Death by the Light of the Moon (Claire Malloy Mysteries, No. 7) [Mass Market Paperback]

Joan Hess (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2003

Things that go bump in the Bayou...
For bookseller and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy getting a root canal beats going to a Malloy family reunion. But it is time her fifteen-year-old daughter Caron visits her deceased father's relatives. Now Claire and Caron have arrived at Malloy Manor, a run-down mansion in Louisiana's bayou country...where the mosquitoes are big enough to barbecue, the swamp is crawling with alligators, the butler looks like he stepped out of a teen slasher movie, and the wheelchair-bound matriarch, Miss Justicia, races around the grounds cackling like a loon.

It's the perfect setting-for a murder. Before a night has passed, Miss Justicia is sleeping with the fishes. The police call it a "tragic accident." Caron is all for calling a cab. But Claire wants to have a closer look at her "loving" relatives since she has a hunch leaving Malloy Manor isn't going to be all that easy...and neither is staying alive.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With deep affection and a sure, light touch, Hess, author also of the Maggody series, portrays characters ranging from a heavy metal aficionado to a wildly eccentric Southern lady of a certain age in this thoroughly modern gothic tale. Bookstore owner/sleuth Claire Malloy, encountered most recently in Roll Over and Play Dead , finds little but trouble when she and teenage daughter Caron attend the 80th birthday celebration of Miss Justicia, mother of Claire's late husband, at the family manor in the Louisiana bayous. Feuding relatives, mysterious hints about inheritances and terrible food begin a ghastly first night that will also include the drowning of the matriarch after she is seen careening drunkenly about the garden in her powered wheelchair. Various family members, among them Claire's brother-in-law, his grasping children and a socialite cousin with designs on the family mansion, look for a missing will while striving to keep up appearances, as Claire tries to conduct what she is certain is a murder investigation. While at times Hess draws her characters too broadly, her well-paced and well-plotted stories still delight.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Summoned to the 80th birthday party and will reading of her eccentric mother-in-law, Claire Malloy, another series amateur, flies to the moldering Louisiana plantation home of her deceased husband. The motley assortment of greedy, shifty, and backbiting relatives she encounters there tests her patience and the limits of satire. The visit turns crazy as soon as the old woman, cackling, races her motorized wheelchair into the bayou and drowns. Then begins a frantic search for the will, for family skeletons, and for a murderer. Mostly tongue-in-cheek--as usual for the series--and mostly amusing.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 227 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books (September 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312991010
• ISBN-13: 978-0312991012
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #82,953 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

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Claire Malloy at her best!, July 6, 2000

By 

Jenika Perry - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death by the Light of the Moon (Claire Malloy Mysteries, No. 7) (Mass Market Paperback)

Part of the charm of the Claire Malloy mysteries comes from following the characters throughout the series. I suggest that if you are interested in this book, please start with Joan Hess's first book in this series entitled "Strangled Prose". Death by Light of the Moon explores a side of Claire that we haven't ever got a glimpse of before--her in-laws! The mystery and clue development is especially strong in this novel and her characters are quirky and campy! If you enjoy a good mystery and some quick witted humor besides, this is a must read!

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, but not spellbinding., June 3, 2000

By 

Jedidoug (Tatooine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death by the Light of the Moon (Claire Malloy Mysteries, No. 7) (Mass Market Paperback)

I found this book to be a nice light, entertaining read, but it was a little slow at the start. Things speed up nicely at the end, although some of the revelations are somewhat easy to guess. The characters are interesting, however, they seem a little too cartoony at times. This was my first Joan Hess book, but I'd be willing to try another. If you're looking for a quick, fun read this book is a good choice.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dorothy Cannell, May 30, 2010

By 

B. Idle - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death by the Light of the Moon (Claire Malloy Mysteries, No. 7) (Mass Market Paperback)

I always buy her books. Fun and without baggage like so many are these days.