The Deep End

The Country Club Murders, Book 1

By: Julie Mulhern

Narrated by: Callie Beaulieu

It's 1974 and Ellison Russell's life revolves around her daughter and her art. She's long since stopped caring about her cheating husband, Henry, and the women with whom he entertains himself. That is, until she becomes a suspect in Madeline Harper's death. The murder forces Ellison to confront her husband's proclivities and his crimes - kinky sex, petty cruelties, and blackmail. As the body count approaches par on the seventh hole, Ellison knows she has to catch a killer. But with an interfering mother, an adoring father, a teenage daughter, and a cadre of well-meaning friends demanding her attention, can Ellison find the killer before he finds her?

©2015 Julie Mulhern (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

" The Deep End is an enjoyable, frequently amusing mystery with a mixture of off-beat characters that create twists and turns...A fine start to this mystery series, one that is highly recommended." ( Mysterious Reviews)

Enjoyable story

The story is engaging. The characters were interesting. The reader was good, but I wanted the story to move faster. For the first time, I listened to it on 1.5x speed instead of 1.0x. That was the right pace for me.

Fun Read!

I really enjoyed this story. There were a couple of things the editor should’ve caught. If Ellison is left-handed, why would she hold a gun in her right? And I find it hard to believe that if she just changed the locks on her house that she would have time to distribute new ones to 8+ people. No matter, I look forward to the next installment!

Better Than I Expected

I wasn't sure I would like a book set in the 70s. I was wrong. Other than a few references to Nixon and the noticeable lack of a cellphone, the reader has no idea of the story's time period. Once I got over that, I was left with a realistic, well crafted mystery with lots of suspects, twists and turns and engaging characters. I will definitely read the next book in this series.

I enjoyed this book and I also loved the narrator!

It's bad enough to know your husband is cheating on you, but when you discover it's more sinister than that, life can become bizarre.
Socialite Ellison never imagined becoming a successful artist might be the downfall of her lackluster marriage. She soon learns that her husband is much more interested in a disturbing lifestyle which throws her life into turmoil.
This book was enjoyable from front to back. I didn't know what to expect, which probably made it better. I like the way the author incorporates the main character's thoughts and creates imaginative scenes that make me feel like I'm part of the story. I'm hooked and plan on reading this entire series. I like Cozy mysteries, and this is by far, one of the best in this genre. It contains some taboo topics, but I think it's written in such a way that it brings little to no offense to an average audience.
As to the negative comments from some about the narrator, to each their own. I think this performance made me love the book even more!

Cultural references are outdated, still OK

I didn't take time to check the original published date, many cultural references were outdated. I am an over-60 reader and caught myself wondering if a young person would 'get it' for a Watergate reference and others throughout the story. But since I did understand them I did not let that derail me and I finished the book. It was a good read, sufficient plot twists to hold the readers interest. I would read more by this author. The narration was a bit mono-syllabic, robotic sounding at times.

A nice surprise

Julie Mulhern’s The Deep End was a nice surprise, and I hadn’t expected to enjoy it as much as I did. The characters were well crafted and interesting.

Pretty Doggone Good

Entertaining. Good characters. Good plot. Author gives readers plenty of characters to love, and hate. Sets the country club scene well.

Story good, not narrator

Narrator was too choppy, made the story hard to enjoy. Maybe, as series progressed, the narration gets better.

Limited humor

Somewhere I got the impression there was humor mixed throughout the story. There were a few moments and a couple one-liners, but this wasn’t nearly as humorous as I was hoping.
There is no sex but there is a significant amount of conversation about kink that is linked to the story.

Enjoyable Read

“The Deep End” is the first book of the Country Club Murders series. I am glad that I discovered it when there are already 6 books in this series because I immediately wanted to read more. The characters are quite engaging, the mystery plot is intriguing and it is humorous without being silly.
I am ready to read book #2 “Guaranteed to Bleed”.