Helpful Score: 1
My first in this series and I really enjoyed it. Will definitely read more. A lot of humor and sarcasm, which made this fun.
Helpful Score: 1
Agatha Award-winning author Joan Hess, the prolific creator of the Claire Malloy and Maggody mysteries, is beloved for her clever sleuths, quirky characters, and her ingenious plotting. We invite you to enjoy this delightful Claire Malloy mystery, and to discover why Sharyn McCrumb calls Joan Hess "the patron saint of comic mystery."
At Farberville High, it's reading, writing...and murder.
Who knows what evil lurks in the halls of Farbervilles' high school-or what blackmail is hidden in Miss Demeanor's Falcon Crier advice column? Certainly not bookstore owner and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy-until her daughter Caron persuades her to substitute for disgraced column editor and journalism teacher Emily Parchester. Surely Miss Parchester cannot be guilty of embezzlement. But the petty charges graduate to murder when Principal Weiss gets his last licks from Miss Parchester's peach compote. Miss Parchester herself, last seen at a local sanitarium, is suddenly missing. And now it's up to Claire to find someone who's been schooled in the fine art of murder...
At Farberville High, it's reading, writing...and murder.
Who knows what evil lurks in the halls of Farbervilles' high school-or what blackmail is hidden in Miss Demeanor's Falcon Crier advice column? Certainly not bookstore owner and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy-until her daughter Caron persuades her to substitute for disgraced column editor and journalism teacher Emily Parchester. Surely Miss Parchester cannot be guilty of embezzlement. But the petty charges graduate to murder when Principal Weiss gets his last licks from Miss Parchester's peach compote. Miss Parchester herself, last seen at a local sanitarium, is suddenly missing. And now it's up to Claire to find someone who's been schooled in the fine art of murder...
Helpful Score: 1
Book shop owner, Claire Malloy, agrees to substitute for journalism teacher, Emily Parchester, who is accused of embezzelment, at the local high school, and has been fired. Then the principal, Mr. Weiss, is murdered, and the janitor, Pitts, also ends up dead. This is a funny, delightful comedy/mystery, very entertaining.
Farberville bookstore owner Claire Malloy and her drama-queen 15 year old daughter, Caron, return. This time , much to her dismay, Claire's services as a substitute journalism teacher/newspaper editor have been volunteered by her daughter. Knowing Claire as we do, we shouldn't be surprised that she manages to stumble across a dead body. Written with Ms. Hess's usual dry humor and sassy dialogue.
Beverly B. (baeb47) -
It's fun watching Claire solve a mystery as she substitues for the high school journalism teacher.
Another good "who dunnit" by Joan Hess.
First there's the scandal of Emily Parchester, Farberville's journalism teacher for forty years, who's removed from her position for pilfering petty cash. Then there are the suggestive letters to Miss Demeaner, the Falcon Crier's advice columnist. And finally, incredibly, there's murder.
This was my first Claire Malloy book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Will definitely read the rest of the series. Very well written and very funny. Ms. Hess sure has a way with words!
Claire Malloy and feisty daughter - Claire has to substitute teach a few days at Caron's high school; of course principal is murdered and Claire gets to irritate sometimes beau Peter the cop!
good read
I liked this book, but the side mystery (About the missing funds) tended to confuse the plot a little bit. I'd still recommend it though.
Shirley J. (NoShushing) -
A light, funny mystery.
Book 3 in series
