Customer Reviews

Grime and Punishment (Jane Jeffrey Mysteries, No. 1)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jane Jeffry is a full-time mother whose life is filled with three children, two cats, a dog, PTA and carpools. Her husband Steve is killed in an auto accident on the night he leaves home for another woman. In the midst of her grieving, Jane's life is jolted by the murder next door of Happy Helper cleaning lady Ramona Thurgood. Jane's motivation to solve the crime is if a murder can be committed in another house in the neighborhood, it can also happen in her house.

Jane is helped by her friend Shelley and old family friend Uncle Jim. Together with the local police a trap is set to catch the murderer in the act.

The neighborhood and the characters are believable. The plot is easy to follow. I understand why the book got both the Agatha and Macavity Awards for Best First Mystery.

I was browsing at my local bookstore when I came upon Jill Churchill's books. Having never heard of her before but interested in mysteries, I picked up this book and now plan to read every one in the series!

"Grime and Punishment" is written with a very comical touch. Jane Jeffry is a widowed mother of three who lives in suburban Chicago (as do I, and enjoyed the familiar nuances of the area that she brought up). Between neighborhood potluck suppers, juggling her kids' schedules and trying to get over the death of her husband, Jane now adds "crime solver" to her ever-growing list of personal demands. She is determined to figure out who killed the neighborhood cleaning lady, even if it means alienating (or even suspecting!) those she knows, including her best friend! And trying to play detective gets her in hot water with the real (and single and hunky) detective working the case!

I found myself laughing out loud while reading this, and it was hard to put down. I can't wait to read all of the Jane Jeffry series!

The first in a series, we find Jane Jeffry, single mom with hardly a single moment to spare. She is irresistibly drawn into the investigation of the murder of the neighborhood cleaning lady and even more (eagerly) drawn into a relationship with the hunky investigative Detective VanDyne! Her neighbor and best friend Shelley attempts to keep Jane from involving herself in both aspects, and also not believing that Jane herself could be the murderer... or is she? Excellent!

Jill Churchill is a prolific writer, which is a good thing. Once you start reading her books, it's easy to become addicted to them. Jane Jeffry is a great character and, while the mysteries are not intricate, the business of solving them is a lot of fun.

This first in the series of Jane Jeffry mysteries is an introduction to this delightful character and is a perfect beginning. Jane never ceases to amaze me how she can be a mother of three children, two of them teens, work on countless committees and still keep a carpool schedule in her head and run it smoothly! This first in the series is a must of collectors of the Jane Jeffry mysteries. It is a great whodunit and whydidthey delight that is delightfully funny with non-stop, page-turning interest. Don't be surprised if the person you think did the murder turns out not to be; and the "friend" turns out not to be

In this first entry in the Jane Jeffry "cozy" mystery series, suburban widow and mother of three is busy shuffling kids to and from school and practice, and joining lots of committees..... When her cleaning lady is found strangled to death by the vacuum cord at her friend Shelley's house, she sets her mind to solving the murder....What follows is an hysterical and enjoyable read...........great characters including those secondary ones...........superb interaction with her children, two of whom are teenagers.....a hint of a future relationship with Detective Mel VanDyne... This is a cute series.......sheer entertainment from a very talented author!

I had given up on Jill Churchill after I read "Bell, Book & Scandal," which I can only term amateurish, but maybe her editor encouraged her to write a chicklit-style novel to get those readers to cross over into mystery... Whatever the reason for that half-hearted effort, "Grime and Punishment" is so much better in terms of style, humor and plot, though the plot was still a bit thin. Still, it's an amusing escapade into mundane suburban (Chicago) life centered around a bunch of car-pooling PTA moms, with astute and hilarious insights into raising kids. There is a serious side too, dealing with Jane Jeffry's marriage, which rings true, and her forray into considering dating again is believably portrayed. A good bedtime read!

Jane is the main character and Shelley is her next-door neighbor and best friend. They have children, do all the mother-children things such as driving carpools, have warm cozy houses - all these things make the book cozy. And all that food also makes the book cozy!

Meanwhile, the maid is murdered. Jane and Shelley are determined to find out who did it and why they did it.

This is the first book of this series. If you like cozy books that are the homey/family/children/good-food type, then you will love this series.

Jane Jeffrey is struggling to rebuild her life and make her children's life as normal as possible after the death of her husband in a car accident seven months earlier. She feels that life is starting to get back to normal, but that normalcy is shattered when a cleaning woman is murdered at the house next door which belongs to her friend Shelley Nowack. Shelly and Jane are understandably upset about the murder and worry about the safety of their children, so even though the police are looking into the murder they begin a little investigating on their own. They have plenty of suspects - there was going to be a gathering at Shelley's house and people were in and out of the house dropping off food all day long. In fact, Jane even wonders if Shelley could be the killer. As Jane investigates, she realizes that several people had secrets they wanted to stay secret, secrets they could be blackmailed for and might even kill to keep secret. When Jane gets a little too close to the truth and a threatening note is left on her bed, she knows she has to solve the case quickly before she or someone in her family is hurt.

"Grime and Punishment" is the delightful first book in Jill Churchill's Jane Jeffrey cozy mystery series. Jane is a well-written character - a single mother struggling not only to raise three young children, but also trying to accept the circumstances behind her husband's death. Her children - Mike, Katie, and Todd - are also well written and some of the best parts of the book are the scenes with Jane and her children going about their every day life. I especially liked the fact that Jane volunteered to drive blind children, it added a nice dimension to her character. Jane's method of investigating the murder was a bit unorthodox, my jaw dropped when she came right out and asked a suspect why she was being blackmailed, but she quickly won my sympathy when her abruptness backfired on her and she learned something that hurt her. Shelley is also well written - attractive, a bit too perfect and bossy, living in a house that is immaculate before the cleaning lady even gets there, and a penchant for driving too fast. Of the supporting characters, my favorite is Jane's "Uncle" Jim, a policeman who is a surrogate father to Jane and will do anything he can to protect her. The mystery is well plotted and the number of people that had access to Shelley's house means that the readers will have fun trying to pick the killer from the long list of suspects and at the end of the book, readers will want to go back through it to see all the clues Churchill cleverly planted throughout. The method Churchill uses to reveal the killer is a bit unbelievable but still a lot of fun.

"Grime and Punishment" is a nice, fun cozy mystery.

I am a fan of Jill Churchill. Her Books are very well written and keeps me interested with out all the off color words used by so many, this book was not disapointing! She did her usual job of a well written mystery. Happy with my purchase