Buford the Bullfrog is dead. And that's only the beginning. Connor Westphal, the feisty deaf publisher of the weekly "Eureka!," jumps into the annual Jubilee festivities when her sidekick and main squeeze, private eye Dan Smith, is retained by Buford's jockey to find the murderer. With the help of Sheriff Elvis Mercer and the eccentric denizens of Flat Skunk, Connor and Dan think it'll be a snap, until the sheriff's son Jeremiah comes under suspicion and a human body surfaces in Critter's Creek, along with a lot more dead frogs. Connor, with the aid of a new blind friend, sets about finding out who is killing the frogs and people of Calaveras County.
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
It's Jumping Frog Jubilee season, and Connor Westphal's PI boyfriend, Dan Smith, is investigating prized amphibian Buford's death. The next victim is human, and our heroine, deaf editor of a local paper, navigates illegal toxic-waste dumping, frantic frog owners, abominable poetry and the drug trade in Blind Side, the latest Connor Westphal mystery by Penny Warner.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In little Flat Skunk, CA, deaf newspaperwoman Connor Westphal (Dead Body Language) reports on events in the latest Jumping Frog Jubilee, which pulls in tourist dollars and inspires heady frog training competition. Unfortunately, the contest's previous winner is found murdered just before the jubilee opens and the prime suspect turns out to be the sheriff's son and Connor's good buddy. Connor and boyfriend Dan, a former cop-turned-private investigator, pick through a variety of additional suspects, uncovering hospital corruption and a multitude of family secrets. A sprightly, full-fledged heroine, small-town conniptions, frequent humor, and clever plotting makes this a strongly recommended purchase for most collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One raucous mystery,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Blind Side: A Connor Westphal Mystery (Paperback)
Penny Warner is a wonder. She has written over twenty-five books; teaches Child Development and sign language at local colleges, has been nominated for the Agatha award and won the Macavity Award for best first mystery. She teaches nonfiction, mystery writing and has experience as a journalist.Blind Side is her fifth Connor Westphal mystery. Connor, or C.J., as her friends call her, owns and operates the Eureka!, which is the local newspaper in Calaveras County (yes, the very same county of Mark Twain fame). Naturally there is a frog jumping contest each year, but no one counted on the fierce competition that evolved between Jeremiah Mercer, C.J.'s employee and friend; better known as "Miah," and Dakota Webster, Miah's old school chum. Dakota's frog turns up dead; then Dakota himself, with Miah's frog stuffed into his mouth: "Where did you find it?" I managed to ask. "You sure you want to know?" I nodded. "In Dakota's mouth." "Oh, my God!" I gasped in horror. Talk about a frog in your throat. But it wasn't the thought of the frog in the dead man's mouth that caused the blood to leave my head." Connor Westphal is one enjoyable heroine. She is independent; has an attitude that makes dull people cringe; and is deaf. Penny Warner manages to slip in quite an education for the hearing public, and to make us laugh in the process. Connor is constantly getting herself into scrapes; occasionally being rescued by her "anvil-armed" boyfriend, Dan Smith, who good-naturedly upbraids her for her antics. But secretly Dan is proud of Connor, and their relationship is warm and true. Blind Side is one raucous mystery, and Warner is a helluva writer. Shelley Glodowski
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Blind Side,
By
This review is from: Blind Side: A Connor Westphal Mystery (Paperback)
Blind Side by Penny Warner is a perfect example why I love BookCrossing. I snatched up the book based on the ties to the frog jumping contest and the fact that Penny Warner is a local author. What I hadn't expected, was that I'd end up finding a new favorite mystery author in the process. But that's exactly what happened!
Blind Side takes place in Flat Skunk, a fictional California town in Calaveras county with a name typical of the old mining sites. This little town, though, survived boom and bust of the gold rush era and is clunking along like so many of the small mountain towns. In the days before the annual frog jumping contest inspired by Mark Twain's story, frogs and then a frog trainer are found dead. Connor Westphal's friend and coworker Miah is accused of the murder. Refusing to believe that he'd be capable of killing a rival and to seek out a story for the Eureka! paper, Westphal sets out to find the true killer. Blind Side could easily have been like any of a number of cozy mysteries. It has all the usual trappings: a small town, a civilian sleuth, quirky characters and a relatively short page count. The book though, goes beyond the cozy subgenre at the strength of its lead character. Connor Westphal is deaf and her deafness tosses out many of the typical mystery conventions (like the overheard conversation). Instead, the cliches are replaced interesting details about deafness: nuances of ASL, TTY etiquette, misunderstanding spoken slang, and the pitfalls of lip reading. As this book is the fifth in the series, Warner mixes things up a bit by introducing a blind character, Del Oro, who forces Connor to rethink her own preconceptions of the world. The two women, though, hit it off and end up making a good sleuthing team. I've actually purposely skipped over the secondary mystery. I want to save some of the mystery for anyone who hasn't read the book yet. If you're looking for a new mystery series to try, I highly recommend Blind Side. I will be looking for earlier books in the series to read. The Connor Westphal series so far is as follows: * Dead Body Language (1997) * Sign of Foul Play (1998) * Right to Remain Silent (1999) * A Quiet Undertaking (2000) * Blind Side (2001) * Silence is Golden (2003) * Dead Man's Hand (2007)
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great heroine returns,
This review is from: Blind Side: A Connor Westphal Mystery (Paperback)
In Calaveras County, California everyone expects Dakota Webster to again win the annual Jumping Frog Jubilee except perhaps rival Jeremiah "Miah" Mercer. Dakota's frogs are so good at the event he has become the most famous participant since Mark Twain placed Angels Camp on the map. However, this year a new champion will be crowned as someone murders Dakota's top gun, Buford the Bullfrog. An outraged Dakota hires private investigator Dan Smith to uncover the identity of the dastardly culprit. Preliminary evidence points towards Miah, who works for Dan's girlfriend, Flat Skunk newspaper publisher Connor Westphal. Back in high school Miah and Dakota were friends, but a falling out has turned them into bitter competitors. Though not quite as serious to the participants and fans as the murder of a champion jumping frog in Calaveras County, a human homicide follows and that brings the law into the investigation. Dan, realizing that Miah is the prime suspect, reevaluates who killed Buford, why, and the link to the other homicide. The Westphal-Smith mysteries are great tales that are worth reading by genre fans. The latest entry, BLIND SIDE, is exciting and brings to life the leaping contest that makes the county so famous. The recurring cast of eccentric characters are warm, real, and witty. Connor is a great heroine who refuses to allow her deafness to stop her from publishing a newspaper. Dan is a hunk with a brain. The story line is humorous with a serious undertone that will leave fans vocally shouting and in ALS sign "Eureka" in response to the news that Penny Warner has written another winner. Harriet Klausner
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
