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Mama Rocks the Empty Cradle

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MAMA ROCKS THE EMPTY CRADLE Nora DeLoach Bantam, Dec 1998, $21.95, 208 pp.

Simone Covington returns to her hometown of Otis, South Carolina to help her mother when Mama undergoes bunion surgery. However, before Mama can recover, a neighbor, Cricket Childs, is murdered and the young woman's baby is missing.

In spite of the need to stay off her feet, Mama, using her daughter as her legs, begins to investigate what happened to the infant and who killed the young lady? She quickly links the past to the present and begins to uncover the mystery in her inimitable, down home style.

Like the previous novel in this series (MAMA STALKS THE PAST) this entry is a brilliant regional mystery that will absolutely provide 100% pleasure to sub-genre fans. Mama is the great Southern philosopher who readers will adore and cherish. Simone, with her flaws and growth in MAMA ROCKS THE CRADLE, adds depth to the tale. Who-done-it in Americana has never been better than in Nora DeLoach's cozy.

Harriet Klausner

MAMA ROCKS THE EMPTY CRADLE is the second title in this mystery series.

After reading MAMA ROCKS THE EMPTY CRADLE, I decided like Mama's daughter Simone, to shoot straight from the hip and tell you like it is. It's a winner! Only the select few in this world are known by a single name, and in the cozy mystery world, if she isn't already, Grace (Candi) Covington will be affectionately known as "Mama." Nora DeLoach has created an amusing, charming set of characters for her series; each one is as lively as the next.

Mama's personality is the comfortable kind that makes a stranger want to sit down and tell his/her story, but in this mystery the wee ones at Mama's doorstep can't tell their stories, nor can the Labrador retriever that dragged the baby skulls home. So when an infant that was nabbed once before is taken again after the mother is murdered, Mama and Simone fear for the baby's life. Because of her surgery Mama's comings and goings are limited, but as Simone finds out in sleuthing, cooking, and her private life, Mama's advice isn't.

Most definitely a good read! The plot is well built, the characters memorable, and paths the author leads the readers down are creative. Mama is the Sherlock Holmes of the African American South and Simone is her Watson!

One of Mama's clients (Mama's a social worker.) turns up murdered and her baby is missing; then Papa's dog starts bringing home something he dug up in his nightly excursions - skulls of infants. In this close-knit family, daughter Simone has taken time off from her job as a researcher for one of Atlanta's top lawyers to help Mama while she recuperates from surgery. Now she and Mama also have a mystery to solve. The mystery is fun, but reading about life in a small southern town and Mama's excellent home cooking is just as much fun.

The southern setting is charming. The plot had potential. However, the characters need more depth and if you blinked you would have missed the ending. This book doesn't quite fulfill it's promise. The best part was the description of the food!

One of Mama's clients (Mama's a social worker.) turns up murdered and her baby is missing; then Papa's dog starts bringing home something he dug up in his nightly excursions - skulls of infants. In this close-knit family, daughter Simone has taken time off from her job as a researcher for one of Atlanta's top lawyers to help Mama while she recuperates from surgery. Now she and Mama also have a mystery to solve. The mystery is fun, but reading about life in a small southern town and Mama's excellent home cooking is just as much fun.

Simone Covington returns to her hometown of Otis, South Carolina to help her mother when Mama undergoes bunion surgery. However, before Mama can recover, a neighbor, Cricket Childs, is murdered and the young woman's baby is missing.

In spite of the need to stay off her feet, Mama, using her daughter as her legs, begins to investigate what happened to the infant and who killed the young lady? She quickly links the past to the present and begins to uncover the mystery in her inimitable, down home style.

Like the previous novel in this series (MAMA STALKS THE PAST) this entry is a brilliant regional mystery that will absolutely provide 100% pleasure to sub-genre fans. Mama is the great Southern philosopher who readers will adore and cherish. Simone, with her flaws and growth in MAMA ROCKS THE CRADLE, adds depth to the tale. Who-done-it in Americana has never been better than in Nora DeLoach's cozy.

Harriet Klausner