Double Murder (Bert & Nan Tatum Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

MCCAFFERTY BE (Author), Barbara T. McCafferty (Author), Be (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1997 | Series: Bert & Nan Tatum Mysteries

Frequently mistaken for each other, identical twins Bert and Nan Tatum find themselves caught up in a baffling murder mystery when an anonymous stranger, targeting Nan, tries to pick up Bert and then turns up dead. Reprint."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Most things happen in pairs in this lively mystery narrated by identical twin sisters Nan and Bert, named for the oldest Bobbsey Twins even though the original pair were brother and sister, and written by?who else??identical twins. A housewife in Louisville, Ky., Bert is still licking her wounds after her husband dumped her for his secretary, while Nan, a local deejay for a promotion-happy country music station, tries to be supportive. Accosted by a stranger who says he'll call her later that afternoon for a date, Bert assumes she's been mistaken for Nan. Her sister, however, doesn't recognize the guy's description; both are shocked when he turns up on the TV news as a John Doe homicide victim. The police aren't impressed when Bert reports her conversation with the victim. Next, the sisters find Nan's side of their duplex ransacked, but nothing stolen. The following day, both get mysterious phone calls, Bert's caller asking where "he" is and Nan's demanding "the money." Thoroughly bewildered and without police protection, they realize they must find killer and motive before they are murdered, too. Bert's former husband, good-old-boy Jake, now sporting an earring and tight jeans after 19 years of conservative married life, adds comic relief to this quirky story of revenge and long-held secrets. While this is the authors' first collaboration, Barbara Taylor McCafferty writes the Haskell Blevins mysteries.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

In alternating chapters, the identical-twin Tatum sisters of Louisville, Kentucky--straitlaced Bert (newly divorced, mother of college-age kids, Claiborne-attired) and earthy Nan (single, a country-and-western d.j.)--narrate their near-fatal, sometimes farcical involvement with a series of ugly murders. The mayhem commences when a handsome stranger greets Bert on the street as if she were an old girlfriend--and then turns up dead a few hours later. Soon the sisters are being followed, shot at, threatened by phone, and their homes are vandalized. So, getting no help from the oafish homicide cops (who regard them as publicity hounds), the sisters sleuth on their own--interviewing the dead man's wife (the next to die), tracking a suspect to a seedy hotel, and uncovering the key plot point here: That the new killings are linked to the unsolved murders, 25 years ago, of a couple for whom the Tatum twins babysat! And there'll be kidnapping (Nan's) and a car-chase (prim Nan in the hot seat) before the far-fetched yet faintly disturbing windup. (Think Ross Macdonald in his darkest Oedipal mode.) Too grim and gimmicky for steady laughs, but, with rueful one- liners (about Bert's lecherous ex, for example) and droll commentary on twinship (the authors are identicals, too), the odd- couple sisters give an engaging lift to this uninspired, hardworking entertainment. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Kensington Books; Reprint edition (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575662124
• ISBN-13: 978-1575662121
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,822,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Twice the fun!, December 22, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Double Murder (Bert & Nan Tatum Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

I love mysteries and "snack" on them the way others indulge in junk food. I'm addicted, and in Double Murder I found a mystery as good to read as chocolate is to eat. (And with the possible exception of sex and sports cars, very few things are as good as chocolate.) With Double Murder the reader gets a bonus--not only a great mystery but a glimpse into the world of twins. The authors do for twins what Tony Hillerman does for the Navajo Indians and Elizabeth Peters does for Egyptology. What's next on the twin authors' list of mysteries?

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun new series!, June 18, 2001

By 

Anthony P Perrotta - See all my reviews

This review is from: Double Murder (Bert & Nan Tatum Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

When identical twin Bert Tatum is approached on her lunch break from a handsome man who seems to know her (though she's never seen him before in her life) she doesn't think much of it. It happens occasionally that she's mistaken for her twin sister, Nan. Unfortunately, when the stranger shows up murdered on the local news and her sister claims to also have never met him, the mystery begins!

The twins both get themselves involved in an intricately-plotted puzzle that involves a murder from their childhood somehow tying-in with the current tragedy. Twists and turns abound and the writing is sassy and enjoyable.

The interesting thing about the book is that alternating chapters are written in the first-person by each of the twins, giving each part a unique perspective on the goings-on. It's particularly fun when chapters overlap and you can see either the similarity or complete difference in both Bert and Nan's points of view.

A charming and quick read, I found it difficult to put down! It's also the first book in the series so it's a great place to start if you're interested! I've purchased the second and am eager to start it!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Double Fun, March 16, 2001

By 

Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Double Murder (Bert & Nan Tatum Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Identical twins Bert and Nan Tatum are used to being mistaken for each other. So when a stranger approaches Bert on the street, she assumes the stranger is looking for Nan. Only later does she find out that Nan didn't know him either. By that point, he's dead. Nan, curious as to how a complete stranger knew them, drags Bert into the investigation. But it's soon clear that they are both in real danger and the only way to get out alive is to solve the case themselves.

This book is a lot of fun. The "gimmick" of alternating chapters from Bert and Nan is part of it. It took me awhile to get used to it, but it brings out the humor in the different points of view. The authors, identical twins themselves, have done a good job of creating very great characters. Nan and Bert are very different, and the other characters are also well defined. The plot moves along at a quick pace and reaches a logical conclusion. A great first novel in an enjoyable series.