This series kickoff from prolific nonfiction author McManus (The Bear in the Attic, 2002, etc.), heavy on the banter, is one...
A wry Idaho sheriff and his crusty father solve a trio of rural murders.
Divorced Sheriff Bo Tully plans to ask schoolteacher Jan Whittle if she’ll go out with him, but he’s sidetracked by her announcement that incorrigible runaway Glen Cliff, a battle-hardened 12 years old, has taken off again and is likely hiding in the mountains of Blight County. Before Tully can go after him, he gets a worrisome call about a corpse at the ranch of Batim Scraggs. On his way to examine the scene, Tully picks up his father, the former sheriff, who happens to be celebrating his 75th birthday, and he becomes Tully’s unofficial deputy and wisecracking sidekick. The body, wearing a pinstriped suit, is draped over a fence. Nearby, in a car on the Littlefield place, are two equally well-dressed corpses. Things take a lively turn with the appearance of the new medical examiner, attractive Susan Parker. Despite his father’s humorous asides, Tully manages to ask her on a date, during which the two fall asleep on separate pieces of furniture. Focusing much of his investigation on Littlefield patriarch Vern, who’s always had trouble with both the law and his neighbor Scraggs, Tully eventually finds Glen and the killers.
This series kickoff from prolific nonfiction author McManus (The Bear in the Attic, 2002, etc.), heavy on the banter, is one of the most entertaining mystery debuts in years.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-7432-8047-4
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.
Too much free time leads a New Hampshire bookseller into yet another case of murder.
Now that Tricia Miles has Pixie Poe and Mr. Everett practically running her bookstore, Haven’t Got a Clue, she finds herself at loose ends. Her wealthy sister, Angelica, who in the guise of Nigela Ricita has invested heavily in making Stoneham a bookish tourist attraction, is entering the amateur competition for the Great Booktown Bake-Off. So Tricia, who’s recently taken up baking as a hobby, decides to join her and spends a lot of time looking for the perfect cupcake recipe. A visit to another bookstore leaves Tricia witnessing a nasty argument between owner Joyce Widman and next-door neighbor Vera Olson over the trimming of tree branches that hang over Joyce’s yard—also overheard by new town police officer Cindy Pearson. After Tricia accepts Joyce’s offer of some produce from her garden, they find Vera skewered by a pitchfork, and when Police Chief Grant Baker arrives, Joyce is his obvious suspect. Ever since Tricia moved to Stoneham, the homicide rate has skyrocketed (Poisoned Pages, 2018, etc.), and her history with Baker is fraught. She’s also become suspicious about the activities at Pets-A-Plenty, the animal shelter where Vera was a dedicated volunteer. Tricia’s offered her expertise to the board, but president Toby Kingston has been less than welcoming. With nothing but baking on her calendar, Tricia has plenty of time to investigate both the murder and her vague suspicions about the shelter. Plenty of small-town friendships and rivalries emerge in her quest for the truth.
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0272-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
A murder is committed in a stalled transcontinental train in the Balkans, and every passenger has a watertight alibi. But Hercule Poirot finds a way.
**Note: This classic Agatha Christie mystery was originally published in England as Murder on the Orient Express, but in the United States as Murder in the Calais Coach. Kirkus reviewed the book in 1934 under the original US title, but we changed the title in our database to the now recognizable title Murder on the Orient Express. This is the only name now known for the book. The reason the US publisher, Dodd Mead, did not use the UK title in 1934 was to avoid confusion with the 1932 Graham Greene novel, Orient Express.
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 1934
ISBN: 978-0062073495
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dodd, Mead
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1934
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