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Deader Homes And Gardens (2012)

by Joan Hess(Favorite Author)

3.36 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0312363621 (ISBN13: 9780312363628)

languge

English

genre

Mystery & Thriller

publisher

Minotaur Books

series

Claire Malloy

review 1: I reviewed this for sex, violence and profanity. Frankly, it's a simple cozy mystery. It's not my kind of book. For me, the only enjoyable parts were the wise cracking dialog. The protagonist is a pushy nosy self important jerk. I suppose some people may just see her as spunky, but she rubbed me the wrong way. I spent most of the book agreeing with the "evil" characters that found her to be a pushy nosy self important jerk. It was incredibly well written though.
review 2: Joan Hess's spirited 18th Claire Malloy mystery, "Deader Homes and Gardens" is a cut- above most cozy mysteries.Back on her home turf in Farberville, Arkansas, busybody bookshop owner, on-the-side amateur sleuth and newlywed wife, Claire Malloy, along with incessant nitpicker/daughter, Caron, ... moreand handsome, hardworking hubby/police chief, Peter Rosen, are all on the trail for a new house--and a few dead bodies.Along the lines of Hess's sprightly "The Goodbye Body", the new Claire Malloy mystery offers much of the same thing: a missing body--or in this case, three cadavers, for the slightly strong-willed redhead to solve.First it is Claire's real estate agent, Angela Delmond, who ups and disappears while showing Claire around her soon-to-be future home. Then, to Claire's relentless chagrin, Moses Hollow, great-great-grandson of Colonel Moses Ambrose Hollow, vanishes, but is later discovered in the woodsy surroundings of Hollow Valley Nursery, a few acres of plants and herbs beyond the property. And later, Terry Kennedy, another victim of foul play--or was his death accidental?--and former resident of Hollow Valley, becomes Claire's main focus.But soon, Claire meets and greets a handful of--how shall I say this?--peculiar creatures of nature, in the neighboring area of Hollow Valley. Strange is an understatement when trying to describe the carefree, group of folks living next door. And they all come with their own secrets--and a few bizarre ticks and foibles.To name a few of the characters in the book: Ethan and Pandora Butterfly Sarawati, their children, Weevil and Rainbow, Charles and Felicia, Margret Louise, Finnelly, Nattie-Brown Hollow and Moses Winston. And there is tattooed and pierced from stem to stern, Jordan, "a fourteen year old hooligan," as Nattie likes to call her. At first trip to Hollow Valley, Claire witnesses Jordan trying to lynch herself--all in the name of fun, because as Jordan exclaims, "It's so friggin' boring out here that I decided to lighten things up."The story starts off slowly, and it isn't until chapter seven that the mystery of Angela Delmond's disappearance becomes Claire's main concern. At times, however, amid her usual sarcastic, irritable self (one of the reasons readers like the Claire Malloy character so much), Claire does seem too abrasive and cantankerous toward her sweet-loving husband, Peter Rosen, who is out of town on business for most of the story. But Claire's spitfire one-liners and nose for a good mystery make this new novel worthwhile. The interaction with Claire and Caron is another reason to read the book. After eighteen books in the Claire Malloy series, the chemistry between mother and daughter is still entertaining. less

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