Death By Deep Dish Pie: A Toadfern Mystery [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Sharon Short (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 6, 2004

Like nearly everyone else in Paradise, Ohio, local laundromat owner and stain-removal expert Josie Toadfern eagerly awaits the upcoming July 4th Founders Day celebration with its highlight, the annual Breitenstrater Pie Company pie-eating contest, sponsored by the owners of the town's upper crust enterprise. But things may not be so sweet this year, what with juicy rumors flying that a black sheep Breitenstrater wants to spill the beans about some deep, dark family secret.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A hilarious, one-of-a-kind mystery."
-- Carolyn Hart

About the Author

Sharon Short's humor column, "Sanity Check," appears every Monday in the Dayton Daily News. Her fiction credits include several short mysteries published in Murderous Intent Mystery Magazine and Orchard Press Online Mystery Magazine. In addition, Ms. Short is a principal of her own marketing communications firm and has a bachelor's and a master's degree in English. She lives in Miamisburg, Ohio, with her husband and two daughters.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 358 pages
• Publisher: Wheeler Publishing; 1 edition (October 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587247488
• ISBN-13: 978-1587247484
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,515,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I had only one ambition as a child--to be a writer. When everyone told me hardly anyone ever makes a living as a writer, I briefly considered becoming a policewoman (because the trench coats looked so cool in all those '70's police dramas) or a psychologist (with the hope of finally understanding my family). Nevertheless, heart won out over practicality, and I became a writer. The police and psychology bits, though, come through in my mystery writing.

Now, I delight in mixing humor with mystery in my Stain-Busting Mystery Series, published by Avon Books. The series features Josie Toadfern, self-taught stain expert and Laundromat owner, and is set in fictional Paradise, Ohio. Josie cleans up crime one hilarious load at a time, while sharing changes, advances and set-backs in her personal life. She's guardian to her cousin Guy, an adult with autism, and her best friends are Sally and Cherry. Her love life is currently a roller-coaster!

I am also a humor columnist; my column, Sanity Check appears every Monday in the Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio) and covers everything from shredding pantyhose for stress relief, to talking refrigerators. My fiction credits include short mysteries published in Murderous Intent Mystery Magazine, Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine, and Orchard Press Online Mystery Magazine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mystery and adventure..., August 9, 2004

By 

Huntress Reviews (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death by Deep Dish Pie: A Toadfern Mystery (Toadfern Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

In Paradise, Ohio, the annual July 4th Founders Day Celebration is the highlight of the year. The biggest event is the pie eating competition sponsored by the Breitenstrater Pie Company. Only this year's contest will be one that no one will ever forget!

When an executive dies during the contest, rumors of murder surface. That is when local laundromat owner, Josie Toadfern, and her circle of friends jump into the mix. But what Josie does not know is that there is a deep, dark family secret lingering in the air that may very well shock all those around.

**** This is a story that just begs readers to come get lost in Paradise and all the people that life there. The characters are full of flavor and wit. I found it to be amusing and charming, all at once. A "must read" for mystery fans. ****

K. Blair for Huntress Reviews.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Was it a heart attack or murder?, August 2, 2004

By 

Dawn Dowdle "Mystery Lovers Corner reviewer" (Lynchburg, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death by Deep Dish Pie: A Toadfern Mystery (Toadfern Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Everyone in Paradise, Ohio, is eagerly awaiting the upcoming July 4th Founders Day Celebration. Trudy Breitenstrater is a mixed up youth who gets local laundromat owner and stain removal expert Josie Toadfern to sponsor her to the Paradise Historical Society meeting. At this meeting the Paradise Town Hall Players usually each get their parts for the upcoming July Fourth Breitenstrater Founder's Day play. Seems Trudy has rewritten the town play, unbeknownst to Josie. No one seems too happy about this. Especially her father, Alan.

Then Alan announces that at the annual pie eating contest sponsored by the Breitenstrater Pie Company, he will be making a big announcement. His brother Cletus says that he has one too.

Since Josie's uncle Otis has walked off the renovation job at the Paradise Theatre, she steps in to help her cousin Sally complete the job before July 4th.

At the pie eating contest, Cletus is no where to be found, so Alan steps into his place. Unfortunately Alan ends up dead before he can make his announcement. Apparent heart attack, but Josie thinks the timing smells of murder. But, can she figure out what really happened.

She enlists her friend Winnie to do some research. She also gets her boyfriend Owen to help, but only minimally because he has recently lied and she isn't sure what her feelings are for him anymore. This is just one of the many things going on to sidetrack Josie.

Many things begin to happen. Josie is right in the middle of most of them trying to uncover the truth. She ends up putting herself in danger as well.

This is a well-written mystery. It is a good cozy. Josie and her friends are likeable characters. Paradise is a typical small town with many secrets.

I recommend this book.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars charming cozy, June 30, 2004

By 

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

This review is from: Death by Deep Dish Pie: A Toadfern Mystery (Toadfern Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

The small Ohio town of Paradise is home to Josie Toadfern, owner of Toadfern?s Laundromat and an expert in removing stains. Paradise is a small town where the leading family, the Breitenstraters own the town?s main business the Breitenstrater Pie Factory. Josie is looking forward to the annual pie-eating contest but the day is marred when Alan Breitenstrates dies after eating a pie that was originally meant for his brother Cletus. Cletus never showed up for the event even though he attended it every year for decades.

Josie, who was watching the scenario, casually, asks her boyfriend and her best friend to take the pies and bring them back to the Laundromat while she distracts the police and a security guard. Though the authorities think the victim died of a heart attack, Josie wants to get the pies tested to see if they contained poison. When a ferret eats a piece of one of the pies and falls into a coma, Josie is sure that at least one of the pies is poisoned. She intends to find out who poisoned the pie thinking that information will lead her to a killer.

Shannon Short?s second Toadfern mystery is very delightful and a real puzzler because no one is above suspicion in this charming cozy. The cast of characters are totally charming and quirky, the type of people one would want for a next-door neighbor. DEATH OF A DEER DISH PIE is an upbeat who-done-it that will have readers laughing at some of the actors of the main characters, including the protagonist.

Harriet Klausner