The Maine Mulch Murder [Hardcover]

A. Carman Clark (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2001

Amy Creighton has her life arranged just about the way she likes it--a successful career as a free-lance editor, hobbies she enjoys, and good friends in the small town of Granton, Maine. Then she uncovers a body in a mill shed while gathering mulch for her strawberry plants. With her gardener's eye she takes in the scene of the corpse.

Amy Crighton brings the best of the independent Mainer to her investigation of murder in Granton, sparing no one and nothing to get at the truth. A solid sixty years old, she never flinches in the face of danger

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Smalltown Maine holds some unsettling and dangerous surprises like the unknown dead man Amy Creighton finds in a mulch pile. Sometime sweethearts Amy and constable Dort Adams find out they don't know all their neighbors as well as they'd thought in A. Carman Clark's debut mystery, The Maine Mulch Murder, the first in a projected series.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

When she discovers a body in a pile of sawdust, 60-year-old, live-at-home editor Amy Creighton keeps her eyes open for clues. She and Dort Adams, the constable/sheriff's deputy whom she calls, go back a long way in little Granton, ME, and they fall into an easy investigative alliance. A neglected, unwanted dog they find at an empty farmhouse characterizes the murder victim as well: he was an adopted and apparently unloved college student looking for his birth parents. Heavy on narrative, comfortable domesticity, and all the locals knowing everybody's business, this pleasant series start will please the undemanding. For larger collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 228 pages
• Publisher: Larcom Press; 1st edition (July 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967819938
• ISBN-13: 978-0967819938
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,632,941 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:

5.0 out of 5 stars I feel I've found a "Nancy Drew" for the Adult Crowd!, January 26, 2003

By 

mastercomposter "mastercomposter" (Plano, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Maine Mulch Murder (Hardcover)

Reading this book reminds me of reading Nancy Drew mysteries as a girl. That young sleuth was just like me and I was just like her. (At least, I would have been like her if my parents were as lenient as hers were!) The gardening, composting sleuth of The Maine Mulch Murder is just as credible. It is a rare treat to find such a familiar sleuth. Not only are the gardening details correct, but Amy's attitudes, habits, schedule, and other life details blend with integrity. She utilizes her practical reasoning skills, honed through gardening, to solve this murder. I really enjoyed it. [I would suggest that you NOT read the inside book flap. It told me too much about plot details. I think the story would be better if some of those facts weren't revealed until the book content reveals them.]

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect reading for a lazy summer afternoon, August 3, 2001

By 

Gail J Meka (Beverly, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Maine Mulch Murder (Hardcover)

This was a delightful and quick mystery to read....which makes it ideal for an afternoon at the beach. The main character is a delighful 60 year old lady gardener who turns sleuth when she finds a body and becomes determined to find the killer. Along the way she reunites with an old flame and what happens next requires actually reading the book. The ending is possibly predictable depending perhaps on the number of mysteries you've read. But overall it was well worth an afternoon of relaxing reading.

5.0 out of 5 stars Best mystery I've read all summer..., August 29, 2005

By 

sydneyaz (Mesa, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Maine Mulch Murder (Hardcover)

I have struggled through, and sometimes tossed aside, too many mysteries this summer written in first person and with/or a definite occupational slant, ie, herb growing, cooking, quilting, etc. The other end of the spectrum has gratuitous violence.

Despite the title, this is not a particularly "occupational" mystery. The characters are not petulant and temper prone, but rather, interesting and caring.

The plot is rather twisted and convoluted, and although the denouement seems clear at one point, there is one last twist in it.

Hopefully, this is the beginning of a series.