Carole Berry

United States

When Carole Berry’s first mystery, "The Letter of the Law", was published in 1987, Chicago Tribune Books reviewer Mike Kiley commented that “Berry has made an immediate impact with this debut novel.” Kiley appreciated, in particular, Berry’s heroine, Bonnie Indermill, who was to be the star of a series of novels. Bonnie, portrayed as a witty but otherwise realistically ordinary thirty-six-year-old single woman, works in a declining Manhattan law firm. When one of the firm’s partners disappears, then turns up dead, Bonnie, who has been chosen as the contact between the firm and the police, becomes involved in the case. According to Kiley, although the ending was not spectacular, Berry gives enough hints to keep the reader engaged. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly did find the ending fully satisfying. The law firm having gone under after the murder of the partner, Bonnie next shows up in a job with unspecified duties at an investment firm. Soon, the CEO is violently killed, and although Bonnie is determined not to get involved, the police investigation makes that promise impossible to keep. Armchair Detective reviewer Sue Feder wrote of this second novel, "The Year of the Monkey." A Publishers Weekly reviewer complained that the characters, particularly the women, lacked depth and were exaggerated, but praised Berry for doing “a fine job of conveying life in the Big Apple, and especially the forced intimacy of office relationships." Jane Bakerman, reviewing for Belles Lettres lauded Bonnie’s “enormous potential” as a series protagonist. The third Bonnie Indermill adventure was 1990’s "Good Night, Sweet Prince." Here, Bonnie is a temporary assistant in a Manhattan ballet company. She has, indeed, become a kind of “permanent temp”, as a Publishers Weekly critic put it, going on to a new job in each book and thus allowing her author the opportunity to describe a new setting and set of characters. A ballet star recently defected from Russia is killed on Bonnie’s watch, during his debut American performance. Disbelieving the theory that the murder was done by the KGB, Bonnie investigates, with results that made a critic for Publishers Weekly call "Good Night, Sweet Prince" “adroitly plotted, well- written... the best of the series so far.” Booklist critic Candace Smith praised “a likable detective and a well-paced plot.” Berry’s 1991 novel "Island Girl" is set in the Bahamas. Bonnie, acting as a stand-in for a friend, leaves New York to take a temporary job as an assistant fitness instructor. A run-down resort, an assault on Bonnie, and the death of her roommate are part of the narrative. This change of pace received positive responses from critics. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly found that the plot was uninspired, but commented that Berry “evocatively paints the tawdry scene at a down- at-the-heels resort. ...This is a pleasant diversion for a cold winter’s night.” A Kirkus Reviews writer also used the phrase “a pleasant diversion” — although the identity of the killer did not surprise that reviewer. The write-up praised “exotic ambiance, and some quirky characters.” Library Journal reviewer Rex E. Klett, although believing the plot to be rather threadbare, wrote that Berry makes use of “quaint touches, a moderately exotic backdrop, several odd characters, and equable prose.” With her next novel, "Nightmare Point", Berry took a detour from amiable whodunits and Bonnie Indermill into chilling psychological suspense, with successful results. Protagonist Joyce Neuhauser is a young mother who has just returned home from a series of shock treatments for depression, when her thirteen- year-old daughter Debbie is kidnapped by the ordinary-looking but twisted local man Ronnie Haddon. Joyce’s gradual recovery of crucial memories involving Haddon proves to be the key to tracking him down, explaining his romantic obsession with Debbie, and rescuing the girl. A Kirkus Reviews writer applauded the novel’s “crisp pacing”, and “vivid minor characters” resulting in “absorbing storytelling that showcases a versatile talent.” In the opinion of a Publishers Weekly reviewer, "Nightmare Point" was “often intriguing” as well as “layered” and “suspenseful.” A Library Journal reviewer hailed the “spellbinding suspense” and “crackling psychological tension” of "Nightmare Point." Berry returned to Bonnie Indermill with "The Death of a Difficult Woman" and "The Death of a Dancing Fool." In the first of these two, Bonnie works as a temporary assistant to the coordinator of relocation operations in a law firm. When a female senior partner is killed during the moving process, and the police refuse to focus their investigation on the stalker whom Bonnie has previously seen, Bonnie takes it upon herself to investigate the stalker. Although a Publishers Weekly reviewer disliked the plot’s simplistic solution, the reviewer commented that Bonnie was “likable.” A Kirkus Reviews critic was more positive, praising the novel as a “pristine whodunit.” In "The Death of a Dancing Fool", Bonnie, called by an old acquaintance with an offer of work at his chic dance club, takes a job as a dance instructor. Bonnie is recruited by the police to work undercover to help solve the mysterious death of a drug-addicted celebrity patron of the club. Rex E. Klett, a contributor to Library Journal, commented that the novel is a satisfactory choice because it offers “a selection of several dancing fools from which to choose the murderer or next victim.”

Carole Berry

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Background

Carole Berry was born in United States. The exact place and date of her birth remain unknown.

Career

When Carole Berry’s first mystery, "The Letter of the Law", was published in 1987, Chicago Tribune Books reviewer Mike Kiley commented that “Berry has made an immediate impact with this debut novel.” Kiley appreciated, in particular, Berry’s heroine, Bonnie Indermill, who was to be the star of a series of novels. Bonnie, portrayed as a witty but otherwise realistically ordinary thirty-six-year-old single woman, works in a declining Manhattan law firm. When one of the firm’s partners disappears, then turns up dead, Bonnie, who has been chosen as the contact between the firm and the police, becomes involved in the case. According to Kiley, although the ending was not spectacular, Berry gives enough hints to keep the reader engaged. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly did find the ending fully satisfying.

The law firm having gone under after the murder of the partner, Bonnie next shows up in a job with unspecified duties at an investment firm. Soon, the CEO is violently killed, and although Bonnie is determined not to get involved, the police investigation makes that promise impossible to keep. Armchair Detective reviewer Sue Feder wrote of this second novel, "The Year of the Monkey." A Publishers Weekly reviewer complained that the characters, particularly the women, lacked depth and were exaggerated, but praised Berry for doing “a fine job of conveying life in the Big Apple, and especially the forced intimacy of office relationships." Jane Bakerman, reviewing for Belles Lettres lauded Bonnie’s “enormous potential” as a series protagonist.

The third Bonnie Indermill adventure was 1990’s "Good Night, Sweet Prince." Here, Bonnie is a temporary assistant in a Manhattan ballet company. She has, indeed, become a kind of “permanent temp”, as a Publishers Weekly critic put it, going on to a new job in each book and thus allowing her author the opportunity to describe a new setting and set of characters. A ballet star recently defected from Russia is killed on Bonnie’s watch, during his debut American performance. Disbelieving the theory that the murder was done by the KGB, Bonnie investigates, with results that made a critic for Publishers Weekly call "Good Night, Sweet Prince" “adroitly plotted, well- written... the best of the series so far.” Booklist critic Candace Smith praised “a likable detective and a well-paced plot.”

Berry’s 1991 novel "Island Girl" is set in the Bahamas. Bonnie, acting as a stand-in for a friend, leaves New York to take a temporary job as an assistant fitness instructor. A run-down resort, an assault on Bonnie, and the death of her roommate are part of the narrative. This change of pace received positive responses from critics. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly found that the plot was uninspired, but commented that Berry “evocatively paints the tawdry scene at a down- at-the-heels resort. ...This is a pleasant diversion for a cold winter’s night.” A Kirkus Reviews writer also used the phrase “a pleasant diversion” — although the identity of the killer did not surprise that reviewer. The write-up praised “exotic ambiance, and some quirky characters.” Library Journal reviewer Rex E. Klett, although believing the plot to be rather threadbare, wrote that Berry makes use of “quaint touches, a moderately exotic backdrop, several odd characters, and equable prose.”

With her next novel, "Nightmare Point", Berry took a detour from amiable whodunits and Bonnie Indermill into chilling psychological suspense, with successful results. Protagonist Joyce Neuhauser is a young mother who has just returned home from a series of shock treatments for depression, when her thirteen- year-old daughter Debbie is kidnapped by the ordinary-looking but twisted local man Ronnie Haddon. Joyce’s gradual recovery of crucial memories involving Haddon proves to be the key to tracking him down, explaining his romantic obsession with Debbie, and rescuing the girl. A Kirkus Reviews writer applauded the novel’s “crisp pacing”, and “vivid minor characters” resulting in “absorbing storytelling that showcases a versatile talent.” In the opinion of a Publishers Weekly reviewer, "Nightmare Point" was “often intriguing” as well as “layered” and “suspenseful.” A Library Journal reviewer hailed the “spellbinding suspense” and “crackling psychological tension” of "Nightmare Point."

Berry returned to Bonnie Indermill with "The Death of a Difficult Woman" and "The Death of a Dancing Fool." In the first of these two, Bonnie works as a temporary assistant to the coordinator of relocation operations in a law firm. When a female senior partner is killed during the moving process, and the police refuse to focus their investigation on the stalker whom Bonnie has previously seen, Bonnie takes it upon herself to investigate the stalker. Although a Publishers Weekly reviewer disliked the plot’s simplistic solution, the reviewer commented that Bonnie was “likable.” A Kirkus Reviews critic was more positive, praising the novel as a “pristine whodunit.”

In "The Death of a Dancing Fool", Bonnie, called by an old acquaintance with an offer of work at his chic dance club, takes a job as a dance instructor. Bonnie is recruited by the police to work undercover to help solve the mysterious death of a drug-addicted celebrity patron of the club. Rex E. Klett, a contributor to Library Journal, commented that the novel is a satisfactory choice because it offers “a selection of several dancing fools from which to choose the murderer or next victim.”

Achievements

Carole Berry is notable for her books "The Letter of the Law", "The Year of the Monkey", "Island Girl", and "The Death of a Difficult Woman." The Chicago Tribune praised her for her debut novel, "The Letter of the Law", stating she had "made an immediate impact."