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Secondhand Stiff (2013)

by Sue Ann Jaffarian(Favorite Author)

3.97 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0738718882 (ISBN13: 9780738718880)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Midnight Ink

series

An Odelia Grey Mystery

review 1: I'm a big fan of the Odelia Grey mystery series, featuring a plus-size paralegal, her wheelchair bound but very active husband, and assorted pets, family members and coworkers set in Southern California. This latest entry, Secondhand Stiff, is as wonderful as ever. One change offered here by Jaffarian is a lessening of the antagonism of those around Odelia to her investigating the crime, in part because her husband Greg is even more eager to solve it than she is, being that his cousin is being investigated in the murder of her husband. Though Odelia gets a warning not to stick her nose into police business, it's a much lighter one than usual, so she doesn't have to feel she's going behind anyone's back, perhaps because her close friends Seth and Zee are out of town. Her bo... moress, Mike Steele, makes some well-time appearances, and doesn't give Odelia too many reasons to gripe about him this time around. The second change is that, in addition to Greg as a helper, she's got her mom, Grace, and their relationship develops in a very positive way as old hurts are put to rest and Odelia makes discoveries about her elderly mom (her blog An Old Broad's Perspective is quite charming).The mystery, centered in the world of secondhand retail stores and storage units, with a side visit to a food truck whose menu made my mouth water (can someone open Comfort Foodies for real, please?) is as deftly handled as always, and kept me guessing right up until the end. Another thing to love about this series is that, while reading them in order adds to the experience, Jaffarian doesn't give too much away so you can jump right into this one without ruining your enjoyment if you later go back to the older ones. There's lots that's touching and sad about the personal side of this mystery, but a lot that's heartwarming too. I like that Odelia, while the main star of the series, is never painted as a superhuman heroine solving crimes completely on her own, but with plenty of help from those as invested in the outcome and in Odelia's happiness as she is. This one's a true family affair and total page-turner. Brava, Sue Ann Jaffarian! I look forward to the next Odelia adventure.
review 2: Coming December 8th, the 8th (grin) in this series packs a punch! I love a good cozy mystery, and even more a cozy full of real people! What a great read!A new cozy series must read!! Now to get all the rest!! This is book No.8 and I fell into this without reading any of the others without any problems. I am truly and madly in love with Odelia and her mother, and her husband and the animals! What a hoot! Oh dear, that means I need the rest of them, all seven. I bet I could spend a week reading these back to back without blinking an eye.. You know I have to laugh, there have been many series I have fallen into because I found a copy at a local thrift store... so the basis for this mystery and how I fell into this read :) but I digress!I am a huge cozy mystery fan but I find many of them create clues that are much to obvious. Miss Jaffarian was able to completely blindside me for much of the book and I rate a mystery on a scale from 1-10 on the obvious scale and this one rates about an 8.5 difficulty, which is pretty dang good! Honestly she totally had me by the toe for most of it! And the end, Oh me oh my! I cannot say much! As usual with a cozy she sticks her nose where it does not belong and the cops do not like it. She has a nemesis, of course. And one of them is, or was, her mother. Also, this is not a pretty little HOT thing, she is pretty but she is not little. She is just find for her wonderful and loving hubby Greg, she occasionally gives herself a hard time about her weight but at the same time has no problem eating food and enjoying it. Hats off to Odelia! I am going to have to comeback and revisit her with a recipe in honor of this book. Who knows, maybe I can get the author to let me interview her! Another nice thing, I usually have issues when they use a lot of name brand tech, this was done so well that I did not even blink. It won't be a problem with dating it when someone reads it decades from now, just look at Miss Marple! I had the chuckle a bit with the use of sockpuppet reviews I would suggest perhaps a few authors watch out because some folks may take this to heart of you pull these dirty tricks *mischievous grin*Also, if Odelia's mom can blog *coughing* ohhh mother, get your act together and start reviewing and blogging all your books! Where do you guys think I got the bug to read from anyway? At least these kinds of books! less

Download links for: Secondhand Stiff

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