Mary Jane Maffini
Author of Organize Your Corpses
About the Author
Mary Jane Maffini is the author of several cozy mystery series including Charlotte Adams Mystery Series, Camilla MacPhee Mystery Series, and Fiona Silk Mystery Series. Following a career as a librarian she became co-owner of her favorite bookstore, Prime Crime Mystery Books. Her latest Charlotte show more Adams book "The Busy Woman's Guide to Murder" won the 2012 RT Award for Best amateur Sleuth. Her short fiction has won three Arthur Ellis awards and an Agatha. Mary Jane is a member as well as a former President of Crime Writers of Canada and a former board of directors of the Canadian Booksellers Association. She is a member of Capital Crime Writers and the Ladies Killing Circle. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Mary Jane Maffini
Associated Works
The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories: Third Annual Collection (2002) — Contributor — 46 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Maffini, Mary Jane
- Birthdate
- 1947
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Dalhousie University (B.A.)
Dalhousie University (M.L.S.) - Occupations
- librarian
mystery book store owner - Organizations
- Crime Writers of Canada (former president)
Canadian Booksellers Association (former board member)
Ladies' Killing Circle - Relationships
- Cameron, Victoria (daughter)
- Short biography
- She was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and has her BA (Hons) and MLS from Dalhousie University. After a career in libraries such as The Brewers' Association of Canada, Statistics Canada, the Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, and a wonderful ride as a co-owner of Prime Crime Mystery Bookstore, she has settled into a life of crime, surrounded by her two miniature dachshunds, the ghost of her beloved Corgoid Smudge, and her long-suffering husband. She's a former President of Crime Writers of Canada, and a former member of the board of directors of the Canadian Booksellers Association. She's a frequent speaker on writing mysteries and on the importance of Canadian crime fiction. In real life, although she is a member of the Ladies' Killing Circle, she has never killed anyone.
- Nationality
- Canada
- Birthplace
- Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada
- Places of residence
- Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada - Associated Place (for map)
- Canada
Members
Reviews
First Line: "You have saved my life."
When professional organizer Charlotte Adams steps into Emmy Lou Rheinbeck's home, the place looks fit to be featured in House Beautiful. Where's the mess that needs to be organized? When Emmy Lou shows Charlotte the second floor, Charlotte understands the reason for the call for help-- she's never seen so many stuffed animals in one place in her life.
Charlotte knows that she can handle this organizational problem, but she's not so sure Emmy Lou can handle show more her neighbors. Two young men are pulling cruel jokes on the woman until she's a nervous wreck. Emmy Lou insists that the pranksters are harmless, but before Charlotte can even put her plan to paper, she's up to her neck in a murder.
Two books in, and I like this series very much. One note of realism that I particularly appreciate is the fact that, after the first book, Charlotte makes it clear in The Cluttered Corpse that she lost a lot of business when the news media reported her involvement in a murder case. Most other series that feature an independent businessperson like Charlotte would have you think that business blithely goes on as usual, with nary a dip in clientele.
(As a side note, I have a thing for organization and places like The Container Store. I do hope in at least one future book, Charlotte gets to finish the project for which she was hired. I really enjoy that part of the books! I also pay attention to the organizing tips at the beginning of each chapter. My favorite in this book? "Don't bring anything new into your home unless you know you have a place to keep it. Except for books, of course.")
To get back on track... as I read, I first had the idea that Emmy Lou's neighborhood was flat-out weird and perhaps a little over-the-top until I remembered that, at one time, my own street housed six different nationalities, a 90 year age span from oldest to youngest-- and the house on the corner where young thieves would gather to plan their next rash of burglaries.
I deduced quite a bit of what was going on in The Cluttered Corpse, but as is the case with so many cozy mysteries, the whodunit isn't as important as the who. I enjoy hanging out with Charlotte and her crew, and Maffini's sense of humor can have me laughing out loud.
If you'd like to organize a fun and pleasant afternoon, I suggest you give Charlotte Adams a call. show less
When professional organizer Charlotte Adams steps into Emmy Lou Rheinbeck's home, the place looks fit to be featured in House Beautiful. Where's the mess that needs to be organized? When Emmy Lou shows Charlotte the second floor, Charlotte understands the reason for the call for help-- she's never seen so many stuffed animals in one place in her life.
Charlotte knows that she can handle this organizational problem, but she's not so sure Emmy Lou can handle show more her neighbors. Two young men are pulling cruel jokes on the woman until she's a nervous wreck. Emmy Lou insists that the pranksters are harmless, but before Charlotte can even put her plan to paper, she's up to her neck in a murder.
Two books in, and I like this series very much. One note of realism that I particularly appreciate is the fact that, after the first book, Charlotte makes it clear in The Cluttered Corpse that she lost a lot of business when the news media reported her involvement in a murder case. Most other series that feature an independent businessperson like Charlotte would have you think that business blithely goes on as usual, with nary a dip in clientele.
(As a side note, I have a thing for organization and places like The Container Store. I do hope in at least one future book, Charlotte gets to finish the project for which she was hired. I really enjoy that part of the books! I also pay attention to the organizing tips at the beginning of each chapter. My favorite in this book? "Don't bring anything new into your home unless you know you have a place to keep it. Except for books, of course.")
To get back on track... as I read, I first had the idea that Emmy Lou's neighborhood was flat-out weird and perhaps a little over-the-top until I remembered that, at one time, my own street housed six different nationalities, a 90 year age span from oldest to youngest-- and the house on the corner where young thieves would gather to plan their next rash of burglaries.
I deduced quite a bit of what was going on in The Cluttered Corpse, but as is the case with so many cozy mysteries, the whodunit isn't as important as the who. I enjoy hanging out with Charlotte and her crew, and Maffini's sense of humor can have me laughing out loud.
If you'd like to organize a fun and pleasant afternoon, I suggest you give Charlotte Adams a call. show less
One Labour Day weekend Camilla McPhee, lawyer and victim’s rights activist in Ottawa, receives bizarre news. A woman she barely knew, Laura Brown, has died and named Camilla as her next of kin and sole heir. Camilla sets about trying to find a real family or next of kin but soon realises Laura didn’t have a single family member, friend or colleague. Added to that is Camilla’s growing worry that Laura did not die in an accident as the police presume. Investigating becomes more difficult show more for Camilla when police start to believe she is responsible for Laura’s death.
I generally do more research into the books I’m going to read than I did in this case but I am in need of Canadian books and this one was available at the library so I figured I’d give it a go. Happily it proved to be just what I was looking for today: a well-written, funny romp of a tale.
As the central character of the book Camilla is quite delightful: interesting enough to want to read more about but not so over-the-top quirky that you want to scream. I’ve read a load of books in this genre which do not get that balance right so I appreciate it all the more when it is done well. Her personal circumstances are largely believable and her vaguely self-deprecating, slightly cynical narration of events spiraling out of control achieved just the right note. As is the way of things in cosy mysteries Camilla had a posse of fun friends and relations, my favourite of whom was an octogenarian ballooning enthusiast neighbour who kept up a nice line in stiff upper lip support. I want to be exactly like that when I’m 80-odd. I also found I could empathise with Camilla taking perverse pleasure in doing exactly the opposite of what her perfect, control-freak siblings told her to do.
Naturally enough the story is a little far-fetched but it doesn’t stretch credibility too far and it maintains its own internal logic very well. The way in which Camilla collects information about her acquaintance is believable and the second part of the book, in which Camilla is on the run from authorities, has more credibility than a lot of thrillers I’ve read. There are a satisfying number of red herrings and false leads which makes the book a very decent whodunnit for those who like to puzzle-solve as they read.
I had a smile on my face for most of the time while reading The Devil’s in the Details and laughed out loud more than once. This is not as common an occurrence as I’d like it to be so the book gets extra points for incorporating pithy humour instead of ‘cheesyness’. I’m not sure there’s anything about it that’s particularly Canadian (multiple references to Tim Hortons aside) but being light, fast and funny puts it in the above average category for me (rating = 3.5 stars). show less
I generally do more research into the books I’m going to read than I did in this case but I am in need of Canadian books and this one was available at the library so I figured I’d give it a go. Happily it proved to be just what I was looking for today: a well-written, funny romp of a tale.
As the central character of the book Camilla is quite delightful: interesting enough to want to read more about but not so over-the-top quirky that you want to scream. I’ve read a load of books in this genre which do not get that balance right so I appreciate it all the more when it is done well. Her personal circumstances are largely believable and her vaguely self-deprecating, slightly cynical narration of events spiraling out of control achieved just the right note. As is the way of things in cosy mysteries Camilla had a posse of fun friends and relations, my favourite of whom was an octogenarian ballooning enthusiast neighbour who kept up a nice line in stiff upper lip support. I want to be exactly like that when I’m 80-odd. I also found I could empathise with Camilla taking perverse pleasure in doing exactly the opposite of what her perfect, control-freak siblings told her to do.
Naturally enough the story is a little far-fetched but it doesn’t stretch credibility too far and it maintains its own internal logic very well. The way in which Camilla collects information about her acquaintance is believable and the second part of the book, in which Camilla is on the run from authorities, has more credibility than a lot of thrillers I’ve read. There are a satisfying number of red herrings and false leads which makes the book a very decent whodunnit for those who like to puzzle-solve as they read.
I had a smile on my face for most of the time while reading The Devil’s in the Details and laughed out loud more than once. This is not as common an occurrence as I’d like it to be so the book gets extra points for incorporating pithy humour instead of ‘cheesyness’. I’m not sure there’s anything about it that’s particularly Canadian (multiple references to Tim Hortons aside) but being light, fast and funny puts it in the above average category for me (rating = 3.5 stars). show less
I've been a fan of Mary Jane Maffini's Charlotte Adams cozy series since I picked up the first book, Organize Your Corpses-- and it's not just because I love to organize things, too. I was sad when the series stopped at the fifth book, but I soon got caught up with a series that Maffini co-wrote with her daughter. When that series ended, I was left in limbo. Imagine my delight when I learned of Death Plans a Perfect Trip!
It was great to be reunited with Charlotte and her significant other, show more Jack, who runs a cycle shop called CYCotics (love that name). I also liked the fact that Maffini's book is edgier than the usual cozy, the danger more palpable and scarier, without actually "crossing the line." Charlotte and her mother's backstory is quite an interesting one, and I enjoyed watching all the bits and pieces Charlotte discovers coming together. The scenes set in places like Lisbon, Portugal made me feel as though I were walking the streets with Charlotte. As always in this series, rescue dachshunds Truffle and Sweet Marie make their adorable appearance, although they did have to be left behind when Charlotte traveled to Europe.
If you're in need of a new cozy series and haven't made the acquaintance of Mary Jane Maffini's Charlotte Adams, I recommend that you do so. And if you get a chance, the cozy series she co-wrote with her daughter under the name Victoria Abbott is an absolute delight. (The first book in the Book Collector series is The Christie Curse.) You have some good reading ahead of you! show less
It was great to be reunited with Charlotte and her significant other, show more Jack, who runs a cycle shop called CYCotics (love that name). I also liked the fact that Maffini's book is edgier than the usual cozy, the danger more palpable and scarier, without actually "crossing the line." Charlotte and her mother's backstory is quite an interesting one, and I enjoyed watching all the bits and pieces Charlotte discovers coming together. The scenes set in places like Lisbon, Portugal made me feel as though I were walking the streets with Charlotte. As always in this series, rescue dachshunds Truffle and Sweet Marie make their adorable appearance, although they did have to be left behind when Charlotte traveled to Europe.
If you're in need of a new cozy series and haven't made the acquaintance of Mary Jane Maffini's Charlotte Adams, I recommend that you do so. And if you get a chance, the cozy series she co-wrote with her daughter under the name Victoria Abbott is an absolute delight. (The first book in the Book Collector series is The Christie Curse.) You have some good reading ahead of you! show less
A solid mystery in the Camilla MacPhee series. Certainly an original premise, and the pacing was pretty good, and I was kept guessing for most of the book. It was also nice to check in with all the other characters in Camilla's world. This is of course true with any other mystery series, but it is especially nice for me because the city of Ottawa is also kind of a character, given the ongoing street-name-dropping. "Hey, I've been there! I know that place! Fictional office X must be based on show more real place Y!" and so on. Or perhaps I am just too easily amused by seeing familiar street names printed in actual published mystery novels.
Character development does occur to an extent in this book. Camilla moves forward in her relationship with her significant other's daughters, or at least in how she is able to handle their presence and work out her presence in their lives. Her actual romantic relationship evolves a bit too, and that's always nice. The other characters are fairly static. Mrs. Parnell is still as unflappable as ever, even with a broken hip. Alvin is still absent-minded and inclined to launch himself headlong into various creative projects. Camilla's sisters are still busybodies and inclined to interfere in her life. Mombourquette is still relatively hostile to Camilla's amateur sleuthing. For a series reader, having most of the characters maintain some form of status quo is probably comforting. That's why one reads cozy series, after all, as a chance to escape from the world, even if the book is set in the city you happen to live in.
I did think there was rather a lot more expository writing than I recall from previous MacPhee books, which grated somewhat, but apart from that it was solidly written with very vivid characters and highly original plot elements (there could perhaps have been some more dragon boat racing, but the story provides plenty of reasons for our first-person narrator to be absent for much of those proceedings). If you like the Camilla MacPhee series, pick this one up. show less
Character development does occur to an extent in this book. Camilla moves forward in her relationship with her significant other's daughters, or at least in how she is able to handle their presence and work out her presence in their lives. Her actual romantic relationship evolves a bit too, and that's always nice. The other characters are fairly static. Mrs. Parnell is still as unflappable as ever, even with a broken hip. Alvin is still absent-minded and inclined to launch himself headlong into various creative projects. Camilla's sisters are still busybodies and inclined to interfere in her life. Mombourquette is still relatively hostile to Camilla's amateur sleuthing. For a series reader, having most of the characters maintain some form of status quo is probably comforting. That's why one reads cozy series, after all, as a chance to escape from the world, even if the book is set in the city you happen to live in.
I did think there was rather a lot more expository writing than I recall from previous MacPhee books, which grated somewhat, but apart from that it was solidly written with very vivid characters and highly original plot elements (there could perhaps have been some more dragon boat racing, but the story provides plenty of reasons for our first-person narrator to be absent for much of those proceedings). If you like the Camilla MacPhee series, pick this one up. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 17
- Also by
- 9
- Members
- 1,053
- Popularity
- #24,475
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 53
- ISBNs
- 55
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- Favorited
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