Zen and The Art of Murder (A Zen Moses Mystery)

By Elizabeth M. Cosin

Book Overview

To live and die in L.A. Zen Moses is either having a bad day or bad karma. Her cat is dead. The IRS wants to talk to her. And she just found her long-lost cousin's body bound to a beer keg at her... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312969481
• ISBN13: 9780312969486
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

He Died, Came Back and was Murdered

Zen Moses is a cynical, wise-cracking P.I. who is both a loner and a survivor. At thirty-three she's already beat a bout with cancer and she still smokes, cigars, that is. But even a tough girl can have a bad day. Her cat is dead. The IRS wants to audit her. And she just found her cousin Danny's body bound to a beer keg at Father's Office, her favorite neighborhood bar. However Danny had supposedly committed suicide a dozen years earlier, one of the many in the mass suicide of Guru Tama Tai's followers out in High Cliffs Ranch.Danny's father asks her to investigate, which is the least she can do, plus she'd like to know where he's been all this time. Also doing this might end the long estrangement she's had with the only family she's known. However she also has another case. She's looking for the long-lost father of TV talk-show host Latisha Maxwell.Then someone starts shadowing her in a Mercedes and Zen realizes that she's just one step ahead of a hit man. Why? Was is it because of the dirty secrets and dirty money that had been swilling around her dead cousin or does it have something to do with Latisha's missing father, last seen heading toward the border?This is a moody, dark and fast-paced book with just the right amount of twists in the tale to stay one jump ahead of you as you speed along toward the satisfying end. I predict that wise-cracking Zen (Zenaria) Moses will have you rushing out to the bookstore to buy the next book in the series. I know I did. Karen Holtz, New Jersey Book Girl

Best first chapter of any mystery novel ever

This first chapter is amazing, it grabs you with wit and humor and then ends up with a tantalizing teazer that begs you to read the book in one sitting. The writing takes over from there and before you even realize it, you've read the book in one sitting and you only wish you could just start over cause you just want more. Thank goodness Zen #2 is out, I can't wait to read it.

Great New Voice!

While there are a lot of female private eyes, few bring a fresh, tough voice to the genre. Elizabeth Cosin delivers that and more with Zen Moses. This smart, wise-cracking PI hits the ground running. Cosin's crisp economy of words and snappy dialogue contribute to a relentless pace. Take a sick day. You'll be up all night reading this one!

Zen Moses is the Coolest!

ZEN AND THE ART OF MURDER is a mystery without little old ladies and dead bodies in tea cups. Zen Moses is a real, tough, woman who has been through it all and is still ready to go on sleuthing. This is tough, gritty, funny stuff. I can't wait for the next adventure through L.A. with Zen. This book rocks!

Great writing, grabs you from the first sentence

"It rained the day I said good-bye to my best friend; the kind of storm that was packaged in a San Francisco-like cold front. December in Santa Monica could blow in from the Pacific like the draft from a meat locker. Perfect funeral weather." Those are the first few lines of this story, as told by Zen Moses, a private eye who has lived through cancer and a lot more. She's tough, she's smart, she's funny as hell. And she's real. If you read the book, you'll know what I mean. Besides Zen, there's a great supporting cast of characters (including Bobo, a side-kick for the ages), and a story line that's faster and smoother than any roller-coaster. Above all, it's the writing, the sheer quality of the prose itself, that makes this book so good. It's the best mystery debut I've ever read, period.