From Publishers Weekly
In Hess's 14th lighthearted mystery to feature bookseller sleuth Claire Malloy (after 2000's A Conventional Corpse), Emily Parchester, a lady of "a certain age," has been persuaded by the Farberville, Ark., Green Party to chain herself to a platform in a tree to protest the planned construction of a new housing development. On arriving home, Claire learns that her 16-year-old daughter, Caron, has taken in a young guest-the baby born to a mother known only as Wal-Mart. While feeding the baby and watching the local news for coverage of Miss Parchester's vigil, Claire is stunned to learn that the developer of the tract the Green Party is trying to stop has been found dead, and that the infant's mother has been brought in for questioning. Claire undertakes to get Miss Parchester out of the tree and reunite the mother and child, despite the repercussions for both her bookstore and her personal life. Farberville boasts a large population of eccentric characters, many of whom are old friends by now. (Fans of Margaret Maron's Judge Deborah Knott will appreciate "Judge Derby Nott," a tip of the hat from one master to another.) With her wry asides, Claire makes a most engaging narrator. The author deftly juggles the various plot strands, letting the local news reporter fill in the action in which Claire is uninvolved. The surprising denouement comes off with eclat.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
When a local developer tries to level a bunch of trees, a protester chains herself to one of them-while the developer's daughter apparently abandons her baby on bookseller-sleuth Claire Malloy's doorstep. By the time Claire tracks her down, the woman has been charged with murdering her father. Likely to be requested by fans of the series (e.g., Dear Miss Demeanor).Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
The fourteenth entry in the Claire Malloy series pits the plucky bookstore owner/amateur sleuth against a slough of troubles and one murderer. Malloy's troubles begin when a runaway teen whom Malloy befriended in the past dumps her baby on Malloy's doorstep. Her troubles deepen when she needs to convince her friend and continued source of pain, the elderly Emily Parchester, to unchain herself from a tree, and they come to a head when the developer, who has threatened to cut down some ancient trees (thus causing Miss Parchester to tree herself), is found murdered. The prime suspect is the runaway whose baby Claire Malloy is currently stuck with. Hess' writing style may cause many readers to cringe, filled as it is with dialogue lifted out of a Victorian novel of manners. However, her juicy plot is filled with satisfying veers. For diehard Malloy fans. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"Joan Hess is one of the best mystery writers in the world." -Elizabeth Peters, author of Lord of the Silent
"I love Joan Hess. She's hilarious, of course-one of the few writers who can crack me up both on the page and in person. If you've never spent time with Claire and her crew, I feel sorry for you. Stop reading this nonsense and hop to it. You'll see wit and humanity all wrapped up in a nifty murder mystery." -Harlan Coben, author of Tell No One
Review
"Joan Hess is one of the best mystery writers in the world." -Elizabeth Peters, author of Lord of the Silent
"I love Joan Hess. She's hilarious, of course-one of the few writers who can crack me up both on the page and in person. If you've never spent time with Claire and her crew, I feel sorry for you. Stop reading this nonsense and hop to it. You'll see wit and humanity all wrapped up in a nifty murder mystery." -Harlan Coben, author of Tell No One
Review
"Joan Hess is one of the best mystery writers in the world." -Elizabeth Peters, author of Lord of the Silent
"I love Joan Hess. She's hilarious, of course-one of the few writers who can crack me up both on the page and in person. If you've never spent time with Claire and her crew, I feel sorry for you. Stop reading this nonsense and hop to it. You'll see wit and humanity all wrapped up in a nifty murder mystery." -Harlan Coben, author of Tell No One
Book Description
Faberville bookstore owner Claire Malloy is ruminating over the state of her love life when she gets disturbing news. Elderly Miss Emily Parchester is up a tree. Chained to an old oak, packing a thermos of tea and a gun, the retired schoolteacher is ready to go down with the ship, or rather the tree, before she'll let another historic piece of Farberville be bulldozed in the name of "progress," i.e., developer Anthony Armstrong's condominiums.
With Miss Parchester armed, and therefore dangerous, Claire fears this noble act will end tragically. Unfortunately, it does-when someone murders Armstrong. And suddenly Claire herself is out on a limb: a baby has been left on her doorstep, the child's teenage mom is suspect number one in Armstrong's death, and Claire needs to find the real killer fast. Especially when she discovers Miss Parchester knows more than she's willing to tell....
From the Inside Flap
Praise for the Claire Malloy Mystery Series
"Joan Hess is one of the funniest people in the mystery world."-Margaret Maron, author of Slow Dollar
"With her wry asides, Claire makes a most engaging narrator...the surprising denouement comes off with eclat."-Publishers Weekly
"Joan Hess is seriously funny. Moreover, she is seriously kind as well as clever when depicting the follies, foibles, and fantasies of our lives. Viva Joan!"-Carolyn Hart, author of April Fool Dead
"Joan Hess shares with P.G. Wodehouse an unmistakable comic voice and the ability to juggle a dizzying number of subplots. She has the remarkable ability to take caricatures and bring them to life and make us care about them in book after book."-M. D. Lake, author of Death Calls the Tune
"Witty, ironic, and biting...Joan Hess has an unerring comedic instinct."-Bookpage
"Joan Hess fans will find a winning blend of soft-core feminism, trendy subplots, and a completely irreverent style that characterizes both series and the sleuth, all nicely onstage."
-Houston Chronicle
"Breezy and delightful...Claire Malloy is one of the most engaging narrators in mystery."
-The Drood Review
"Definitely entertaining. Hess deftly sprinkles red herrings and odd characters throughout."
-Library Journal on The Murder at the Mimosa Inn
"Dear Miss Demeanor is great fun...Hess's poniard is tipped with subtle wit."
-Chicago Sun Times
"Hess's theme is a serious one, but she handles it with wit. Claire is an appealing character, and this is an engaging mystery for anyone who likes crime mixed with comedy."
-Booklist on Roll Over and Play Dead
"Hess's style-that of a more worldly Erma Bombeck-rarely flags. Amiable entertainment with an edge."-Kirkus Reviews
"Joan Hess is one funny woman."-Susan Dunlap
From the Back Cover
When the Bough Breaks...It's Murder.
Faberville bookstore owner Claire Malloy is ruminating over the state of her love life when she gets disturbing news. Elderly Miss Emily Parchester is up a tree. Chained to an old oak, packing a thermos of tea and a gun, the retired schoolteacher is ready to go down with the ship, or rather the tree, before she'll let another historic piece of Farberville be bulldozed in the name of "progress," i.e., developer Anthony Armstrong's condominiums.
With Miss Parchester armed, and therefore dangerous, Claire fears this noble act will end tragically. Unfortunately, it does-when someone murders Armstrong. And suddenly Claire herself is out on a limb: a baby has been left on her doorstep, the child's teenage mom is suspect number one in Armstrong's death, and Claire needs to find the real killer fast. Especially when she discovers Miss Parchester knows more than she's willing to tell....
About the Author
Joan Hess is a winner of the American Mystery Award and the author of the Claire Malloy mystery series, including Death by the Light of the Moon, Roll Over and Play Dead, A Diet to Die For, A Conventional Corpse, Dear Miss Demeanor, and Strangled Prose, as well as the Maggody mystery series. A member of Sisters in Crime and a former president of the American Crime Writers League, she lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Out on a Limb FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Farberville, Arkansas, is normally a quiet college town, where bookseller Claire Malloy tends her small store and raises her somewhat dramatic teenage daughter, Caron. But this week it's gone a bit out of control. A local group of activists, calling themselves the Farberville Green Party, is protesting a developer's plan to remove a copse of trees by having retired schoolteacher Miss Emily Parchester camp out in one of them while chained to it by the ankle. Although concerned about the aged Miss Parchester's vigil in the tree, Claire isn't able to talk her down. And if that wasn't turmoil enough, a baby is left on Claire's doorstep with a note from his mother asking her to care for him for a few days." "While attempting to track down the mother, Claire tries to avoid alerting either the authorities or the local gossips, but both efforts are doomed to failure. When Claire is sighted buying diapers, the unlikely rumor that her daughter has an illegitimate child runs rampant in Caron's high school. And when Claire finally does track down the mother of the child, it is because the teenaged mother has been arrested for the murder of her own father - who just happens to be the local developer at the center of the tree controversy." Unconvinced that the baby's mother is really responsible, and juggling feedings and diaperings for the first time in fifteen-some years, Claire decides that the only way to rescue Caron's reputation and the baby's mother - not to mention coaxing Miss Parchester down out of the tree - is to uncover the truth behind the murder.
SYNOPSIS
An environmental protester camped out in a tree and a baby left on Claire Malloy's doorstep are just two of the predicaments that Malloy must face in this latest mystery.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
In Hess's 15th lighthearted mystery to feature bookseller sleuth Claire Malloy (after 2000's A Conventional Corpse), Emily Parchester, a lady of "a certain age," has been persuaded by the Farberville, Ark., Green Party to chain herself to a platform in a tree to protest the planned construction of a new housing development. On arriving home, Claire learns that her 16-year-old daughter, Caron, has taken in a young guest-the baby born to a mother known only as Wal-Mart. While feeding the baby and watching the local news for coverage of Miss Parchester's vigil, Claire is stunned to learn that the developer of the tract the Green Party is trying to stop has been found dead, and that the infant's mother has been brought in for questioning. Claire undertakes to get Miss Parchester out of the tree and reunite the mother and child, despite the repercussions for both her bookstore and her personal life. Farberville boasts a large population of eccentric characters, many of whom are old friends by now. (Fans of Margaret Maron's Judge Deborah Knott will appreciate "Judge Derby Nott," a tip of the hat from one master to another.) With her wry asides, Claire makes a most engaging narrator. The author deftly juggles the various plot strands, letting the local news reporter fill in the action in which Claire is uninvolved. The surprising denouement comes off with eclat. (Nov. 11) FYI: Winner of the American Mystery Award, Hess is also the author of Maggody and the Moonbeams (Forecasts, May 28, 2001) and other titles in her Maggody mystery series. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
When a local developer tries to level a bunch of trees, a protester chains herself to one of them-while the developer's daughter apparently abandons her baby on bookseller-sleuth Claire Malloy's doorstep. By the time Claire tracks her down, the woman has been charged with murdering her father. Likely to be requested by fans of the series (e.g., Dear Miss Demeanor). Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Bookseller Claire Malloy (A Conventional Corpse, 2000, etc.) knows when her daughter has a real problem and when she's just acting like a teenager. So when Caron tells her This Is Serious, she hustles her boyfriend, Peter Rosen, out of the apartment before he's even finished his beer. Good call. Someone's left an infant on Claire's doorstep with a note asking her to take care of Skyler "for a few days." But a few days may not be enough. Skyler's teenaged mother, Daphne, lives on the street. Her father, real-estate developer Anthony Armstrong, and his trophy wife Adrienne tossed her out when she got pregnant; her space-case mother Sheila is way too into vodka to care for her; and her ex-boyfriend, Joey Guilerra, is living in the Pot O' Gold trailer park with a barfly named Bocaraton. But Claire's afraid to tell Peter about Skyler, even when Armstrong is found dead and Daphne's arrested for his murder. She just knows that Lt. Rosen and the social services folks will whisk Skyler away to some roach-infested foster home. Instead, she recruits best friend Luanne Bradshaw, Caron, and Caron's buddy Inez Thornton to take turns babysitting while she infiltrates the Green Party's protest against Armstrong's latest housing project and makes nice to the widow Adrienne and her sister Chantilly-anything to clear Daphne. A lot more antic than Claire's usual fare, though fans looking for a more successful mixture of mystery and farce should wait for Hess's next dispatch from Maggody, Arkansas, miles and worlds away from Claire's Fayetteville.
Art & Photography
Book Info
