Eggs in Purgatory (A Cackleberry Club Mystery) [Mass Market Paperback]

Laura Childs (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Cackleberry Club Mystery | Publication Date: December 7, 2010

Now Laura Childs is cracking a whole new case of murder in a brand new series?RECIPES INCLUDED.

Introducing the Cackleberry Club Mysteries...

Suzanne, Toni, and Petra lose their husbands but find independence when they open the Cackleberry Club. Then their cozy cafe becomes the scene of a crime when a lawyer dies with a secret on his lips and egg on his face. What this all has to do with a religious cult and Suzanne?s past could put her own life on the line.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Cackleberry Club, Tea Shop, and Scrapbooking mysteries. In her past life she was a Clio Award–winning advertising writer and CEO of her own marketing firm. She lives in Plymouth, Minnesota.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 289 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; 1st edition (December 7, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425224953
• ISBN-13: 978-0425224953
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,585 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fund raising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries - set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She's also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn't rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries - a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans' spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries - set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe's undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars So much better!, December 4, 2008

By 

M. C. Carter "cartertoggle" (Columbia, Md USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eggs in Purgatory (A Cackleberry Club Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

With her third series of books, Laura Childs has started out with a winner. I tried reading the Tea Room books and couldn't get through even the first without skimming a lot of pages. The Scrapbooking series is better but in my opinion, gets bogged down with the 'posse' of characters always hanging around. Cackleberry Club is thankfully not slowed down with any of the flaws of the earlier series. The main character is believable, the supporting cast is realistic and the involvement of the main character in solving the who-dun-it is straight forward. There is actually a reason for Suzanne to discover the person behind the murders. The author throws in enough red herrings that the final solution isn't apparent in the middle of chapter 3. I hope to take another trip to Cackleberry Club soon. Sounds like a fun place to visit! Well a fun place except for the murder victims, that is!

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars strong café mystery, December 4, 2008

By 

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

This review is from: Eggs in Purgatory (A Cackleberry Club Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

Kindred, Tennessee is a small peaceful town, a place where Suzanne, Toni and Petra enjoy their freedom although each lost their spouse; one to death, another to Alzheimer's and the third to another woman. They bond over their respective loss and the friends open the Cackleberry Club café.

Suzanne's lawyer Brian has some papers for her to sign regarding her late husband's estate. When she steps out into the café's parking lot she finds him murdered in his car. Not long afterward, she sees a pickup truck being followed by a SUV; she follows them observing the truck tip over while the SUV drives away. Resident Teddy Harlingen, who first noticed Brian dead in the car, is found dead too. Suzanne believes the deaths are linked and soon learns of a million dollar kickback deal in which late husband's firm is being blamed. Refusing to accept the seemingly irrefutable evidence that her spouse committed a felonious deed, Suzanne investigates seeking the ties between three dead men while a fourth watches her every move.

Author of the Scrapbook and Tea Shop amateur sleuth series, Laura Childs launches a new "detective" series that her fans will relish. The first Cackleberry Club whodunit is filled with action, humor, intrigue, and recipes, but the heart and soul of the café mystery is the characters. The three female friends are there for one another like the Musketeers especially in time of crisis. The investigation is multilayered as the tie between the two homicides, Suzanne's husband, and a church fire remains nebulous but intrepid Suzanne keeps peeling the onion.

Harriet Klausner

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great read, want to see more, January 12, 2009

By 

Paige McG (Oklahoma City and the world) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eggs in Purgatory (A Cackleberry Club Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

I started reading Laura Childs' Tearoom mysteries, and after a false start, got into her scrapbook series. I am not a scrapbooker but she makes it interesting to read about. Now she has a new series...the Cackleberry Club. It is an excellent read, especially for all of us gray haired middle aged ladies. The characters are real, with real life experiences that have made them resilient, self sufficient, friendly, and caring. I hope there will be more!