Shui consultation for his birthday.

Her cousin Phyllis Waterhouse is the Chief of Police. Their relationship is strained because their grandfather left the Perfume Mansion (the house she'd rented to Palmer and surrounding land) to Salome. Dora Whalen, the Perfume's housekeeper, lives in the caretaker's cottage on the grounds of the Perfume. Salome's ex, Gabe, is a famous mystery author. Salome did lots of research with him when they were married. Palmer was a famous artist.

Salome looks into Palmer's life and tries to help figure out who would have wanted Palmer dead. It ends up putting Phyllis and her in danger.

This book was not one of my favorites. It is well written, but I found it to be VERY heavy with Feng Shui. I would have liked the story better without so much description of Feng Shui. I don't think it contributed to the story.

I will say that I have read the 2nd book in this series and liked it much better.

Fast read and interesting concept, but a bit over the top.......2002-01-29

I enjoyed this book, and look forward to reading the rest of the series. It was a fast read based on a feng shui practitioner -- and with feng shui thus interspersed throughout. (Knowing virtually nothing about feng shui, I found that very intriguing.)
The mystery/solution seemed hopelessly convoluted and far-fetched, but this was probably the result of it being the author's first book ... I'm sure that the rest of the series will be more believable -- and, as previously stated, the feng shui connection was unique and intriguing.

A one sitting read.......2001-09-05

For five years, bicoastal traveler Salome Waterhouse rented out the Perfume Mansion in Holyrood off of Monterey Bay to artist Palmer Fordham. Because she feels the place has bad vibes, Salome, a practitioner of Feng Shui, has not entered the place in years. However, this morning she goes there because an anonymous person hired her to Feng Shui the place as a birthday present to Palmer.

Instead of her usual scenario, Salome finds a murdered Palmer in the house and immediately calls her cousin Phyllis, chief of police. Phyllis arrives and takes charge of the crime scene while treating Salome with contempt and as the prime suspect. Phyllis always blamed Salome for inheriting the Perfume Mansion, a place she covets. After feeling her cousin's negative vibes Salome knows that she need some strong Feng Shui medicine to prove her innocence and to clean the evil that resides in her mansion.

A DEADLY ARRANGEMENT is a different type of police procedural-amateur sleuth tale due to the large amounts of Feng Shui incorporated throughout the plot. The story line is cleverly designed but is disrupted by the swings back and forth in time. Salome is an interesting and refreshing lead character and the cast's varying degrees of acceptance of her leads to greater understanding of the protagonist and her practice. Followers of Feng Shui will feel the positive vibes emanating from this plot while other readers will say phooey to way too much Feng Shui.

Harriet Klausner

Average customer rating:

Fatal Feng Shui
Leslie Caine
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Women Sleuths | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 044033599X
Release Date: 2007-10-30

Evil Intentions: A Feng Shui Mystery (Feng Shui Mysteries)

Average customer rating:

Written like a screenplay
Written like a screenplay
Written like a screenplay

Evil Intentions: A Feng Shui Mystery (Feng Shui Mysteries)
Denise Osborne
Manufacturer: John Daniel & Company Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1880284774

Book Description

An eclectic trio of baby boomers -- a Japanese-American Feng Shui practicioner, her ex-husband, a mystery writer, and an African-American private investigator -- join to solve murder and arson in Washington D.C., as a vicious underworld boss threatens them. Salome Waterhouse uses the principles of Feng Shui to track him down, but she must survive more than one close call before justice is done.

Customer Reviews:

Written like a screenplay.......2005-08-03

Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of manipulating and arranging your environment. The idea is to attract chi, a positive life energy, so that it flows smoothly, unblocking any obstructions in your body and environment. Feng Shui evolved from the theory that people are affected in a positive or negative way by their surroundings. Denise Osborne is a Feng Shui practitioner with ties to Hollywood. She has written short films and screenplays, created inter-active web characters, is highly traveled, and has expertise in native American Arts. She gives Feng Shui presentations around the country and owns a studio which sells Feng Shui products called Wind and Water House.

Salome Waterhouse and Germaine Brilliante are friends. Germaine is a member of a four-person woman's group called SOW (Stewardship of Women) who help out less fortunate women. They run a safe house called the Women's Place, and vote to hire Salome to conduct a Feng Shui presentation. But all is not well. June McGann has hired Germaine, an ex-reporter, to follow her wild sister, April. April was the former fiance of Salome's worst enemy, a Duncan Mah. As Germaine and Salome drive to Salome's home after her presentation, they find that someone has thrown a molotov cocktail through her living room window. This is all a prelude to the murder of Honey Lee, June McGann's home organizer:

"'Oh dear,' Germaine whispered. She pulled up to the curb just short of the street and behind a small crowd of onlookers. Salome grabbed her handbag, and with a worried look said, 'Do you mind waiting while I find out what's going on?"'

EVIL INTENTIONS is clearly written like a screenplay, with obvious scenes in mind. It takes a little while for the reader to identify the characters, who are well drawn and interesting. Salome Waterhouse is a gentle Asian woman with high intelligence and an interesting background. Her ex-husband is a best selling author of mysteries, and her background work with him plus her keen powers of observation make her the perfect sleuth. Feng Shui permeates the tale, creating a nice juxtaposition to the unsavory characters that make up the underworld that Salome, her friend Jude, and her ex-husband, Gabe explore. New alliances form in this skillful tale.

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

Written like a screenplay.......2005-08-03

Adventures of a Feng Shui Detective: How Inner Clues Reveal Your Outer Life

Average customer rating:

GREAT! Finally a book that shows how Feng Shui really works
Disappointing
Great First Glimpse
Life is meant for books like this.
If you have any doubts about the power of Feng Shui...

Adventures of a Feng Shui Detective: How Inner Clues Reveal Your Outer Life
Valmai Howe Elkins
Manufacturer: Woodley & Watts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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The Feng Shui Detective

ASIN: 096989726X

Book Description

Join the Feng Shui Detective as she takes you inside 36 real homes and businesses. What they reveal about their owners sends readers scurrying around their own homes and businesses to discover what those environments are saying about them-and to make changes.

Customer Reviews:

GREAT! Finally a book that shows how Feng Shui really works.......2001-04-14

A truly helpful book. I loved it and constantly refer back to it. I had read several other books on Feng Shui. They suggested changes to make but never related them back to results. This is a fun-to-read book about people who have made specific changes and received specific results. It's the only book on that treats the subject this way. I read it in one sitting -- acutally lying -- I couldn't sleep until I'd finished it. In the morning I began moving furniture. THE BEST. I can't wait for more from the Feng Shui Dectective.

Disappointing.......2001-02-14

I'm disappointed with this book. It's vague, and has very little useful information.

Outline of a case: - The client called - She visits the location without any foreknowledge of the situation the resident is in - A general description of the location - From clues, she discovers the problems - Tells the client her findings - Client confirms author's suspicions - After making adjustments the client is happy.

The only part of the case where we see some details is the clues she discovers. She explains the clues very well, but doesn't say why they are a problem.

For example, in one case where the man had just separated, the author explains that she could see the problem because in the relationship corner of his kitchen, he had a bowl of lemons, a bottle of balsamic vinegar, and a block with sharp knifes. Why? These items are common in a kitchen. What gave these clues away? Did she pick up bad energy intuitively, and it is difficult to translate into writing?

As to the solutions, again, there are no specifics, except perhaps mentionning that the offending items are relocated, but no mention of where.

If you're trying to learn about Feng Shui, don't bother with this book. Get if you're absolutely desparate to read about Feng Shui and you can't find anything else.

Great First Glimpse.......2000-04-16

Adventures of a Feng Shui Detective is easy to read and a fun way to discover feng shui. It was the first book I read on the subject and I found the writing to be accessible, open, engaging. It explained many of my intuitive feelings about design made me want to further explore how feng shui could bring some balance to our home.

Life is meant for books like this........1999-10-15

Valmai has done it again, only this time she has provided us with easy specific tools for growth. By letting us into her own experience right off the bat, she clearly shows us why and how she has just written a best seller.

If you have any doubts about the power of Feng Shui..........1999-10-15

...you won't after you read this book. In a truly unique way this book makes it apparent that our inner psyche not only shapes our homes but is affected by deliberate changes to those same surroundings.

Average customer rating:

The Feng Shui Detective Goes South
Nury Vittachi
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Average customer rating:

The Feng Shui Detective
Nury Vittachi
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Designed to Kill (Beeler Large Print Mystery Series)

Average customer rating:

Feng Shui practitioner Salome Waterhouse is at it again
tremendous amateur sleuth

Designed to Kill (Beeler Large Print Mystery Series)
Denise Osborne
Manufacturer: Thomas T. Beeler Publisher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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Body of Intuition

ASIN: 1574905740

Book Description

When a New Age center attracts bad energy, Feng Shui expert Salome Waterhouse must redirect her ch'i-and find the lines that lead to murder.

Customer Reviews:

Feng Shui practitioner Salome Waterhouse is at it again.......2003-10-15

Salome Waterhouse is a feng shui practitioner. She is leading a feng shui seminar at a New Age conference at the Star Institute. Toby Ashcroft, Institute owner and former dot.com tycoon, has recently been found murdered in the pumpkin patch on the Ashcroft estate. Star Institute is also on the estate and just feet away from where he was found.

Salome's cousin, Phyllis Waterhouse, is now dating Detective Gordon Child, the lead detective on the Ashcroft murder case. She asks Salmoe to look into the murder while there. Detective Child also has asperations to be Governor of California.

Unbeknownst to Phyllis, Salome has begun a private study of properties where murders have been committed. She is doing this to see if there are similarities that hit at potential violence. When she has studied more properties, she plans to publish her findings. She is hopeful that this will interest law enforcement.

On the way to the Star Institute, Salmoe is run off the road. When she catches a glimpse of the driver, she thinks it looks like her recently made enemy Duncan Mah but can't figure out why he'd be in California instead of DC where he lives.

She later realizes at the conference, that it was Ross Penderville, one of Toby's partners in Toys for Techies (his dot.com business) that ran her off the road. He is quite chummy with Ivy Waterhouse, Toby's sister. She is in charge of the Star Institute now.

I am not a fan of feng shui but I still enjoy this series. The situations that Salome finds herself in are very amusing and this is a very enjoyable series. The author definitely knows a lot about feng shui and has weaved it into the story in a delightful fashion.

This is a great cozy mystery. I recommend it!

tremendous amateur sleuth.......2003-03-06

A father and his children stop at a pumpkin stand to buy an artistically carved jack-o-lantern when one of the kids discovers that a scarecrow in the grove is a dead man. His throat has been cut open and the case attracts a lot of media publicity because the victim is Toby Ashcroft, who founded his own dot.com company, which made him millions before it went bust. His sister Ivy, who inherits his whole estate, is holding a new age symposium at Star House and one of the speakers is Salome Waterhouse.

From the time, she arrives on the Ashcroft estate, feng shui practitioner Salome finds very little to recommend the place. After a guest is murdered, the conference is canceled with everyone getting sent home. When the police arrest a suspect, Salome thinks they made a mistake and applying the same senses she uses in feng shui, she investigates the murder to insure the vindication of the innocent party.

Denise Osborne does an incredible job showing what feng shui is (and is not) and how readers can apply the techniques, with very little effort, into their everyday lives. The protagonist combines mysticism with pragmatism, but her willingness to go one step or more beyond the norm is what readers will admire about her. This amateur sleuth tale is one book that is so entertaining it must be finished in one sitting.

Harriet Klausner

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