Deck the Halls With Murder (A Josie Pigeon Mystery #3) [Mass Market Paperback]

Valerie Wolzien (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 1998

BAD TIDINGS

Building contractor Josie Pigeon and her all-woman construction crew have a big project to wrap up before the holidays--and they're hard at work when carpenter Caroline Albrecht keels over, fatally poisoned.

Suddenly an icy wind of suspicion chills the cheer of this quiet island resort town, and Josie realizes that one of her employees must be Caroline's murderer. Is it Caroline's old friend Layne? Sandy, who scarcely knew her? . . . or good-time local girl Betty? It will take Josie's razor-sharp eye and smart sleuthing to single out the suspect and keep Christmas from turning into a real killer of a season.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

BAD TIDINGS

Building contractor Josie Pigeon and her all-woman construction crew have a big project to wrap up before the holidays--and they're hard at work when carpenter Caroline Albrecht keels over, fatally poisoned.

Suddenly an icy wind of suspicion chills the cheer of this quiet island resort town, and Josie realizes that one of her employees must be Caroline's murderer. Is it Caroline's old friend Layne? Sandy, who scarcely knew her? . . . or good-time local girl Betty? It will take Josie's razor-sharp eye and smart sleuthing to single out the suspect and keep Christmas from turning into a real killer of a season.

From the Back Cover

"A nice writing style and considerable wit."
--Chicago Tribune

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett; First Edition, First Printing edition (September 28, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449150364
• ISBN-13: 978-0449150368
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #921,711 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gender bender Josie solves mysteries and does construction, September 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Deck the Halls With Murder (A Josie Pigeon Mystery #3) (Mass Market Paperback)

Christmas is a month away and Josie Pigeon, owner of Island Contracting, wants the current construction finished before the holidays start. Her all female crew are working exceptionally hard to accomplish Josie's quest. However, winter turns extremely cold when one of the carpenters, Caroline Albrecht, becomes ill while eating a sandwich. The ambulance rushes Caroline to the hospital, but she dies from food poisoning anyway.

Law enforcement official Mike Rodney arrests Josie's friend Betty Patrick. Though Josie knows that one of her employees most likely killed Caroline, she refuses to accept that Betty could have done the deed. Instead, she wonders if Caroline's carpentry partner Layne could have done in her buddy or if someone else, with a hidden agenda nobody knows about, be the perp. Josie begins to investigate what happened to her star carpenter even if it means delaying the completion of the project and placing her own life in jeopardy.

The fourth Josie Pigeon amateur sleuth mysteries, DECK THE HALLS WITH MURDER, is a fun to read cozy that highlights that women can skillfully perform tasks that are predominantly found in male jobs. The delightful characters are witty and the island atmosphere adds a feeling of serenity even in the midst of murder. Valerie Wolzien, author of the Susan Henshaw mysteries, continues to provide her fans with interesting gender bending who-done-its that entertain the reader.

Harriet Klausner

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars DELIGHTFUL, December 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Deck the Halls With Murder (A Josie Pigeon Mystery #3) (Mass Market Paperback)

For the relaxing time of my Christmas holidays, I searched Amazon.com for murder mysteries revolving around the holidays. I found Valerie and ordered this book. I had never heard of her before but took a chance anyway. I found her character to be absolutely delightful and the other supporting characters to be quite good. I liked Sam but felt sorry for him. I'm not too sure about Sam's mother, she seems a little pushy. The murder and the reasons for it were very interesting. Since I love to read mystery books where the authors include cats, I was very pleased that Urchin the cat was in the book and that Josie even befriended a stray cat. Valerie is a keeper for me. I'll add her to my list of authors to read.