Electric Blue (Jane Kelly Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Nancy Bush (Author)

Book Description

Series: Jane Kelly Mysteries | Publication Date: October 1, 2006

Some days are just weird city. Take today. Jane Kelly, thirty something ex-bartender and current process server, is dutifully putting in slave-labour hours working for Dwayne Durbin, local "information specialist" (i.e., private investigator), and on the road to becoming a P.I. herself. Next thing she knows, she's socializing with eccentric rich people who have a penchant for going crazy and/or dying in spectacularly mysterious ways. A little back story...Jane's usual motto in life is never trust anyone too handsome. But she's willing to make an exception when Jasper "Jazz" Purcell, son of Lake Chinook's wealthiest and most famously eccentric family, comes to ask for her help. Sexy, loaded, and charming, the guy's a real catch. It seems the Purcell matriarch, Orchid, is in her eighties and losing her marbles. And since she controls the family fortune, that could be a bad thing. What Jazz needs is somebody from the outside to convince his grandmother to give up control. Somebody neutral, somebody...with a dog. Orchid likes dogs. And that's how Jane and her pug, The Binkster, end up at Estate Creep-O-Rama, babysitting a dotty old lady, surrounded by a clan so hostile they make "Survivor" look like a hug-fest. From what Jane can tell, the Purcell family all want Orchid's money; they all hate each other (but not as much as they hate Jane); and they're all hiding some pretty big secrets. And when Orchid turns up in a pool of blood on Jane's watch, the free-for-all has just begun. Diving into the Purcell family history leads Jane on some hair-raising twists and turns through mental illness, greed, deception, betrayal, and lies - including, but not limited to several mysterious deaths, two car accidents, a depressed guy who paints knives, one creepy playhouse, a family member packed off to an asylum, illegitimate birth, and a flamboyant prodigal daughter with great legs and her sights set on Dwayne, who seems only too happy to play along. And when Jane finds the second body, it seems weird city is about to get even weirder...and a lot more deadly...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The shrewd, sassy protagonist of Bush's Jane Kelly series gets tangled in dangerous family politics in her lively second outing (after 2005's Candy Apple Red). The members of the wealthy, eccentric Purcell clan of Lake Chinook, Ore., are all crazy, warns Jane's rakish mentor Dwayne Durbin, but Jane, a PI in training, agrees to work for the handsome Jasper "Jazz" Purcell anyway. Jazz wants Jane to help assess the mental faculties of his aging grandmother, Orchid, who holds the family purse strings. With various kooky Purcells vying for an inheritance, Jane and her beloved pug, the Binkster, are embraced by Orchid. But the family's fishy history motivates Jane to investigate the long-ago death of Jazz's mother, Lily, who perished at a sanitarium. Meanwhile, Jane wrestles with ambivalence about her blossoming romance with Jazz—and her flirtatious relationship with Dwayne. Bush dials up the suspense when one of the Purcells is found dead. With her clever ability to handle the zaniest of life's circumstances, Jane won't disappoint readers. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Praise for Nancy Bush and Candy Apple Red "A fun, frantic, sexy murder mystery...I was hooked from the first page." -- Lisa Jackson

Product Details

• Hardcover: 331 pages
• Publisher: Kensington; 1ST edition (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 075820907X
• ISBN-13: 978-0758209078
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,084,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

NYT and USA TODAY bestselling author Nancy Bush has been writing for (gulp!) over thirty years. Her solo thriller, HUSH, and WICKED LIES, co-written with her sister, bestselling author, Lisa Jackson, debuted in 2011, and one of her most beloved series, The Danner Quartet, is now available in e-book form: LADY SUNDOWN, MIRACLE JONES, JESSE'S RENEGADE and SCANDAL'S DARLING. Nancy is currently working on companion thrillers NOWHERE TO RUN and NOWHERE TO HIDE to be published in late 2012.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed this very much!, October 18, 2006

By 

Jennifer Terry (Columbus, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Electric Blue (Jane Kelly Mysteries) (Hardcover)

This mystery is an easy, entertaining read that keeps you guessing until the end. It's apparent the author spent a lot of her time with Sue Grafton and Janet Evanovich novels before launching her own efforts. Jane Kelly is a definite amalgam of Kinsey Millhone and Stephanie Plum. Fortunately, I love them both and I've enjoyed sampling this author's efforts! It's a fun story, and Jane's family and lovelife woes are entertaining side dishes. I've not read her first novel, so I'll be getting that immediately. One caution: don't take the jacket cover description to heart. I've no idea what novel the person who wrote it had read! Enjoy.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delightful mystery!, October 12, 2006

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Electric Blue (Jane Kelly Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Jane Kelly, Information Specialist, working toward her private investigator license, has been spending her time delivering warrants and eviction notices. One minute she thinks she can handle anything, but the next she is second-guessing her abilities.

Working for a small investigative company where Dwayne Durbin is her boss and friend, she stumbles into a hornet's nest of crazies. Dwayne is working on a divorce case that involves a well-known family in town. The Purcells have a history related to their developing some of the first buildings and businesses in the city. Lots of wheeling and dealing have made the family wealthy. Their matriarch, Orchid, is in her 90s and controls the purse strings.

Our gal Jane Kelly has been asked to do some research work on the family for the divorce case. An unexpected call comes in from one of the Purcells asking for the help of a female Investigator on a separate issue. Since Jane knows the history on the Purcells, she is sent to take care of the assignment. Dwayne tells her to be careful and warns her that all the Purcell's are all crazy.

Jane meets with Jazz Purcell, who is more handsome than allowed, and gets her assignment. He wants her to observe Orchid Purcell, his grandmother, and determine if the old lady is losing it. Jazz wants to know if she is getting senile and no longer r capable of managing the family fortune. All the other family members want to have Orchid sign a Power of Attorney so they can claim the money.

The family is full of interesting characters all trying to get their hands on the money--some sinister and others, run-of-the mill weird. Jane gets in the thick of things and solves a murder and near murders and manages to have some romance too. Who will it be in the end? Bush keeps us guessing the whole time.

Nancy Bush has found a character in Jane Kelly that will have a long life as a private investigator, snooping under and around every nook and cranny. I am looking forward to the next case.

Armchair Interview says: Another delightful cozy mystery.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable overall, October 4, 2006

By 

Vicki J. Strom "vjs" (Champaign, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Electric Blue (Jane Kelly Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I really enjoyed this book, although I did have a bit of confusion fitting the first scene into the timeline of the story. The mystery portion of the book was well written and kept me guessing throughout the book. Unlike a previous reviewer, I appreciate the storyline with Jane's mother, brother, and his fiancée. I feel that this helps to build the character of Jane, and lets the reader get some insight into what makes her tick. If every move and conversation of the book was directly related to "who done it," there wouldn't be a lot of suspense when it came to the ending. And this background material helps to build relationships which could be important in other books in the series.

I did have a bit of a problem with the description on the inside cover of the book. It mentioned events that don't occur until 250+ pages into the book, and one thing that I don't recall ever happening. I felt that this gave away too much of the plot, and would have preferred something more like what is listed on this page describing the book.

Overall I thought this was an interesting read, and I look forward to finding out what comes next in the life of Jane and company.