From Publishers Weekly
"Fidelma placed no great reliance on astrologers, for it was a science which seemed to rely solely on the interpretive ability of the individual," says Peter Tremayne in the first entry in this all-original anthology of mystery stories on the common theme of reading the stars. A few tales later a character in Edward Marston's "The Sea Horse" says astrologers are "complete crooks." Even Edgar-winner Perry admits in her introduction that she doesn't believe in horoscopes unless "they tell me that I am unique and exciting and my destiny is full of wonderful things." Within those bounds of tolerance for the subject, most readers should find an attitude to sympathize with and a story or two to relish for its wit and good writing. Tremayne's contribution, for example, stars his wonderful creation, seventh-century Celtic nun Sister Fidelma, and as in his novels about her, he instantly plunges us into Fidelma's arcane but totally accessible world. In Marston's tale, a marvelously bitchy "yacht of fools" journey, the most sympathetic character (the astrologer) winds up dead. Jane Lindskold's "Slaying the Serpent" gives readers the always welcome thrill of outsmarting the detective, because they know in advance that the story's serial murders have something to do with astrology. Other tales from such reliables as Bill Crider, Peter Lovesey, Lawrence Block and Perry herself (a deft little period number called "The Blue Scorpion") add to the guilty pleasure the same one many of us get every morning by turning secretly to the horoscope page. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
The 16 original stories collected here, by turns clever, sinister, and amusing, find their inspiration in the stars. Readers with an astrological bent will find the plots a delight. Some well-known names, including Lawrence Block, Peter Lovesey, and Perry herself, contribute stories starring a surprisingly wide range of sleuths--not just astrologers but nuns, soldiers, and even a librarian. The latter appears in Simon Brett's contribution, which is one of the book's highlights. The librarian, a Libra, uses her attention to detail to break an astrology column's code and uncover a child pornography ring. The last story, Perry's crisply plotted tale about two sisters in love with the same man, neatly completes an enjoyable, engaging package. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Book Description
Murderous portents lie in the astral plane, and deadly reckonings wreak havoc in the human heart in this collection of sixteen original stories by such masterly mystery writers as Lawrence Block, Peter Lovesey, Peter Tremayne, Jon L. Breen, Edward Marston, Bill Crider, Simon Brett, and the internationally acclaimed Anne Perry.
Death by Horoscope FROM THE PUBLISHER
All signs point to murder in this anthology of astrological mysteries from some of the most popular crime writers in the zodiac, among them Lawrence Block, Peter Lovesey, Peter Tremayne, John L. Breen, Edward Marston, Bill Crider, Simon Brett, and the internationally acclaimed, Edgar award-winning author Anne Perry.
Anne Perry also edited this masterfully cast excursion into life on the cusp and death by astrology in which the stars-and authors like Jane Lindskold, Lillian Stewart Carl. Mat Coward, P. N. Elrod, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and Catherine Dain-entangle the destinies of lovers, adulterers, adventurers, hit men, soldiers, nuns, police detectives, and, of course, astrologers in places like New York, Texas, Las Vegas, the Bahamas, a war torn England, and the studio lots of Hollywood.
While the devotees and true believers among the characters in these tales passionately embrace the mysteries of the zodiac, others, the skeptics and the scoffers, would dismiss astrological forecasts as amusing or inconsequential poppycock. To dangerous degree, though, all of them learn that murderous portents lie in the astral plane and deadly reckonings wreak havoc in the human heart.
FROM THE CRITICS
Kirkus Reviews
Sixteen original (but not very) stories, most featuring a skeptic who comes to believe in the power of the stars even if the reader remains unconvinced. The three hit-men dabbling in astrological mayhem include Lawrence Block's Keller, the possessor of a "murderer's thumb"; Kristine Kathryn Rusch's many-aliased Arizonian, who contemplates a star-mandated career change; and P.N. Elrod's Tarrant, who's either an Aries, a Pisces, or a Taurus, and lethal under any sign. Editor Perry checks in with a WWI tale of rival sisters and a birth-sign pin from a beau; Peter Tremayne presents seventh-century Celtic lawyer Sister Fidelma in a classic puzzle of free will vs. determinism; Marcia Talley depicts a writer destined to meet a mysterious woman who's inconveniently married. Catherine Dain situates her murder at a psychic conference; Peter Lovesey and Simon Brett both pick off isolated astrology columnists. Astrological clues pinpoint murderers in Jon Breen's who-killed-a-psychiatrist tale, Edward Marston's boating party mishap engineered by someone born in the Chinese year of the horse, Jane Lindskold's account of a serial killer run amok among birthdays, Bill Crider's behind-the-scenes story of a 1940s movie star's personal astrologer, and Lillian Stewart Carl's reminiscence of the traitor concealed in a WWII manor house. But the two standouts are Mat Coward's extremely witty believer/nonbeliever affair, "Reason to Believe," and Brendan DuBois's grandson/grandfather review of the Apollo 13 mission, "The Aquarius Mission." The editor's introduction is too brief and slapdash to pick up all the obvious portents of the briefest of bookstore stints before most copies are remaindered or pulped.
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