The Hummingbird Wizard [Mass Market Paperback]

Meredith Blevins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 5, 2004

Driving full steam ahead with her life after the unexpected death of her husband, Annie Szabo was not planning on veering off course again. But her late husband's family, an outrageous and proud clan of Gypsies, has other plans. When Annie's oldest friend, Jerry, turns up dead, she is plunged back into the family she tried to leave behind.

Suspecting murder, Annie is forced to form an alliance with Madame Mina, her stubborn and powerful mother-in-law, the heart of the Szabo family. Determined to catch Jerry's killer, the two women must unlock the pattern of a tapestry wild with lawyers, criminals, kink, magic, and even more death. One thing is certain--to catch a killer with a hidden agenda, Annie and Mina must use all of their resources: ancient curses, a talent for petty theft, bizarre love magic, a Gypsy PI, and a strong sense of humor.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fascinating gypsy lore, unforgettable characters and a wicked sense of humor distinguish Blevins's highly unusual mystery debut. Native Californian Annie Szabo, writer, mother and widow, thinks her life is finally on track until her childhood friend and occasional lover Jerry is found dead of an apparent heart attack in the parking lot of his San Francisco office building. When the autopsy proves Jerry was murdered, Annie begins an investigation with her mother-in-law, Madame Mina, fortune-teller and head of her late husband's family, a loosely knit but loyal gypsy clan. After Jerry's wild funeral, they must use any methods available to find his killer. The author has expertly combined myth, legend and the dark side of human nature and tempered the mix with wit. Particularly engaging are Mina with her double-edged remarks and a peculiar and sexy Romani man known as the Hummingbird Wizard. A dramatic conclusion leads to revelations of the heart that cause Annie to see her in-laws in a new light. This stellar first, with its assured prose ("Jerry and I grew up before smog was invented," reads the first sentence), will delight any mystery fan.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Meredith Blevins covers new literary ground...pulling it off with flair and grace and humor."
---Jonathan Kellerman on The Hummingbird Wizard

"If you don't fall in love with the Szabos, you don't have hormones. A sublime debut whose sequel can't come fast enough."
---Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on The Hummingbird Wizard

"An exciting debut. Blevins has written a thoroughly original first novel with characters you'll never forget."
---Tony Hillerman on The Hummingbird Wizard

"Fascinating gypsy lore, unforgettable characters, and a wicked sense of humor distinguish Blevins's highly unusual mystery debut....This stellar first, with its assured prose, will delight any mystery fan."
---Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Hummingbird Wizard

"Blevins flavors her lively prose with frequent humor and unexpected twists; readers will also be drawn in by the riveting characters, great plot, and insights into Gypsy culture."
---Library Journal (starred review) on The Hummingbird Wizard

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books (August 5, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765346834
• ISBN-13: 978-0765346834
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,521,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A whimsical, tantalizing and off beat amateur sleuth mystery, September 2, 2003

By 

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

This review is from: The Hummingbird Wizard (Hardcover)

Many years ago Annie married into the Szabo clan of gypsies and acquired a huge extended family. At her wedding her best friend Jerry met her new sister-in-law Capri and fell in love with her. They got married, had a child together and somewhere along the way, they lost their emotional connection and got a divorce. Jerry stayed connected to the Szabo clan and looked out for them while Annie tried to forget they existed after her husband died.

After a very long estrangement, Annie visits Jerry in San Francisco and lets herself into his home. When she wakes up, Capri tells her that Jerry is dead. Annie gets bullied back into the life of the Szabo family, protesting all the way while trying to find Jerry's murderer and conducting a romance with her former mother-in-law's younger son, Jozef, a man of great power. Just when they think they have discovered a suspect in Jerry's murder, that person is also killed and Annie must to do the unthinkable to protect her loved ones.

Meredith Blevins' debut novel is a whimsical, tantalizing and off beat amateur sleuth mystery that will remind readers of Alice Through the Looking Glass. Mina, the heroine's former mother-in-law, is a delightful secondary character, colorful and free-spirited character who is used as comic relief when the tension in the story line gets too high. Readers will fall in love with the Szabo family, a group of independent free spirits who march to their own drummers. THE HUMMINGBIRD WIZARD is one of the funniest and enjoyable first novels this reviewer has had the pleasure of reading.

Harriet Klausner

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A surprise gem of a book, October 18, 2004

By 

N. Finney "Finn" (Toronto) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hummingbird Wizard (Mass Market Paperback)

The book was tremendous fun. The author has a deft light touch, the characters are likeable even when they're rogues (or especially when?), her description of gypsy family loyalties has the ring of truth, as well as communicating the sense of an unassimiliated culture with its own lore, beliefs, mores. Her main character, Annie Szabo, her protagonist, was delightful as she reconciled with her dead husband's gypsy family, found new love with a gypsy shaman, and solved the murder of her old friend.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Experience a full range of emotions, November 21, 2003

By 

Sarrah Knight (Iowa, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hummingbird Wizard (Hardcover)

Annie Szabo is an Irish American woman who married into and widowed out of a nutty Gypsy family, and more than twenty years later the death of her occasional lover and longtime friend drags her reluctantly back. Annie is a vibrant character, not perfect, not idealistic, not self-righteous, but very happy with who she is. And although she protests strongly against all of her Gypsy mother-in-law Mina's zany plans for finding Jerry's killer, drying out his widow, and locating certain paperwork, Annie ends up along for the ride. The ride includes an off-the-wall Gypsy PI, Jerry's lush and luscious ex-wife, Mina's slighty less than law abiding ex-husband, and Mina's mysterious and sexy youngest son--also known as the Hummingbird Wizard. Blevins wove a beautiful tapestry of lore and history, and, though the plot is a mystery, the part that nabs the reader is the heart behind it. The Hummingbird Wizard is a twisting, turning, funny and heartrending tale about love of friends and family, and learning that if you lose yourself along the way, you can always go back and gather the pieces.