The Big Dirt Nap: A Dirty Business Mystery (Dirty Business Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Rosemary Harris (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dirty Business Mysteries | Publication Date: February 17, 2009

“A smart, engaging heroine who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty—literally.”
- Brian Freeman, author of Stalked

A hit with mystery lovers and gardening fans nationwide, Pushing Up Daisies introduced Paula Holliday, ex-NYC media exec turned Connecticut gardener, in Rosemary Harris’s celebrated series debut. Now in The Big Dirt Nap, Paula is back in a second scent-sational thriller.

Something stinks to Paula Holliday, and it isn’t just the corpse flower, titan arum, named for its off-putting fragrance. When Paula’s friend Lucy asks her to tag along on an all-expense-paid junket to the Titans Hotel, it seems like a good idea. Paula even manages to squeeze a few bucks and a byline out of the local paper for writing an article on the titan arum, a rare flower that’s just about to bloom and on display at the hotel.

But when her friend is unavoidably detained, a would-be suitor is found with a gaping hole in his head, and the corpse flower refuses to bloom, the entire venture starts to seem like less of a good idea.

Brimming with wit and wisecracks, The Big Dirt Nap is sure to win rising mystery star Rosemary Harris a whole new slew of ardent fans.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Harris's cute second dirty business mystery (after 2008's Pushing Up Daisies), landscape designer Paula Holliday is thrilled when her TV producer friend, Lucy Cavanaugh, suggests an all-expenses-paid getaway for the two of them to the Titans Hotel in Connecticut wine country. Paula even wangles a Springfield Bulletin gig to write about the titan arum (aka the corpse flower) on display under glass in the hotel lobby because the bloom smells so bad. When Lucy fails to appear and the dead body of new acquaintance Nick Vigoriti turns up on the hotel's loading dock, Paula considers returning home. Det. Stacy Winters's investigation persuades a TV reporter that Paula is a person of interest in Nick's murder, but Paula is more worried she might become the killer's next victim. The nifty puzzle that unfolds involves Native American casinos, mysterious Russians and that stinky slow-blooming flower. Author tour. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Praise for The Big Dirt Nap

“An absolute must-read for cozy lovers. Readers of Susan Wittig Albert and Earlene Fowler will relish Rosemary Harris’s exceptionally engaging new voice. Harris’s delightfully witty A Dirty Business series is in full flower.”
- Julia Spencer-Fleming, Edgar finalist and author of I Shall Not Want

"A wild and funny ride...a lot of fun to read."
- Crimespree Magazine


Praise for Pushing Up Daisies

“Quirky, original, and captivating . . . a sure-to-please series.”
- Carolyn Hart, author of the Death on Demand series

“Think Diana Mott Davidson’s caterer extraordinaire Goldy Schulz or Earlene Fowler’s Benni Harper. Harris plots out a good story.”
- Omaha World-Herald

“An appealing main character . . . Recommend this to fans of Veronica Heley’s series starring avid gardener Ellie Quicke.”
- Booklist

“If you like gardens and like reading mysteries, this is the book for you--a clever mystery full of garden lore, fast-paced and engaging, with a heroine who isn’t afraid to get down in the dirt.”
- Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“Sophisticated social comedy, romance, and murder could give Harris a wide readership beyond the fans of amateur sleuth books.”
- Connecticut Post

“With sassy wit and smart plotting, Paula Holliday is a sleuth to watch.”
- Susan Wittig Albert, author of the China Bayles herbal mysteries

“Contemporary cozies, such as Pushing Up Daisies…are reinventing themselves with likable female amateur sleuths who are smarter, less nosey, and able to work their investigations plausibly into their daily routines.…A charming debut.”
- Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (February 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312369689
• ISBN-13: 978-0312369682
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,429,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rosemary Harris writes traditional mysteries featuring amateur sleuth Paula Holliday. In her debut novel, PUSHING UP DAISIES, Paula - a transplanted city girl who moves to the suburbs - finds a mummified body. That book was inspired by a real mummified body found not far from Rosemary's home in suburban Connecticut and was nominated for both the Agatha and the Anthony for Best First Novel of 2008.

Her latest paperback, DEAD HEAD, asks the question, "How well do we really know our neighbors?" when one of Paula's clients, a well-liked and respected member of the community is discovered to be a fugitive from the law.

NPR (CT) called it "..a perfect summer read" and RT Magazine gave it "4 Stars!"

Laced with lots of humor, the series has been called "quirky, original and captivating" Carolyn Hart, "a wild and funny ride" Crimespree Magazine, "one of the best first fiction titles of 2008" Library Journal, "a nifty puzzle" Publishers Weekly and "hilarious" Kirkus Reviews.

She is the 2011 president of Mystery Writers of America, NY Chapter (inc. PA, NJ and CT) and past president of Sisters in Crime New England. She blogs at www.jungleredwriters.com with Julia Spencer Fleming, Deborah Crombie, Hallie Ephron, Rhys Bowen, Jan Brogan, Roberta Isleib and Hank Phillippi Ryan. Pretty good company!

When she's not writing or reading, Harris finds time for gardening, hiking the national parks and volunteering at Habitat for Humanity. She and her husband have been on 8 HFH trips including builds in New Orleans, Cambodia, Mexico, Tanzania, El Salvador and China. With the help of many friends in the book publishing industry, they have founded a community library in central Tanzania. They live - with a large golden retriever - in NYC and Fairfield County, CT.
She may be reached at www.rosemaryharris.com


TEN THINGS YOU PROBABLY DON'T KNOW ABOUT ROSEMARY
SHE..
1- OWNS 500 COOKIE CUTTERS (AND LOVES TO BAKE)
2- IS A MASTER GARDENER
3- MADE IT TO THE TOP OF MT. KILIMANJARO
4- PRODUCED A VIDEO ON SIGN LANGUAGE FOR THE DEAF
5- HAS MET THREE FIRST LADIES
6- KISSED PETE TOWNSEND
7- TREKKED TO EVEREST BASE CAMP
8- WISHES SHE COULD SING LIKE PATSY CLINE AND PLAY TENNIS LIKE ROGER FEDERER
9- COLLECTS UGLY LAMPS FROM THE 40S AND 50S
10-LETS HER DOG SLEEP ON THE BED EVEN THOUGH IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE UNHEALTHY

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun read!, March 30, 2009

By 

Monica Garcia "ReadingWithMonie.com" (Arlington, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Big Dirt Nap: A Dirty Business Mystery (Dirty Business Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Paula Holliday's friend Lucy has invited her for an all-expense-paid trip to the Titans Hotel. Lucy is there to do an investigative story on the hotel and Paula, who owns Dirty Business gardening and landscape company, is there to see the famed corpse flower on display at the hotel.

Shortly after Paula arrives she runs into Nick Vigoriti. A good looking ladies man who refuses to accept the brush off and doggedly tries to pick her up. Next thing you know the police are knocking on Paula's door because Nick is dead. And worse yet, Lucy is missing. Somehow the two are tied together but when the police refuse to investigate the disappearance Paula starts asking questions that make people nervous.

Judging a book by the cover is supposed to be a no-no but I did and I was not all that excited about reading this book. Boy was I mistaken. This book is hilarious. Paula cracked me up from the opening line to the very end.

I'll share my favorite scene so you get an idea... With both Paula and Lucy in full Goth make up (don't ask LOL) they scare the heck out of a convenience store clerk. Paula then terrifies him further when she calls him by name.

"Chill. You name's on your shirt." I peeled off a few dollars,
then hurried Lucy out of the store, but not before sticking my
head back in and telling the frightened clerk to have a nice day.

The book is filled with those kinds of witty interactions and I couldn't get enough. The characters are well described that I could easily picture each and every one. This was the second book in the Dirty Business mystery series and it stands alone as I have not yet read book one, Pushing Up Daisies, which is now on my wish list. I highly recommend this one to all cozy mystery lovers.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun to read but not up the level of her first book in this series, March 8, 2010

By 

iiiiReader (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Big Dirt Nap: A Dirty Business Mystery (Dirty Business Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

The author has continued on with some of her original characters - which is a big plus as I thought she had the makings of a good ensemble.

I could have wished for more of a development between the cop and the main sleuth but perhaps that will be in future installments. I was surprised and not pleased that the author left gardening out of this book. It is her "hook" and also seems to be her own personal experience and yet it is notably missing - unlike her first book. Once again, I felt the author invested too much time to a cause - this time Native American rights and the horror of the "gambling" income they receive. In her first book, it was the plight of Mexicans who are in this country illegally. Being preached at in a "cosy" mystery doesn't make for a fun read. Another nit is that the author focused on the homeless guy and on her client's husband and then dropped both like yesterday's news. I was looking for something a little more interesting and twisted from these references - perhaps some plot lines that were deleted in editing?

On the other hand, I do like this writer's style and her sense of humor. I was happy to visit some old friends from "Pushing Up Daisies" and just wished for a few more of these friends. I liked the addition of the "bikers" and hope to see them again in the future. I will certainly be looking forward to and buying more of her books and hope that someday I can start giving her 5 stars.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A blooming good time, March 4, 2009

By 

readerwriter - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Big Dirt Nap: A Dirty Business Mystery (Dirty Business Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Rosemary Harris has done it again in her latest mystery featuring engaging heroine Paula Holliday, who cracks wise and solves another plant-related crime in a fast-pasted story that's sure to entertain both those with, and without, green thumbs. Can't wait for Paula's next "Dirty Business" adventure!