The Day Will Come: Stella Crown Mystery [Hardcover]

Judy Clemens (Author)

Book Description

Series: Stella Crown Mystery | Publication Date: August 15, 2007

If Stella Crown loves anything as much as her farm, her Harley, and her friends, its a good dose of rock-and-roll. But when the chance arrives to see a Philadelphia legend in concert, she gets more than she bargained for. A bomb threat empties out the club, and when the panic subsides, a member of the band is missing.
When the body of the singer, Genna, is found in the club later that night, Stellas friend Jordan Granger is the prime suspect. Jordan had no official relationship with the victim, but Stella is convinced he was in love with her. The drummer of the band, a talented but volatile man, was Gennas actual boyfriend, and Stella doesnt trust him. Did the drummer kill his girlfriend after setting the bomb? Were the two crimes even related?
Stella finds herself acting not only as Jordans keeper, but as an investigator into his life, as well as her own. Meanwhile, Stellas boyfriend has a secret of his own. Why isnt he returning her calls? And why was he so exhausted and edgy even before the disastrous concert?
The answer isnt something Stella ever dreamed of.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It may be hard to believe that Pennsylvania dairy farmer Stella Crown can make a habit of stumbling into murder cases, but her intense fourth adventure (after 2006's To Thine Own Self Be True) is reason to hope her bad luck continues. Stella and her boyfriend, Nick, join their friends Lucy and Lenny at a Philly concert hall to hear the Tom Copper Band, a rock group of local boys who've hit the big time and will soon head home to play at Lucy and Lenny's wedding reception. After a bomb threat clears the club, the band's lead singer, Genna, is found dead inside, and Stella's friend Jordan, the band's sound man and Genna's not-so-secret admirer, is the prime suspect. Clemens avoids making farm life too bucolic, while Stella, with her Harley, cows and engaging circle of friends, will appeal to cozy and more mainstream mystery fans alike. This is a solid addition to a series that improves book by book. (Aug.)
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Review

"This is a well-written series, whose characters, while nontraditional, are completely believable. We learn about dairy farming, tattoos, band practice, whatever, all skillfully subservient to the story. You go, Stella."  --Contra Costa Times

Clemens avoids making farm life too bucolic, while Stella, with her Harley, cows and engaging circle of friends, will appeal to cozy and more mainstream mystery fans alike. This is a solid addition to a series that improves book by book.--Publisher's Weekly

"She's smart. She's tough. She's sexy...Alternately a Harley-riding, tough farm girl and a kindhearted, vulnerable woman, Stella makes an endearing heroine in a promising first novel."  --Booklist on Till the Cows Come Home

"Though Stella and her friends often seem an unlikely bunch, Clemens certainly keeps you guessing." --Kirkus Reviews

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 237 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press; 1 edition (August 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590582993
• ISBN-13: 978-1590582992
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,726,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Judy Clemens has lived in seven states and decided to settle in the beautiful farmland of Ohio. She has been nominated for the Anthony and Agatha awards, and is the immediate past president of Sisters in Crime. She loves chocolate, watching movies, reading fantasy (especially YA and middle-grade) and is an active member of Grace Mennonite Church. She has two children, is married to a soccer coach, and lives in a farmhouse that is constantly being renovated. Learn more about her at www.judyclemens.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars exciting amateur sleuth, August 14, 2007

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Day Will Come: Stella Crown Mystery (Hardcover)

Farm hand Lucy and her fiancé biker Lenny buy tickets for their pal farmer Stella Crown and her boyfriend Nick to accompany them to hear rock legends the Tom Copper Band perform at Club Independence in nearby Philadelphia. The usually fun loving Nick tells Stella he has a severe headache, but does not want to be a downer especially since the tickets cost a bundle.

However, a bomb scare sends everyone out of the club and onto the streets. While the police search for an explosive device, they find the murdered corpse of pixyish group singer, Genna. The police arrest group sound manager Jordan Granger, one of Stella's eight "adopted" brothers. She thinks otherwise as she is positive that Genna and Jordan were in love with one another. Stella believes the ill tempered drummer Ricky, Genna's boyfriend is the killer. As she investigates the rock triangle, she also looks closer at Nick's recent behavior.

THE DAY WILL COME is an exciting amateur sleuth tale as biker chick Stella cannot help but take care of Jordan by investigating the Genna murder and the related bomb scare while also having doubts about Nick. The whodunit is orchestrated so that every clue that Stella finds implicates Jordon only. Ironically the Nick subplot is the crown jewel of Judy Clemens latest tale. Sub-genre readers will enjoy this fine mystery and seek out previous Stella stories (see THREE CAN KEEP A SECRET, TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE and TILL THE COWS COME HOME).

Harriet Klausner

5.0 out of 5 stars The Day Will Come When Clemens' Becomes as Well Known, as Her Books are Well Written, January 18, 2012

By 

James N Simpson (Gold Coast, QLD Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Day Will Come: Stella Crown Mystery (Hardcover)

Fourth novel in the dairy farmer Stella Crown series, The Day Will Come's action moves mostly away from the farm, to the behind the scenes world of a Philadelphia Rock band. In fact I'd say Clemens was testing the waters for her first non Crown series novel Embrace the Grim Reaper to see how her readers would react to a novel that could pretty much have been written with a different main character than Stella and not lost anything.

However Stella is in this one, as are her farm hand Lucy who is about to marry Lenny, one of Stella's biker mates. The couple along with Stella's boyfriend Nick attend a Tom Copper concert in Philadelphia, that one of her brothers is working security and another Jordan, is the group's sound technician. Mayhem breaks out when word hits the crowd that a bomb is in the building. It seems there were no deaths until the next day the female lead singer is found beaten and stabbed in a storeroom Jordan is down a the police station begging for information on what happened to his fiance which is a little odd as everyone else including his family thought she was dating the drummer. You don't have to have read the former novels in this series to understand or follow any of this one, but you may have more of a liking for the repeat characters in this one if you do, plus there are some plot spoilers from those novels in this one. Nick also has a secret in this one that may well have you liking Stella a bit less due to the way she reacts.