J.C. Eaton

Sophie "Phee" Kimball works for a private investigation firm in Phoenix as their bookkeeper. Her boyfriend Marshall is one of the investigators, and they have recently rediscovered each other after once working together in Mankato, Minnesota. Now they're gearing up to move from their respective small places into a larger home, and between that and work, Phee's been pretty busy.

But one night while visiting her mother Harriet, Harriet's dog Streetman keeps running into the neighbor's yard and show more pulls at their grill tarp. When Harriet tries to stop him, she thinks he's uncovering boxes. But Phee notices the "boxes" are shoes, and they're attached to a human body. When the police arrive, no one knows who the victim is, but all Phee can learn from them is that he didn't live anywhere near them, so she hopes to calm down Harriet from thinking there's a serial killer on the loose.

At least the owners of the home are in another state, because they're snowbirds. But when Phee's employer is called in to help, it's discovered how the man died, but the question is still who killed him and why. Soon Phee finds herself part of the investigation - as usual - and between finding out what information she can, she's still in the process of moving and having to attend all her mother's dog's contests. But when one of the owners of a dog contestant falls ill at the dog show, Phee begins to wonder if the two cases aren't tied together. What she finds isn't what she expects at all, and solving the case may not be as easy as she expects...

I have read every book in this series and I think this might be one of my favorites. Phee's mother Harriet is hilarious -- she thinks there's a serial killer around every corner, and I think if she were my mother I'd have constant headaches from rolling my eyes all the time. Her entire life is her dog, Streetman, a Chiweenie, and now she's entered him in holiday costume contests that she's engaged her friend Shirley, a retired milliner, to make for him. Each costume is more elaborate than the next; but since she's up against a snob of the worst sort, Harriet is willing to put a capital B in bling to win.

When they find the dead man, Phee thinks he was killed somewhere else and moved there because the killer knew the homeowners would be out of town. But finding out who killed him and why won't be easy. Once she and the investigators - Nate and Marshall - start digging for information, they find a connection to someone else in the Sun City retirement community, and things start to heat up. Now, with little to go on, that means Phee once again has to question the retirees about their friends, which she's not looking forward to.

It all comes to a head in the least likeliest of places, and Phee figures it out in a sudden 'aha' moment that puts everything together. But I was surprised that the killer wasn't who I expected it to be, yet if you listen to the dialogue, the clues are there. All the threads are woven together nicely, and the ending is humorous, but totally expected. Highly recommended. show less

In this twelfth book in the series, Phee is happily married and enjoying her role as bookkeeper at Williams Investigation Agency. If it were only that, her life would be complete. However, as fate has it, her mother regularly calls Phee with problems, and expects her to be at her beck and call. Be aware that Harriet isn't your typical mother. She's crazy. Loony. And jumps to conclusions...

That being said, the newest case for the investigation agency is that there is a missing doll that was show more on loan from the Phoenix Art Museum to the Equity Council's, and it's gone missing. There's no sign of it. Zip. Nada. There's also a supposed curse -- that anyone who possesses the doll will be under a hex. It's because the doll once belonged to a little girl, and people believe her soul is trapped inside. With a treasure that's rumored to be worth a lot of cash. So of course they're on the case discreetly. Sure. Especially with two of Harriet's cronies on the council, they'll keep their word not to let anyone know, right? Uh huh. At least until the morning brunch with not only the ladies, but the men from the automotive club who are celebrating one of their own's good luck,

Which turns out not to be so good after all. A dead body is found underneath a car, which puts a halt to any restorations. Worse, the person who died was disliked by more than one other, and now Phee's antenna is up for clues. Unfortunately, the B4M ladies think that they have their own antennae (they don't); and what ensues are some very funny scenes with these women -- and even some of the men.

It's the usual riot around these people and I have to wonder how Phee still keeps her sanity. No wonder her aunt Ina's son moved away. No surprise there...scenes that 'feature' Streetman the Chiweenee are just as humorous as the other books, and I commend the author(s) on that. They place you effortlessly in the scene and you feel as if you were right there in the action. Watching and laughing, but grateful that you're not in the middle of it.

This book was so entertaining, and once again a winner by the writers. Harriet is clueless about almost everything, and you have to feel sorry for Phee growing up with her. But let's face it, Mama is funny. Really funny. And in this book, Paul Schmidt is a hoot (he being the resident fisherman who's crazy in his own way). Even the climax was fun to read.

When the killer is discovered, I knew pretty much from the beginning. But it's more complicated than that, and even I found it nicely written. I suppose you've figured out that I love this series. I also hope others will as well, and I look forward to the next one. Highly recommended.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review. show less

Sophie "Phee" Kimball-Gregory lives in Arizona and works for a private investigator, along with her PI husband, Marshall. Life for Phee is never normal, mainly because her mother Harriet and Harriet's book club ladies seem to find trouble no matter what they're doing.

Today Harriet and her friends are convinced by the men's pinochle group to plant their own vegetables in a community garden. But it's more than dirt they're turning up. Since Harriet brings her chiweenie Streetman with her show more everywhere, he's of course running wild -- until he pulls up a skeletal hand, and Harriet needs Phee to get it away from him. The only identifying item is a ring on the hand, and it's marked with strange letters that mean nothing to the officers, nor to anyone else.

But the ladies seem to think there's more body parts, even when Phee tries to tell them no. When they're convinced that one of the gardeners (not their book group, of course!) is guilty of murder, it's all Phee can do to keep them out of trouble...temporarily.

But does anyone listen? Nope. Is Phee involved again? Yep. And this time, she sees more of local fisherman Paul Schmidt than she'd like to (who wants fish smell in their office?). But does Paul have information? Is her Aunt Ina going off the deep end while reading Edgar Allan Poe? Are the seniors forming their own investigation? Is Phee at her wits' end?

With Marshall and their boss Nate out of town on a cat kidnapping caper along with her uncle Louis (who does not want to be around Ina during her week of Poe), they may need him for information for themselves. Which leads Phee to be on her own... and trying to stay alive. Because when a killer discovers that Phee just might know who they are -- they aren't going to want to let her breathe...

I have read all of this author(s) Sophie Kimball mysteries, and I have been entranced by all of them. Phee somehow manages to keep sane during her mother's imaginative scenarios, which usually turn out to be true (to an extent). She's trying to do her job and still keep the women in line, which isn't easy. And her mother manages to foist Streetman the Maniac Dog on her if she can.

This book is no different than the others. It is funny, witty, delightful, full of mystery (what cozy wouldn't be?), and hilarious characters that make you glad you don't live anywhere near them. Harriet is a hoot, along with Herb; and Ina is a throwback hippie who thinks she has it all together (she doesn't). I don't want to say anything else about this book that will spoil it for anyone else, but trust me, it's worth the trip to Sun City to see how it all turns out. Highly recommended.

I was given a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review. show less

Sophie Kimball-Gregory is newly married and works for a private investigator in Arizona as a bookkeeper/accountant. She's happy in her new life. Well, almost. There's the fact that her mother Harriet lives in Sun City West, and she and her book club ladies keep Phee busy trying to convince her that there's people after them (really).

But when Harriet's friend Shirley Johnson insists she saw a dead body, Phee and her PI husband Marshall go to investigate -- along with the ladies who insist on show more coming -- there's no body and no indication there ever was. While Shirley wonders if she's going crazy, Phee and Marshall aren't so sure. Especially when Shirley has an attempt on her life and she swears she saw the same body in another location. Eventually the body of the dead man turns up, and it also is discovered he was a member of the local senior softball team, the one their friend Herb just joined.

Now the PIs are not only involved in a fraud case, they're looking into the possibility that Shirley did see what she claims -- and that the dead man, Buster, had a lot of enemies who all had motive and opportunity. Phee is working to find out the truth, under the radar, of course, and what she finds isn't pretty. Especially when there's a killer on the loose...

This is the eleventh book in the series and I have loved them all. The author(s) have done another excellent job of bringing the characters to life, and what characters they are. Phee's mother Harriet is a hoot, as always, and her Chiweenie Streetman is his usual mischievous self, although in this book he has at least managed to put some decorum in his behavior (until he finds a reason not to, and it's funny as can be). Then there's a scene with Harriet's on-air companion Paul, who thinks of nothing but fishing, that has you laughing aloud (at least it did me, and I had to read it to my husband, who wanted to know what was so funny). That scene alone is worth reading the entire book, and no, I am not going to give any part of it away.

When Phee gets into her investigating, she's surprised at what she finds out about Buster. Passing the information along to the PIs, Nate and Marshall, she continues on and decides that she needs to go undercover to get the info she wants. That also turns out to be chaos, and Paul is right there with her for the ride.

When the ending comes, we have a chaotic scene as well, and Phee doesn't let the opportunity pass. It's a lot of fun and laughter as well, and I applaud the author(s) for their ability to keep things moving along and keep us interested throughout the book. The mystery was done very well, and I look forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended.

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review. show less