Damsels in Distress (Claire Malloy Mysteries, No. 16) [Mass Market Paperback]

Joan Hess (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 2008

A Renaissance Fair is coming to the relatively quiet college town of Farberville Arkansas, which is not the sort of news that usually sets local bookseller Claire Malloy’s heart racing. But with Claire’s daughter, Caron, being the perpetually petulant teenager that she is, and her fiancé, Police Lieutenant Peter Rosen, away, she finds herself drawn into the strange inner workings of the group putting on the fair.

Stranger still: A Ren Fair volunteer has just been found burned in the wreckage of a rented home. Who is this woman, and why haven’t any of her associates ever met her in the flesh? When the fair is set to open, tensions expose the dark secrets and malevolent schemes that lurk beneath the surface. Now, with Claire’s dreams of a blissful wedding hanging in the balance, she has no choice but to fling herself into the battle and match wits with the killer…

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In bookseller Claire Malloy's sprightly 16th outing (after 2006's The Goodbye Body), a Renaissance fair descends on Farberville, Ark. Claire, nervously contemplating her imminent marriage to police detective Peter Rosen, finds plenty of distraction when Edward Cobbinwood, a member of the Renaissance fair group, confides that he has come to Farberville in search of his long-lost father. Fearing that her late, unlamented husband, Carlton, was Edward's father, Claire spends time with the fair's organizers, hoping to discover the truth. A house fire claims the life of a mysterious woman named Angie, and the subsequent murder of a talented artist complicates everything. Nimbly sidestepping official attempts to keep her out of the case, Claire, as always, fingers the culprit, this time in a denouement worthy of Dame Agatha herself. Though this installment isn't up to the high standard of The Goodbye Body, Hess fans will find much to entertain them while eagerly anticipating Claire's wedded bliss in upcoming episodes. Author tour. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Arkansas bookseller Claire Molloy, who spends as much time solving crimes as she does selling books, finds herself in yet another tricky predicament. The organizers of a renaissance fair have enlisted Claire's help, but that's before she stumbles on a dead body, burned beyond recognition. It's hard to concentrate on fairs when you're trying to identify a dead woman and determine if she was murdered. The Molloy novels are plain Janes compared to the flamboyant plots and homespun humor in Hess' other series, starring Sheriff Arly Hanks. But for those who prefer the comforts of formula and a just-plain-nice heroine, Claire Malloy does just fine. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; 1st edition (March 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312989938
• ISBN-13: 978-0312989934
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #981,962 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A disappointing read, June 10, 2007

By 

ernie*s mom (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Damsels in Distress (Claire Malloy Mysteries, No. 16) (Hardcover)

I really had to work to stay with this to the end, and wasn't worth my time. The renaissance stuff was tedious, a really disappointing read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Does Claire Malloy Like Anybody or Anything?, May 16, 2008

By 

A. Bramwell "Anne the Librarian" (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Damsels in Distress (Claire Malloy Mysteries, No. 16) (Mass Market Paperback)

I think Claire Malloy needs to seek professional help. For some reason, she seems to think she is superior to everyone she meets. She doesn't even like her daughter or her fiance Peter Rosen, with whom there is no chemistry. I won't even go into the silly plot or the contrived conclusion. This series ran out of steam a couple of books ago.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars don't like renaissance fairs, May 9, 2007

By 

Pat (Austin, TX, United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Damsels in Distress (Claire Malloy Mysteries, No. 16) (Hardcover)

I disliked this book. I don't like Renaissance fairs as it is, and I far prefer Hess's Maggody books to the Claire Molloy stories. This book had conversations that went on way too long with the "thee" and "thou" Renaissance speech that I find tedious. She also tossed in some quotes that seemed unnecessary and self-serving. Sure showed me that I know nothing of literature. I think I've bought all of Hess's books. From the beginning I observed that Hess's phrasing is so trite, it's almost high school quality. (No offense to articulate high schoolers.)

I do enjoy the interaction between mother and daughter, which is probably why I still buy her Molloy stories.