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Charlotte MacLeod
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The Odd Job (Sarah Kelling & Max Bittersohn Mysteries Series Book 11) Kindle Edition

by Charlotte MacLeod (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 out of 5 stars 535 ratings
A museum murder puts Boston’s married art sleuths to work: “The screwball mystery is Charlotte MacLeod’s cup of tea” (Chicago Tribune).
When the doddering patrons of the Wilkins Museum learned that dozens of their priceless masterworks had been stolen and replaced by forgeries, there was no one to turn to but Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn—the savviest art detectives of the Boston upper crust. Nabbing the crooks was easy, but finding the missing paintings has proven trickier. Years later, the collection’s prized Titian is still lost, and the new director, loudmouthed cattle baron Elwyn Fleesom Turbot, is getting impatient. And things get even more troublesome when members of his staff begin to die. It starts when Dolores Tawne, the elderly, bossy museum administrator, is stabbed through the base of her skull with an antique hatpin. Inside the dead woman’s safe deposit box Sarah finds clues to a conspiracy that stretches back decades and a way to stop the murders that are still to come.
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  1. Book 11 of 12
    Sarah Kelling & Max Bittersohn Mysteries
  2. Print length
    310 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    MysteriousPress.com/Open Road
  5. Publication date
    October 2, 2012
  6. File size
    4.7 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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There are 12 books in this series.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Reaching for too many laughs, MacLeod falls flat with the 12th entry in her Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn series (after Something in the Water). The title refers to Sarah's duties as unexpected executrix of the will of bossy Dolores Tawne, administrator of Boston's Wilkins Museum, who has been stabbed to death with an antique hairpin (a method, Sarah observes, written about by famed archeologist Amelia Peabody Emerson, Elizabeth Peters's series heroine). Among Dolores's effects is a safe deposit box she left unopened for 30 years. The box contains six antique stickpins and a photograph of the Wicked Widows, a group of seven masked street performers who, it turns out, are wanted for the murders of four Boston policemen some years ago. Relying on disguises and guesswork, Sarah triumphs in a final melodramatic scene. The meandering narrative, aimless chatter and absence of Sarah's husband, Max, who's in Argentina, sabotage this effort.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The latest in MacLeod's series of Sarah and Max Kelling mysteries more than meets the standards of her earlier works, filled as ever with touches of comedy, eccentric characters, and mild suspense, all in a neatly depicted Bostonian setting. Left on her own, while her art-detective spouse Max Kelling is in Argentina on a job, Sarah holds down the office, nearly gets herself killed, secures child care for her son (whose nurse is ill), probates an estate, and solves the murder of the woman who named Sarah her executor. Sarah is impressively competent, but she is aided by her houseman/butler Charles and a local police detective, both of whom are wise to the adventures that beset the Kelling family. MacLeod's tendency to restate the case, via Sarah updating relatives and police professionals, results in some unnecessary repetitions, but readers who like to solve the mystery before novel's end may find these summations desirable. Denise Perry Donavin

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0099I8O3E
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ MysteriousPress.com/Open Road (October 2, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 2, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4.7 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 310 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 535 ratings

About the author

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Charlotte MacLeod

Charlotte MacLeod

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Charlotte MacLeod (1922–2005) was an internationally bestselling author of cozy mysteries. Born in Canada, she moved to Boston as a child, and lived in New England most of her life. After graduating from college, she made a career in advertising, writing copy for the Stop & Shop Supermarket Company before moving on to Boston firm N. H. Miller & Co., where she rose to the rank of vice president. In her spare time, MacLeod wrote short stories, and in 1964 published her first novel, a children’s book called Mystery of the White Knight.

In Rest You Merry (1978), MacLeod introduced Professor Peter Shandy, a horticulturist and amateur sleuth whose adventures she would chronicle for two decades. The Family Vault (1979) marked the first appearance of her other best-known characters: the husband and wife sleuthing team Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn, whom she followed until her last novel, The Balloon Man, in 1998.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
535 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book enjoyable, with one noting the complexity of the various puzzles. The plot receives positive feedback, with one customer highlighting how the narrative moves at a good pace. They appreciate the humor, with one mentioning the funny cast of characters, and find it to be a good read.

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7 customers mention "Enjoyment"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable, with several mentioning they devoured the whole series. One customer particularly appreciates the complexity of the various puzzles.

"...Rhys even more (written under name of Alisa Craig), these books are thoroughly enjoyable. More please!!!!!" Read more

"...I enjoy the complexity of the various puzzles and though often a bit confused..." Read more

"I devoured this series, I liked it so much...." Read more

"Fun, funny, light-hearted book." Read more

7 customers mention "Plot quality"7 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the plots of the book, with one customer noting that the narrative moves along at a good pace and another mentioning that the story is always full of surprises.

"...The characters, the scenarios and the plots are a real delight...." Read more

"...She builds such complex and challenging plots...one must stay on one's toes and put aside some of one's natural skepticism to buy everything that..." Read more

"PMG Her plots are wonderful. Read M Marion's intro to The Family Vault. I'm getting every one I can on my Kindle...." Read more

"...The narrative moves along at a good pace and the mystery plot involving the murder of an art museum staff member is clever, but the lack of husband..." Read more

3 customers mention "Humor"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the humor in the book, with one mentioning the funny cast of characters.

"The characters in this series are delightful...." Read more

"Twisted plotline, funny cast of characters. First of this series I've read and I'm encouraged to go further...." Read more

"I love her quirky characters and the story is always full of surprises." Read more

3 customers mention "Readability"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book to be a good read.

"Good read" Read more

"Love all her books and this is no exception." Read more

"Always a good read...." Read more

3 customers mention "Series quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the series, with one noting it's a lesser entry in what is otherwise a good series.

"A great series..." Read more

"A Lesser Entry in a Good Series..." Read more

"The end of a fantastic series..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Raul Abramson
    5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful series.
    Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    I have read all the series of Sarah Kelling mysteries, starting with “The Family Vault” which is the first one, and I absolutely love them. I only regret that I am approaching the end of the series by now. The characters, the scenarios and the plots are a real delight. It’s hard not to fall in love with Sarah (and, I suppose with Max, if you are a woman). I have encouraged all my reading friends to read those novels and not one has been disappointed by them.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Barbara J. Miller
    5.0 out of 5 stars A great series
    Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    The characters in this series are delightful. Although I like Janet and Madoc Rhys even more (written under name of Alisa Craig), these books are thoroughly enjoyable. More please!!!!!
    2 people found this helpful
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  • pollymom
    4.0 out of 5 stars Sad tale of death and destruction. Widows??? Killing folks? Museum staff murdered and accused? OMG
    Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    probably would not have mourned the character first murdered in this obe, though I did feel a twinge of guilt since we'd met her before...
    Ah, well. I try not to kook to closely at Murder Mysteries and why they are so very popular and Why, in fact, I am so addicted to them. Probably nor a great idea to probe too far...
    This book was a bit, well, inconceivable.
    I have to put logic aside when I read Charlotte MacLeod's books. She builds such complex and challenging plots...one must stay on one's toes and put aside some of one's natural skepticism to buy everything that happens in these stories.
    There are many layers, many players and many scenarios in each novek.
    I enjoy the complexity of the various puzzles and though often a bit confused (I read many passages aloud to my husband to share the laugh, the scene or the confusion ...to get his opinion added to mine).
    She manages each time to work it all out and mesh all the disparate elements in each part of the whole to an almost invariably clear solution or series of solutions by the end of the book.
    Thank goodness for that!
    I recommend these books. I enjoy each one. I really do.
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  • Ginny
    5.0 out of 5 stars PMG Her plots are wonderful. Read M Marion's intro to The Family Vault
    Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    PMG Her plots are wonderful. Read M Marion's intro to The Family Vault. I'm getting every one I can on my Kindle. Re-reading is as wonderful when they were first written. Sisters in Crime writers and members that I know consider her one of the best.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Melodie O.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good read
    Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Good read
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  • RMWARZ
    3.0 out of 5 stars A Lesser Entry in a Good Series
    Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    I’ve been reading mysteries for so long that I read some of the Kelling-Bittersohn novels when they were first written. This one was new to me, though, and sadly it was a bit of a disappointment. Seemingly in order to give heroine Sarah Kelling an opportunity to demonstrate her solo crime-solving chops, author MacLeod sends most of the other characters who usually operate in Sarah’s orbit off the scene. The narrative moves along at a good pace and the mystery plot involving the murder of an art museum staff member is clever, but the lack of husband Max’s wisecracks and the absence of the over-the-top eccentricity of the members of the extended Kelling clan take all the comedic verve out of the story, leaving the reader with a comparatively pedestrian whodunit.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Kathryn A Farmer
    5.0 out of 5 stars The end of a fantastic series
    Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Sorry to read the end of the series. I have enjoyed Max and Sarah. Plus all the numerous clan members
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  • Alison S. Coad
    4.0 out of 5 stars Sarah Does the Job
    Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Sarah Kelling Bittersohn is not pleased when her cousin Percy and his wife Anne ask her to accompany them to a luncheon at the home of Percy’s clients, Elwyn Fleesom Turbot and his wife Lala. She is even less pleased when Turbot turns out to be the new head of the board of directors of the Wilkins Museum, particularly when he also turns out to be a bully who thinks he can browbeat Sarah into submission. However, when long-time employee of the Wilkins, Dolores Tawne, is murdered, Sarah begins to realize that her fit of pique with the Turbots is just the beginning of her troubles with the Turbots…. This eleventh novel in the Sarah Kelling series harks back to the third book, “The Palace Guard,” in which various shenanigans take place at the Wilkins Museum, and Sarah and Max are in the thick of it. There are nicely done digressions back to 1960s-era “happenings” in Boston here, complete with a mysterious group of women who sort of slither in and out of focus throughout, and, of course, some of Sarah’s many relatives put in their eccentric appearances here and there. Max is off in Argentina, though, and I missed his presence in this book. Overall, this is another charming piece of fiction with which to while away an afternoon; recommended!
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • GrammaHine
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fun
    Reviewed in Canada on August 28, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    As with all the books in the series this one sparkles with witty repartee and a clever puzzle. Proper Bostonian Sarah Kelling-Bittersohn takes on a challenging case all by herself without her normal assistants. The reasons for her partners in crime being missing are almost as entertaining as the mystery and I was well pleased to read about old acquaintances from previous books and catch up on the threads of their varied stories.
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  • 宗村珠江
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Odd Job
    Reviewed in Japan on November 22, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    シャーロット・マクラウドの本シリーズを久し振りで読んだ。相変わらず、ファンタスティックで軽快で（良い意味で）忙しい。お話の核となる謎は普通だと「ついていけない」部類に入るのだが、登場人物の言葉や身振りが実に鮮やかに描かれているので、すっと物語世界に入っていける。その時間は本当に楽しかった。
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  • Jacqui King
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good reading.
    Reviewed in Australia on October 26, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    So much fun to read these light-hearted mysteries. Recommended for anyone who enjoys smiling while reading their crime fiction. Without Max Sarah has to sort out by herself this mystery which has links back many years.
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on November 28, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    VERY SATISFIED WITH MY ORDER
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