The PMS Outlaws

Sharyn McCrumb has a facility for coming up with wonderful, zany titles, and “The PMS Outlaws” is right up there with “Bimbos of the Death Sun” and “If I’d Killed Him When I Met Him”.

Unfortunately, the stories that unroll under these titles often resemble what comes up on the screen after you click on “What they found in this trash bin will astound you!”, and “The PMS Outlaws”, unfortunately, pretty much falls into that category.

Elizabeth MacPherson, McCrumb’s amateur-sleuth / forensic anthropologist heroine is among the main characters (in fact the book is billed as “an Elizabeth MacPherson novel”), but for most of it, she’s a medicated zombie, locked into denial about the disappearance of her husband. show more (No, the book doesn’t deal with his disappearance, or end with him being discovered amnesiac but healthy in the Orkney Isles.) MacPherson’s brother’s law partner carries most of the story, as she gets involved with the titular bandits – a couple of young women who lure horny but unsuspecting men into embarrassing situations before taking off with their possessions.

Things don’t begin to come together until the halfway point of the book, and then they depend on ever more unlikely coincidences to draw things to their more-or-less resolution.

The best thing about this book is that it doesn’t require much of your time. It would be an okay companion on a cross-country flight or in the waiting room at the maternity ward. But don’t expect much beyond that. show less

In the last Elizabeth MacPherson novel (so far, at least), our usually irrepressible heroine has been installed in Cherry Hill, an exclusive mental hospital where several family members have spent time, after expressing suicidal thoughts over the loss of her husband. There, she stumbles across a mystery revolving around a beautiful old house her brother Bill has bought as his law office. Seeing a picture of the house, a fellow patient mentions that the original owner, Jack Dolan, died in a car crash in the 50s. The problem is that Jack, now in his nineties, is still living in the house! Meanwhile, A.P. Hill is dealing with her own troubles; a law school friend has gone on the lam with a defendant and the two are luring men into secluded show more spots with unspeakable suggestions, then handcuffing and robbing them. With A.P. distracted and out of town, Elizabeth institutionalized, and Bill loveably clueless, it’s up to Cousin Geoffrey to put things right—not only as regards the mystery, but as regards the interior decoration of Bill’s new acquisition. Though Elizabeth’s grief lends a dark edge, this is another entertaining, satisfying entry in the series with all the familiar characters coming off well by the end—even Bill has a chance to shine. show less

This is probably the best of the series that I have read (so far - haven't read numbers 6 & 7 at this point). The characters feel real, the mystery is less a mystery than a revelation of character. I really liked Elizabeth in this book. Also, there was nice tie-in to characters from the first book in the series.

This was an amusing romp of a book. Not quite a mystery more a regular fiction book but it was fun and I would genuinely recommend it as a read.

Elizabeth is trying to cope with the disappearance of her husband in a psychiatric instutition. Meanwhile her brother is buying a more impressive house for his legal business, while his partner is dealing with the fact that her college friend has gone on the rampage with one of her clients on occasion using her name.

Fun and funny it's a charming story.

Silly but fun. This was a library discard which I took home for a rainy day. We were without power here in Connecticut and this book was a nice diversion - well written but slight.

Two interweaving stories. One is forensic anthropologist Elizabeth MacPherson deeply depressed and in denial about her husband's death, lost at sea. The other is her brother Bill and his law practice partner, A.P. Hill, drawn into a 'Thelma & Louise' crime spree. It doesn't sound like they could intersect, but they do, most pleasingly.

The latest in McCrumb's Elizabeth McPherson series, McCrumb's wit and humor shine. The series is lighter than the Appalachian ballad series, but the writing is just as fine and the characters are just as memorable.