Customer Reviews

A Crooked Little House : An E.J. Pugh Mystery

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When Dusty Pugh was twenty he married teenager Juney Trueblood. Three weeks later in a bar, Dusty and Juney have a fight after which he abruptly leaves and dies in a drunken crash. His family blames Juney for his untimely death. A few months later, Juney gives birth to a boy, but is not ready to raise a child by herself. She hands the child to Dusty's mother and leaves town. A year later, Juney has since remarried and is pregnant with another baby, but comes to take Dusty's child home with her.

Three years later, Juney is divorced and returns with Dusty's child. Her ex-spouse has been given custody of her younger child. When Trish Glancey, the daughter of a prominent local family, is found murdered, all the evidence points towards Juney, who is arrested. However, her former sister-in-law E.J. Pugh believes she is innocent and begins to investigate what happened to Trish.

Fans of the Pugh amateur sleuth mysteries will love the latest entry as old favorites and references from the previous novels are included throughout A CROOKED LITTLE HOUSE. However, what makes this cozy so enjoyable to Susan Rogers Cooper's fans, in turn, will leave first time readers feeling a bit confused. The books, including this novel, in this delightful series are well written, but require reading all of them or none at all.

Harriet Klausner

I read this book in a little over two days. It's not that tough of a read. Mystery? I guess there's mystery, but about halfway through the book I didn't really care who the culprit was or why.

The dialog is witty, and keeps the reader interested enough, but if you're looking for a really good mystery story, look elsewhere.

This novel is less a mystery than an in-depth examination of a few weeks in the life of an entertaining and intriguing family in suburban Texas. The mystery of who murdered a young homeless woman is really the framework from which to dangle a whole houseful of family members from bright children to irascible mothers-in-law.

Eloise Pugh is a romance writer. She lives in Codderville, Texas, in a home undergoing construction of a major addition. In addition to the construction workers, assorted pets, and three children plus a husband are in residence. Written in the first person, readers are treated to EJ's often delightful, practical and frequently artful coping techniques.

These are wonderful characters, created by a writer with great skill and a fine eye for detail. There just are no missteps, even among certain characters who I doubt very much are a routine part of the author's environment.

EJ's family is happily preparing for the imminent high school prom of one of her charges. Their mood is abruptly shattered when EJ's errant sister-in-law is charged with the murder of that homeless woman. Never one to simply accept apparent reality, EJ determines to save her reluctant sister-in-law by finding the real murderer. EJ's path of detection becomes a wandering, twisting road of deception, doubt and several surprises.

Perceptively written, well-paced, "A Crooked Little House" is a lot of fun and informative as well.