Deader Homes and Gardens: A Claire Malloy Mystery (Claire Malloy Mysteries) [Audiobook, CD] [Audio CD]

Joan Hess (Author), Rachael Warren (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 13, 2012 | Series: Claire Malloy Mysteries

Back from her somewhat unusual honeymoon, Claire Malloy must face the harsh reality of life with her new husband, police chief Peter Rosen, and her teenage daughter Caron—three people simply can’t fit into her cosy two bedroom apartment. After a week of fruitless looking, she finally finds the perfect place—a well-preserved large house on a large plot of land in an area called Hollow Valley. There are only a few problems. Such as the real estate agent disappeared mid-showing and hasn’t been seen since. And the last owner died in circumstances labeled "accidental" but were actually both "mysterious" and "dubious." The family that owned the estate is now suing the lover of the dead owner over the rights to the property. Oh, and it isn’t really for sale. When the previous owner’s lover dies practically at her feet, Claire decides to take matters into her own hands. After all, to get the house of her dreams, first she has to find a killer. And all’s fair in love, war, and real estate.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A wildly entertaining series." -- Mystery Scene

 

"Breezy and delightful...one of the most engaging narrators in mystery." -- Deadly Pleasures

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

About the Author

Joan Hess is the author of both the Claire Malloy and the Arly Hanks (Maggody) mystery series. She is a winner of the American Mystery Award, a member of Sisters in Crime, and former president of the American Crime Writers League.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: AudioGO; Unabridged edition (March 13, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1609983963
• ISBN-13: 978-1609983963
• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,017,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars zany regional whodunit, February 14, 2012

By 

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

This review is from: Deader Homes and Gardens: A Claire Malloy Mystery (Claire Malloy Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Bookseller Claire Malloy and police lieutenant Peter Rosen return home to Farberville, Arkansas after spending their odd honeymoon in Luxor, Egypt (see Mummy Dearest). However, first order of business is finding a place to live as the married couple and her teenage daughter Caron need more space.

After a week of failure hunting for a house without Peter who is busy working but with Caron, Claire finds the perfect home in Hollow Valley. She goes to close the deal with realtor Angela Delmond, who drove her to this house, but following a phone call the woman vanished; stranding Claire. A second shock occurs when Claire goes inside to get her purse and sees octogenarian Moses Hollow drinking Bordeaux. Nattie Hollow-Brown soon arrives and takes Angela to a nearby tavern for her to make a call. Later, Angela cannot find the realtor whose office hides something seemingly sinister and she learns the owner Winston died under mysterious circumstances; his lover Terry of Key West says the house is not for sale. When Terry dies, Claire knows she must catch a killer if the house is to belong to her and her family.

The latest Malloy amateur sleuth (see Closely Akin to Murder) tale is a zany regional whodunit as one learns that even with a recession realty is a killer market. Deader Homes & Gardens is fast-paced with a breezy amusing tongue in cheek undertone starting with the jocular opening refrain of "... my kingdom for a house." Fans of the series will wonder what next will happen to anyone associated with the house not for sale in Hollow Valley.

Harriet Klausner

4.0 out of 5 stars Great read, February 19, 2012

By 

arkgirllawyer - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Deader Homes and Gardens: A Claire Malloy Mystery (Claire Malloy Mysteries) (Kindle Edition)

Joan Hess has done it again with a terrific (and easy) read. I love her detective, Claire Malloy, and her skeptical view of just about everybody, including her teenage daughter, Karon. And Karon and her sidekick Inez are great characters themselves, displaying all the most dramatic, tiresome, and funny aspects of adolescence. Hess develops her other characters with great humor but at least some what realistically. I have read and enjoyed every book in this series (as well as the hilarious Magoddy series), and this one is no exception.

0 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointed with this book ., February 18, 2012

By 

Mercy Bohan "MERCY" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Deader Homes and Gardens: A Claire Malloy Mystery (Claire Malloy Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Every steriotype from the left concerning religious people are fully represented . We are all ignorant , homophobic , hypocrites , etc. , right out of the pages from MSNBC . I do not buy mystery books to be lectured.