Customer Reviews

August Moon (Murder-by-Month Mysteries, No. 4)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ms. Lourey has created an anything-but-typical heroine in Miranda (Mira) James - a witty, cynical and somewhat embittered woman who moves to the small town of Battle Lake, Minnesota to housesit. While the Murder-by-Month Series has been classified by some as belonging to the cozy subgenre of mysteries, Mira is not your typical amateur female sleuth. She is hard hitting, hard talking, and hard drinking. If you're easily offended, this series might not be the best fit for you.

I will admit to initially being a bit put off myself (please don't let this be a cheesy romance novel disguised as a mystery - not that there's anything wrong with cheesy romance novels!). I did, however, come to thoroughly enjoy the main characters and the gorgeous setting, and also to admire Mira. One would have to be made of pretty tough stuff to endure the physical reminder of her father's folly on a daily basis as she did in high school. Kudos to Ms. Lourey for creating such a complex and sympathetic heroine. Mira reminds me of the words to a song by Saving Jane, "don't mess with imperfection." She is a perfectly imperfect protagonist.

In August Moon, Mira is disappointed in a man yet again, overindulges, and decides to leave Battle Lake even before her housesitting gig is up. She is passionate about her job as the local librarian, however, and won't leave before hiring and training a replacement. She sets about doing just that and also meets several individuals who are fairly new to the area. When a tourist stumbles upon the body of a local cheerleader, Mira can't ignore her desire to find out exactly who's responsible before she returns to the Twin Cities, so she uses the cover of her other job, that of reporter and columnist for the local paper, to do a little detecting on her own.

What Mira uncovers is indeed frightening, and with Sheriff Gary Wohnt acting strangely, Mira isn't sure whom she can trust. Enlisting the help of the colorful Mrs. Berns, Mira outfits herself in weapons and dark clothing and sets off to catch a killer - but will the killer catch her first?

August Moon is an enjoyable and exciting whodunit containing a fair amount of social commentary, off-the-wall characters, and an interesting plot. The tone is dark, but there is plenty of humor thrown in to keep things from getting too heavy. Although it wasn't at all what I expected in a cozy, I am definitely planning to get my hands on the next book in the series, September Mourn!

Carol Ann Hopkins 5/10/2008

I have read this series in time order and each book has gotten better than the last. I muddled through the first couple, enjoyed "JULY", then couldn't put down AUGUST MOON until I finished it. (I always feel bad that after an author has spent a year writing a book, I devour it in an afternoon.)The character is growing and maturing, as is the author's writing. I can't wait til SEPTEMBER MOURN comes out--As an English Major, I feel qualified to recommend this series as a good read.

I read a lot of books. I read before going to sleep, in the bathroom (you all do it, come on, admit it!), on the Muni and while I'm walking. Seriously. I've perfected the art of reading while walking without a: tripping, b: bumping into fellow pedestrians or other obstacles, or c: getting hit by cars. I read quickly too, so I go through at least five books in a week. Very rarely, however, do I read books that make me laugh out loud, especially in public. AUGUST MOON, the fourth in Jess Lourey's Murder by the Month series, is one of those rare books that did just that. We're talking the kind of laugh accompanied by a snort. You know. The kind of involuntary snorting that increases in frequency with age. Luckily the embarrassment factor decreases with each passing birthday. Good thing 'cause I was snorting up a storm while reading AUGUST MOON on a recent plane trip. The people in my row no doubt thought they were sitting next to some strange hybrid of woman and warthog.

Seriously, though, AUGUST MOON is just plain funny. It's also a cracking good mystery with a well thought out plot, plenty of suspense and a bountiful selection of suspects and assorted eccentric characters adding to the mix. To shameless quote the back cover of AUGUST MOON here: Our sassy young heroine suffers more than just unrequited lust during a Minnesota scorcher of a summer in this fourth Murder-by-Month mystery. A dead cheerleader and various oddball fanatics are uncovered in the small town of Battle Lake, "where the women are churchgoers, the men like to hunt, and the body count is above average."

At the beginning of AUGUST MOON Mira James, sassy young heroine in question, is stood up by a Brad Pitt-esque gardening expert, thus motivating her to give notice at her job as Battle Creek's librarian and move back to Minneapolis. Before she can put her plan in effect, however, petty theft and the death of a cheerleader draws Mira into the investigation of newcomer Pastor Meales and his evangelical bible camp. To add to the confusion, Mira's replacement at the Battle Creek library is a member of Pastor Meales' congregation, a mysterious, cape-wearing wood tick expert arrives in town and another cheerleader goes missing. Mira's work is cut out for her as she juggles the logistics of solving the various mysteries, meeting deadlines for her other job as (reporter) writer for the local Battle Creek newspaper, and attending a Creationist science fair at Christ's Church of the Apocryphal Revelation (think Jesus Camp).

The science fair brought on the major snortfest. Such exhibits as "My Great Great Grandpa Was a Christian, Not a Monkey," "Biology Proves Women Designed for Housework," and (my favorite) "Thermodynamic Readouts Confirm Satan Is More Active Than Ever" had me laughing out loud. There really are religious groups who promote these nutso theories, which is both funny and kinda scary. To quote Homer (Simpson, not the Greek epic poet), 'It's funny 'cause it's true!"

And that pretty much sums up what I love best about Jess Lourey's writing: her characters, even the over-the-top eccentrics, all have a core of believability that allow the reader to lose themselves in the story. The plot is woven together carefully, but never feels contrived or forced, and Mira is a flawed (and therefore believable) yet extremely likeable heroine. I'm looking forward to a full year's worth of murder, mayhem and Mira!

(Note: I don't agree with one of the other reviewers that Ms. Lourey is lumping all Christianity into the same category. She takes on over the top fundamentalists and that's not the same thing at all.)

Battle Lake, Minnesota has a population just over nine hundred residents. On the surface, it is a quiet quaint samll town in which everyone knows their neighbors and strangers are always noticed. Mira James has a radically different opinion on the town that she believes is the murder capital as she has recently been involved in several homicide investigations.

When Johnny Leeson stands her up, Mira decides to leave Battle Lake. She finds a replacement librarian and gives notice to her boss and at the paper where she writes a column. She is glad to be leaving since Pastor Meale and his wife opened up the New Millennium Bible Camp. The Meales want to dictate what books the library can circulate and what must be banned because they go against God's commandments. A cheerleader who works part-time at the library is assassinated by a bullet stunning everyone. Mia Googles the Meales for their prior connections and engagements and learns other girls were killed who looked like the late cheerleader. The Pastor declares that a local festival is devilish and those who partake pagans. When a teen is kidnapped, Mia thinks she knows who is behind the crimes, but her guess proves false, leaving her life in danger.

AUGUST MOON is a fabulously entertaining amateur sleuth tale in which the audience like the heroine will not identify the killer, but also will be shocked when the culprit reveals their identity. Jess Lourey is a fabulous story teller who uses everyday people as the back drop to her fine whodunit. Mia is an interesting lead character who is torn between what she wants and what she needs; however when it comes to murder she is confident in what she must do. Readers will empathize and admire this caring woman who holds this regional tale together.

Harriet Klausner

Once again a good Jess Lourey book. If you like the previous one, you will enjoy this one, but my favorite is september fair. Enjoy.

This series is absolutely delightful--just like the Nut Goodies the main character is always eating when she needs to relieve stress. Set in a little Minnesota town, the stories are very offbeat and lots of fun. This particular mystery lets our heroine tackle a religious sect with satisfying results. And we are left with happy prospects of future romance for her. In the previous books, she has not fared so well in that department. The first love interest ended up dead on the floor of the library where she works. You want to root for her to find a soul mate, because she is so likable.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this witty, suspenseful series. My only disappointment is that I have to wait so long for the next "month" to arrive.

Mira James is beyond ready to hightail it out of Battle Lake and back to civilization; between being stood up by the man she was interested in and dealing with people who want to practice censorship, the spunky librarian has had it with the town. Then, there is a murder and Mira's best suspect is someone she'd love to put away, Pastor Meale, who runs a cult like, faux Christian camp that worships what are purportedly lost Bible books. His followers are hick like Stepford wives, and the men's mentality isn't much better. Mira will do whatever it takes to uncover the truth about the murder and about the camp, no matter how dangerous the situation is to herself.

*** With comparisons being made between this series and Stephanie Plum's misadventures, I was perhaps expecting too much. Mira's open hostility to Christianity or any faith at all was jarring and made the rest of the story strike me wrongly as the heroine seemed to feel that real Christianity was the same as the cult she wanted to shut down. Other than that, this is an intriguing mystery and people for whom faith is not a central issue should derive more pleasure from it than I. ***