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When an artist stages a display of environmental art on his front lawn, including a half-naked woman, a small Arkansas town is shocked. Next, someone sets fire to the house, which kills the artist's wife. Now who would do such a thing? Bookseller Claire Malloy investigates.Tags
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Member Reviews
Joan Hess is a humorous murder-mystery genius! If you want funny but not ultra-cutesy, she is the way to go. Claire Malloy returns in her role as the bookshop owning, mother-of-one, paramour of a (somewhat exasperated) police detective, and semi-reluctant investigator of lethal crimes that seem to enmesh themselves throughout her life.
In this, the 10th book of the Claire Malloy series, when the estranged wife of a new resident artist is found murdered in the smoky remains of his home, it us up to Claire, her daughter and her daughter's best friend, to figure out whodunit.
In this, the 10th book of the Claire Malloy series, when the estranged wife of a new resident artist is found murdered in the smoky remains of his home, it us up to Claire, her daughter and her daughter's best friend, to figure out whodunit.
Humorous mystery but the almost too witty dialogue gets old. I don't think the main character, Claire is a very good mother, either. She does so many things and seems like she never even thinks of her daughter or where she might be.
Substance: Comedy-murder, some mild titillation, but relatively benign. Detective (such as she is) solved some what and why, but not the who.
Style: Breezy and easy, but not memorable.
Style: Breezy and easy, but not memorable.
Still sick, still reading mysteries.
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Author Information
54+ Works 9,441 Members
Joan Hess was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas in 1949. She received a bachelor's degree in art from the University of Arkansas in 1971 and a master's degree in education from Long Island University in 1974. For several years, she taught art in a private preschool. Her first book, Strangled Prose, was published in 1986. She was the author of the show more Claire Malloy Mystery series and the Arly Hanks Mystery series. A Diet to Die For won the American Mystery Award for best traditional novel of 1989. A short story, Too Much to Bare, received the Agatha Award in 1990 and the McCavity Award in 1991. She also wrote the Theo Bloomer series under the pseudonym Joan Hadley. She finished the final Amelia Peabody novel, The Painted Queen, using the notes of Elizabeth Peters and their conversations to finish the book. It was published in 2017. She died on November 23, 2017 at the age of 68. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Busy Bodies
- Original title
- Busy Bodies
- Original publication date
- 1995
- People/Characters
- Claire Malloy; Miss Parchester; Zeno Gorgias; Melanie Magruder
- Important places
- Farberville, Arkansas, USA (fictitious town); USA; Arkansas, USA
- Dedication
- For my darling daughter
Becca
Who has never mastered the art of speaking in capital letters. - First words
- I am not an adept liar, which I think speaks well for my character.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)As I may have said, Peter is a man of many talents.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 281
- Popularity
- 114,247
- Reviews
- 5
- Rating
- (3.48)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 4
