Customer Reviews

Blessed Is the Busybody

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Aggie Sloane-Wilcox is trying to adjust to life in Emerald Springs, Ohio. Not only is this a tight knit small town, but being the wife of the new minister of Consolidate Community Church means she and her family are constantly under scrutiny. Especially since they live in the parsonage right next to the church. For example, the Women's Society Board thinks they need to come over and decide what length the bushes in the backyard should be.

But when this group of ladies shows up at the parsonage, they find a woman's body on Aggie's front porch. Worse yet, she's completely naked. The ladies are scandalized and blame Aggie for the problem. Worse yet, the police think that Aggie's husband, Ed, is the most likely killer.

Despite warnings to stay out of it, Aggie can't. The stakes are raised when some of the members of the church decide this makes a good excuse to fire Ed. So who was this woman? Why was she in town? And can Aggie stay alive long enough to find the answer?

This debut sparkles. Aggie is a fun character. She has lots of spunk, and reading about her is sure to bring a smile to anyone's face. Her first person narration adds to the fun with her commentary on the events going on around her.

The other characters are just as wonderful. Ed makes a good balance to Aggie while best friend Lucy helps stir up trouble. Ed and Aggie's two daughters are well crafted and realistic for their ages. The assorted suspects and church members are all well developed as well. Characters are obviously one of the Emilie Richards' strengths because all of these characters are great.

The only flaw in the book is an uneven plot. Around the middle, the story lags a little, and I found myself waiting for events to get moving again. This didn't last very long. Over all, the story is great with several nice twists and an exciting climax.

And I must comment on the theology. Being a series set in a church, I wasn't sure how I would like it. While this is not a church I would regularly attend in real life, it was presented as a part of these character's lives. It never once became preachy or over powered the story but added a richness and texture to the story.

It's always a pleasure to find a new series that shows promise. I hope the author delivers on that promise when the second book is released.

This is the first book I've read by this author and the first book she's written in this series. The hero/detective is Aggie (short for Agate), the wife of a Unitarian minister who is living in a small Ohio college town with their two school-aged daughters. Aggie and family life are very much the center of this cozy story. ALthough life as a minister's wife is not easy -- and more difficult because a wealthy and strong-willed member of the congregation has taken a dislike to husband Ed and wants him gone -- you like the family and enjoy reading about them. The plot involves Aggie's amateur attempts to solve the mystery of who killed a young woman who is left naked on their doorstep, to be discovered by the Ladies Society on the way to inspect the parsonage grounds. It turns out husband Ed has been counseling this stranger to town, but he can't reveal what she told him. Aggie is worried about why this woman's body was left on her doorstep and uses that as a reason for investigating the murder herself, although the good-looking Greek detective investigating on behalf of the police keeps telling her to stay out of it. Aggie is assisted by her best friend Lucy (whose mother actually named her Lucille Ball).

Is this the best mystery I've read this year? No, and I had the killer pegged about 2/3 of the way through, but it's quite good and enjoyable reading. It's the kind of book you can safely give your grandmother or someone who is fairly traditional in taste and dosn't want explicit sex, strong violence, or bad language in their reading, and who wants likeable characters. I will definitely be reading more as they are published. The author has published quite a bit in other genres and series, so I suspect we'll hear more about Aggie and her family.

Aggie Sloan-Wilcox isn't like other minister's wives you might know. Raised by her free-spirited mother, Junie, it's logical that some of her unconventional ways have rubbed off on Aggie. Sometimes that's not a good thing when your husband is the pastor of the local Unitarian church.

But then, finding the naked body of a woman on her front porch isn't the way to win friends and supporters in the congregation. As the body count begins to rise in Emerald Springs, Ohio, Aggie must find the murderer, or her husband, Ed might take the fall. What could be worse than that? Well, Aggie could become the murderer's next victim.

Emilie Richards, first in the new Aggie Sloan-Wilcox series, is a fast-paced and fun romp with dead bodies littering the parish landscape in Emerald Springs. Aggie is smart, quirky, fearless and 'nice' even when others' behavior is nasty.

Armchair Interviews says: Richard's cozy amateur sleuth series is one you'll want to start from the beginning.

I enjoy a book that is described well. I found this book easy to imagine what Emerald Springs looks like. The church, parsonage and even the bar are all described in detail. Aggie is a honest straight forward person. However, I found myself more interested in the secondary characters Lucy and Roussos. A good mystery worth reccomending and looking forward to the second book.

Emilie Richards normally writes womens fiction books but with her newest release Blessed Is The Busybody, she took a detour and wrote a cozy mystery.

Ed, the minister of the Consolidated Community Church, was concouling Jennifer, a young woman who was trying to work through some problems. Aggie, is the wife of Ed who happened to of found Jennifer dead on her doorstep right before a meeting of the churchs Womens Society.

Not being able to let the murder go because she found Jennifer and because she is a straght forward kind of woman, Aggie starts her own investigation with her best friend Lucy. Between the two of them, they end up solving the case, but Aggie gets put in the line of fire and gets saved by the hot detective, Roussos.

I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to learning more about Ed, Aggie, Lucy, Roussos, and a few other towns folks as the series continues in Let There Be Suspects, which is due out December 2006.

I usually don't start reading mystery series until several books have been published, but because I am such a fan of Emilie Richards's other book, I picked up this one . . . and almost regret it because I want to read the next few books in the series this afternoon and they haven't been published yet.

The characters are ideal for a series because there is so much to explore about each. Aggie's parents (whom we didn't meet this time)are going to be interesting and funny. Ed (the minister-husband) is presented through nuanced details, and I am eager to spend more time with him. Although he is admirable, he is not a cardboard saint. He is an interesting man, and his profession is only one part of that.

The heroine has a wonderfully funny, occasionally ironic voice. You want to be her friend.

This author has an expansive imagination, and her other books are therefore long (but never boring). So a series seems a perfect canvas for her.

Emile Richards has written a great first book in this new series. The protanganist is Aggie (short for Agate), the wife of a Unitarian minister who lives in a small college town in Ohio along with their two young daughters. Life as a minister's wife is not always easy, Aggie and her family are always on display, but they are liking small town living except for the fact that a wealthy, despotic member of the congregation has taken a dislike to Aggie's husband Ed and wants him gone. A young woman is murdered and left naked on the front doorstep of the parsanage and the body is discovered by the Ladies Society on the way to inspect the parsonage. Ed had been counseling the young woman, new to the town, but he can't reveal what she told him. Aggie is very worried that Ed may be the prime murder suspect and decides to investigate the murder. The plot involves Aggie's attempts to solve the mystery of who killed this young woman and why, and she presists in her investigations even though the handsome Greek detective, Roussos, keeps telling her to stay out of it. Aggie is assisted by her best friend Lucy, a realtor, who has access to information that Aggie can use in her investigation.

The author does a great job with the dialog, the characters' descriptions, and the ambiance of small town life and the secrets of the people who live there. The mystery is well written and the plot is slowly revealed until the complex yet satisfying ending. I look forward to reading more books about Aggie and her family and the mysteries she solves.

You sometimes find the first in a series somewhat lacking, not here. This book was very enjoyable, good mystery, great characters that I would like to get to know better, and nice storyline. Highly recommended.

After working in a church in Boston and another in Washington, D.C., minister Ed Wilcox and his family have transferred to the Consolidated Community Church in Emerald Springs, Ohio. His wife, Aggie, initially has her doubts about settling down in a small town, but eventually she, Ed, and their two young children find themselves making friends, except for elderly parishioner Gelsey Falowell who despises Ed and wants to get rid of him. Gelsey's wish may come true when the naked body of a murder victim is left on the Wilcox's front porch and Ed, who had been counseling the dead woman, is the chief suspect. Aggie knows that Ed is innocent but wonders why Ed is keeping secrets from her especially when her daughter Teddy tells her she saw her father fighting with the dead woman. When a second murder is committed and detective Kirkor Roussos seems to suspect Ed committed both crimes, Aggie, with the help of her friend, real estate agent Lucy Jacobs, begins investigating the murders. The more Aggie looks into the crimes the more she realizes that people, especially Gelsey, have secrets that have been buried for years and some people will kill to have them remain secret.

"Blessed is the Busybody" is a good beginning to what looks to be a good mystery series. The characters are well written and well defined. The mystery is written from the view point of Aggie, revealing various bits of her unconventional childhood, plus her struggles to raise her children especially oldest daughter Deena, who at eleven is just starting to rebel a little bit. Both Teddy and Deena are well written and come across as real children. Aggie's friend Lucy is so well written that I could picture here while reading the book. Ed comes across as a bit bland, but I suspect that will change in future books. Author Emilie Richards does a good job describing small town life and the secrets hidden there and the town itself was like a character in the book. The mystery is well written with plenty of surprising secrets slowly revealed as the book goes on. The mystery is complex yet satisfying, if a bit sad. But there's a nice gentle humor throughout the book that takes the edge off the sadder elements.

"Blessed is the Busybody" is well worth reading.

Aggie Sloan-Wilcox and her family had recently relocated to Emerald Springs, OH. Her husband, Ed, is the pastor of Consolidated Community Church.

When a naked body is discovered on their front porch, outspoken Gelsey Falowell works even harder to turn everyone against Ed and have him and his family removed. At first no one knows who the dead woman is. It is soon discovered that Jennifer, the murdered woman, had come to Ed for counseling recently. The worst part is that Ed refuses to disclose to anyone, including the police, what she needed counseling for. This makes him a suspect in her death.

Aggie and her best friend Lucy begin to look into Jennifer's life. Detective Kirkor Roussos doesn't look to kindly on their meddling. Neither does Ed or the church congregation. And most importantly, neither does Gelsey.

Can Aggie discover the truth and find the real killer before Ed is fired and without putting herself in danger?

This is the first in this delightful series. I can't wait to read more. Aggie is such an enjoyable character. Even their daughters Teddy and Deena are believable characters. The location is a great small town in America. The church and community really add to the story.

I highly recommend this book and can't wait to read the next one!


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