Ladybug, Ladybug: A Hometown Heroes Mystery [Paperback]

Susanna Hofmann McShea (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1995

Four months after rejecting an Ivy League education in favor of a small Catholic seminary, young Kevin Cannivan is murdered, and the Hometown Heroes senior citizen's quartet uncovers a deadly secret. Reprint. PW.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The latest case for the Hometown Heroes of Raven's Wing, Conn., lands the quartet of senior-citizen sleuths in a series of tragic, unpredictable murders. Dr. Trevor Bradford asks fellow Hero, Mildred Bennett, to visit a distraught patient whose oldest son, a seminarian, has just died, apparently of autoerotic asphyxiation. Louise Cannivan tells Mildred about a phone call she received suggesting that her son's death was murder and asks the Heroes to investigate. Reluctantly they agree and visit the seminary where the dead boy roomed with the Heroes' protege, Cameron Maine (seen in The Pumpkin-Shell Wife ) . Beginning with this slender thread, McShea weaves an intricate mystery involving a disillusioned priest, an angry father, a blind veteran firefighter and the Heroes in escalating homicide before the pattern is completed. Readers may quibble over the tenuous connection between the group and their latest "client," but McShea's direct style and her engaging, never-cute and often sharply eccentric characters quickly prevail.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The Hometown Heroes, four shrewd senior citizens with a flair for sleuthing, become entangled in another disquieting adventure. When Kevin Cannivan, a gifted and popular college freshman, apparently commits suicide, his incredulous mother suspects foul play and enlists the services of Trevor Bradford, Mildred Bennett, Forrest Haggarty, and Irene Purdy. Because the bizarre circumstances surrounding Kevin's death had disturbing psychosexual overtones, Father Francis Duffy, president of St. Sebastian's Catholic College and Seminary, is anxious to shroud any hint of scandal. Despite a series of dangerous obstacles deliberately laid in their path, the dauntless detectives persevere in their investigation, uncovering an unwholesome and macabre motive for murder. McShea does an excellent job of providing a delicate balance between folksy humor and menacing mayhem. Margaret Flanagan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Avon Books (Mm) (September 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380719819
• ISBN-13: 978-0380719815
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,414,651 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hometown Heros, November 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Ladybug, Ladybug: A Hometown Heroes Mystery (Paperback)

I have read all of the Hometown Hero series and really enjoyed them. I wish she would wite some more. Although they are about senior citizens, which I am not, I think they appeal to all adult age groups. Great plots and just enough mayhem to make it interesting.

2.0 out of 5 stars No fair, October 28, 2009

By 

Jane Myers Perrine (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ladybug, Ladybug: A Hometown Heroes Mystery (Paperback)

In this mystery, the author breaks the rules of the mystery genre by hiding a very important fact about the murder victim. This isn't fair and takes the reader far astray.