The Spider Bites

By Medora Sale

When detective Rick Montoya returns to the city to try to clear his name after being accused of taking a bribe, he discovers someone is living in his apartment. Before he can find out who it is, the apartment house goes up in flames. Rick watches covertly as the police remove two bodies. Was the firebombing meant for him? Who exactly was killed in the fire? And why? What was his landlady Cheryl doing at home in the middle of the afternoon? And why is her daughter Susanna acting strangely? Then his estranged wife arrives at the scene of the fire. The questions mount up, along with the suspects.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raven Books
• Release date: Apr 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781554692835

Medora Sale

Medora Sale is the author of the acclaimed John Sanders/Harriet Jeffries mystery series, set in contemporary Toronto, and under the name Caroline Roe, of The Isaac Chronicles, a series of historical mysteries. Born in Windsor, Ontario, Sale’s interest in criminal justice was roused by her father, a lawyer and engineer involved in weaponry and criminal justice, who served as an official in the court system. Sale is a graduate of the Centre for Mediaeval Studies at the University of Toronto, is a past president of Sisters in Crime and Crime Writers of Canada, and won the Arthur Ellis Award for best first novel for Murder on the Run, the first title in the John Sanders/Harriet Jeffries mystery series.

Reviews for The Spider Bites

[bailey9189 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I received this book as part of the LibraryThing giveaway program. I think that it is a nice little story that can be read in a couple of hours. The mystery itself wasn't very complicated but was somewhat of a surprise as to who did it. The story was well told, I think, and didn't spend time in endless descriptions of people, places, backgrounds etc. That helped to keep it to its short length. The series is geared to those who want to read but don't want to commit to a longer book. Also this series is good for those to whom reading is somewhat of a challenge. I can see these books being used for YAs who really don't like to read but need to for school and also this would be helpful for ESL or adult literacy programs. My only complaint was the price- I doubt that I would pay $9.95 for a book like this. I can get a regular new paperback for $6.99 at Borders.

[northernstar_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a short mystery written for the Rapid Reads series. I found that it was a quick, fun read, and the mystery kept me guessing. Despite the simplified vocabulary and grammar, I did not find the story lacking in any way. The main character was sympathetic and engaging. I would recommend it for any reader who wants a quick read, but especially for those who may struggle a bit with longer books. I will be recomending this book and the Rapid Reads series to friends who work at the college and our local literacy society.

[ceedeegee · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was my first "rapid read" and I really enjoyed the quick and smooth flow of the characters and plot. I would recommend it definitely!

[readanon · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The story was enjoyable, but there was too little of it for my taste - it was more like reading a short story than a regular book. It lived up to its description as a "Rapid Read" and is perfect for someone with a short attention span or with very limited time to devote to reading.

[smilee306 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While I'm in the middle of too many books, when I received The Spider Bites yesterday I was intrigued by the concept of books that can be read in one sitting, so I had to give it a try last night. True to the ideal, I read the book in less than an hour, in one sitting. The characters were interesting even though we only get a glimpse of their personalities and motivations. At first I found the prose clunky, but that may have been partly the aim of the Rapid Reads, as they are also marketing to "those struggling with literacy challenges." as per their marketing flyer that came included with the book. I have received books from LibraryThing though where the prose was bad to the point of distraction; that was not the case here, it just didn't flow as well as I would have liked. Eventually I didn't worry about the prose anymore, just the story, but I would be interested to read Sale's award winning book to see if this is her personal writing style or if she went easy on the readers in this book. It was a good story, and pretty interesting, but I don't know that it would have kept me reading if I hadn't had the goal of reading it in one sitting. The print is quite large, like a YA novel, and the chapters were very short, so it was very easy and palatable to read in one sitting. I just feel like I may not be the type of reader to benefit from this short format. What bothered me the most is that it seemed like we got to the solving of the mystery much too quickly. All of a sudden, there it was, without much warning that we were at the end. I do think that the concept is great, and that you wouldn't necessarily want to add any length to the work, but I would have been happy to have a couple of extra chapters between chapters 16 and 17. It was very refreshing to be able to sit down and read a book in a sitting, but I suppose that I'm one who doesn't mind luxuriating and maybe having a few too many novels in queue, as long as the tradeoff is great detail and story.This was an interesting little mystery, and I think many people would enjoy it. For readers like myself, I might say this would be the perfect book to read at Barnes and Noble when you're trying to kill an hour - you would get through and be satisfied in the completion. It's not one that I will need to read again, but I am still thinking about the characters, and I've now been encouraged to pick up another novel by Medora Sale. I would also be interested to see the other novels in the series, to see how other authors deal with the apparently imposed 128 page limit (although The Spider Bites is 131!) I hope others enjoy this!