Ain't Nobody's Bizness (Five Star Expressions) [Hardcover]

Laura Garner (Author)

Book Description

Series: Five Star Expressions | Publication Date: April 2002

Told in reluctant heroine Madeleine "Max" Maxwell’s rough-edged voice, Ain’t Nobody’s Bizness mixes warped observation and uncompromising self-realization. Max struggles with a very unexpected mid-life pregnancy, the violent death of her alcoholic brother, and the long-term results of questionable life choices. Readers will find Max a surprising, endearingly messed up but painfully honest narrator, whose unconventional voice provides laugh-out-loud humor as well as genuine pathos.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A fine little book teeming with its own small but important truths. -- Ed Gorman, Author of the Sam McCain Series

Laura Garner is a vibrant new voice in contemporary fiction, intelligent and funny. -- Michael Palmer, NY Times Bestselling Author of FATAL

Laura Garner['s]... distinctive voice is enriched by a loving hand that gives her story unexpected depth. -- Katy Munger, Author of the Casey Jones Series

About the Author

Laura Garner works as an editor by day, writes books by night, and in her free time directs and performs in Cape Cod theaters.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 270 pages
• Publisher: Five Star (ME) (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786241098
• ISBN-13: 978-0786241095
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,694,496 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ain't Nobody's Bizness, August 23, 2002

By 

AAM Reviews (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ain't Nobody's Bizness (Five Star Expressions) (Hardcover)

Madeleine "Max" Maxwell is about to have a sudden life change. Nearing forty, scheduled for a hysterectomy, and as hard
drinking and hard living as they come, she wasn't exactly ready for the unexpected pregnancy that would ultimately change
her life.
But then again, she wasn't ready for the smoky voiced, ex-con, Jackson O'brien, or the murders occurring in her little town
of Hawk Marsh either. Murders directly related to her.
What's a girl to do? She's pregnant, hormones are raging, life altering events are occuring, and Max is smack dab in the
Middle of a murder mystery threatening to drive her insane.
You've got to read this book. Laura Gardner has written a wonderfully witty, superbly emotional, and amazingly twisted
mystery you won't be able to put down.
Who's killing the men in Max's life, and why? Is it the moody ex-con, the psychotic ex lover, or someone else ensuring
their own agenda?
Packed with humor, and an earthy realism that will amaze you, Ain't Nobody's Bizness guides you through six harrowing
months of Max's life. The changes to the person that was, the growth of a woman and mother that will be, the trials that will
knock her down, and her steely determination to stand up against all odds, and face the future to come.
This is a mystery you definitely don't want to miss.

Review by: Shadoe Simmons

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very funny and touching, June 18, 2002

By 

Martha Garner (New Iberia, LA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ain't Nobody's Bizness (Five Star Expressions) (Hardcover)

The heroine, Max is a wonderful character. She is strong, funny, brutally honest, and deeply touching at the same time. Supporting characters are also well-drawn and intriguing. This book works on many levels: a humorous portrait of small town life, a murder mystery, and a character study. I enjoyed reading it, and found myself laughing out loud several times. Max feels like a friend, and I certainly hope to hear more from her in the future.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fiesty heroine in a thought-provoking story, June 6, 2003

By 

curvynovelsdotinfo "[e-mail]" (Maine, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A'Int Nobody's Bizness (Paperback)

Heroine: short and solid

After surviving a harrowing adolescence and maintaining her status as the town's foul-mouthed, hard drinking tart for twenty-plus years, shop teacher Maddie "Max" Maxwell thinks she's one tough cookie. But she soon discovers her "soft center" when her hormones start going haywire with a surprise pregnancy. After all, it's not everyday you go into the doctor's for a scheduled hysterectomy and come out with a due date for a baby--by a guy you are about to dump, no less!

        But Max is about to find out that even the toughest cookie is liable to crumble under the right circumstances. If the pregnancy wasn't enough to bowl her over, surely the multiple murders occurring around town will do it. Especially since all of them are connected in one way or another to Max herself!

What worked for me:

All right, I admit it, Max grew on me. Rough-around-the edges and with odd taste in men she's very different from me, but I think I could enjoy time spent in her company.

I thought the writing was clever, and the plot held my interest with its nicely convoluted mystery. The dash of raunchy sexual tension and heart-wrenching plot developments were also a great touch.

   Size-wise Max is closing in on forty and built, in her words, like a fireplug. And her best (and annoying) friend is rather voluptuous as well.

What didn't work for me:

It was hard not to flinch when thinking about Max's drinking during her early pregnancy.

Overall:

I found this story to be a creative hybrid of women's fiction and mystery. Readers looking to be drawn into an emotionally raw, thought-provoking story would be well-advised to search this one out.

Warning: this book has some coarse language and some brief references to homosexuality.

If you liked "Ain't Nobody's Bizness" you might also enjoy the "Steph Plum" mystery series, the "Sam Jones" mystery series, the "Casey Jones" mystery series, the "Odelia Grey" mystery series, the "Women's Murder Club" mystery series, "Princess Charming", "Infernal Affairs", "Plum Girl", and "Hey Lady, Your Tin Snips Are Showing".