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Please use this topic to discuss the third story in Holding Fire, "Death's Door" by Chris Chan.

What do you think of this story? What do you like most about it?

I like the way it took the theme and applied it to a class murder mystery format. I think it's a fun tale.

What do you think?

I thought the storyline on this one was very clever and the characters well written, but the writing style seemed a little stiff in some places. I think Q is my favorite character in this story. He seemed to be able to zone in on the mystery right from the start, and his quirky manner was rather endearing.

I realized that I posted this comment meant for your story under the wrong short title, so here is the comment that I meant for your story. Thanks Sparkling One

The writer really reeled me into this mystery. The story was quite multi-faceted, and kept me guessing until near the end. This story made me sad for that young girl and her baby, and how the baby would grow up without either parent

I thought this story was cute and the mystery was interesting. The murder mystery style reminded me a little of the Clue board game. The banter between Q and his grandfather was my favorite part of the story. There could have been a smoother way to end the story, other than Miranda walking into the room and Q talking about food.

I also enjoyed the banter. It gave the feeling that the two characters had a deep understanding and respect for each other.

I thought the narrator was great with his curmudgeonly comments. I enjoyed the mystery and appreciated the style with which it was presented. Overall, I thought the story was very clever.

Q reminded me of Colombo. He was a little annoying yet right on track. I loved him yet I wanted to punch him, too. Go figure.

As I read the story, it reminded me of Agatha Christie's work and voila! I read about the author only to discover he works for Agatha Christie Ltd.

This was a fun story.

Khudecek, I agree with you about the similarity between Q and Colombo. I was thinking they should have considered the hostess sooner but a great story nonetheless.

sahmoun2778 wrote:Khudecek, I agree with you about the similarity between Q and Colombo. I was thinking they should have considered the hostess sooner but a great story nonetheless.

I'm not very good at figuring out mysteries but I had my suspicions about her when she started acting all weird while she was taking their orders.

I agree that Q was the most interesting and colorful character in the story.
I did wish that there would have been a twist in motive, we know from the beginning that the murder has something to do with Mr. Stuart's promiscuity, and after Tracy rubs her stomach, I was able to figure out the ending too swiftly.

Michelle-lit wrote:I agree that Q was the most interesting and colorful character in the story.
I did wish that there would have been a twist in motive, we know from the beginning that the murder has something to do with Mr. Stuart's promiscuity, and after Tracy rubs her stomach, I was able to figure out the ending too swiftly.

I was onto that too, but at the same time, I suspected just about everyone. So I figured she was a red herring. Nope.

I loved this story, but I was a bit dissatisfied with the end. Why were they feeding Miranda all that food at the end? Did I miss something, or is that just how it ended?

Really great, though--an awful lot of talent. I think it would be tough to write such a compelling mystery. I was disappointed with the formatting, and I don't know if it was just Kindle, or paperback too. It didn't detract from the story, except in a few places where there were missing words in the dialogue. But why all the tabbing issues with paragraph starts?

All around, it was intriguing and drew me in from the start. It didn't let up, either.

khudecek wrote:

sahmoun2778 wrote:Khudecek, I agree with you about the similarity between Q and Colombo. I was thinking they should have considered the hostess sooner but a great story nonetheless.

I'm not very good at figuring out mysteries but I had my suspicions about her when she started acting all weird while she was taking their orders.

Good catch! I thought she was acting weird because she knew something about the murder, not necessarily that she was the killer.

Well, I liked it. it was a well-written story and I love murder mystery genre.
It keeps your mind focus on just one thing, finding the villain, evil vs good.
It wasn't anything special but it was a fun read

This was my favorite story in the book. It was good. Q was the best character. The grandfather who was a detective for years, was slow on this one. Wally was useless! Miranda could have been more interesting. Hate that a pregnant Tracy is going to jail. The story could have lingered a little longer on the Bunches' daughter. Look forward to reading more from Chris.

As I was reading this story I was strongly reminded of Agatha Christie. The story had the same rhythm as a Miss Marple mystery.

It was a fun, light mystery. I guessed who the murderer was half way through. I agree that Q was the most interesting character. I laughed out loud at his inability to whisper and when he shouted that the dead man had AIDS.