The Merchant of Menace (Jane Jeffry Mysteries, No. 10) [Hardcover]

Jill Churchill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1998

It's Christmas season, and Jane Jeffry has guests coming, cookies baking, and music blaring from the next-door neighbor's garishly decorated house. But what's worse is the obnoxious, muck-raking TV reporter who arrives to do a piece on Jane's nice little neighborhood caroling party and decides that he'll play Old St. Nick. When his red-suited body slides off the neighbor's roof and lands, silenced forever, on top of a fallen plastic reindeer, it looks like the mishap was no accident, and Jane has to solve the mystery of who killed Santa Claus.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Quintessential mom in tennis shoes Jane Jeffrey is once again thrust into a murder investigation, but this time the murderer is very close to home indeed. In The Merchant of Menace, the 10th of the series by Jill Churchill, Jane finds herself in the midst of the Christmas rush and hosting two celebrations back-to-back: neighborhood caroling party one evening and a cookie exchange the following day. The two gatherings are meant to bring the community together, but when a TV reporter is found dead during the singing, it becomes obvious that at least one of the neighbors is harboring something besides goodwill towards men. As Jane and her coconspirator Shelly explore just who might have reason to shove someone off a roof, their sleepy suburb (Chicago is the ostensible nearby city, but the setting could be anywhere there is snow in December) suddenly steams with secrets.

Churchill has done well with this cozy series in which each title is a play on words of a more illustrious piece of literature. The Merchant of Menace fits into the mold: a witty and gentle dose of murder and mayhem coupled with a wry appreciation for the terrors of suburban parenting (teaching teenagers to drive, helping with the homework, meeting the prospective in-laws) and middle-aged romance. The travails of Shylock are perhaps too oppressive for most Christmas readers, but The Merchant of Menace is certainly suitable for passing around with the Christmas cookies and holiday punch. --K. Crouch

From Publishers Weekly

It's the Yuletide season, and widowed Jane Jeffry has her hands full in this 10th installment of the punningly titled series (Fear of Frying, 1997). Not only is Jane hosting two neighborhood parties, but she will meet the mother of her significant other, police detective Mel, for the first time. Adding to the holiday confusion, the Johnsons move in next door and go overboard lighting up their entire house with garish Christmas decorations. Trying to be helpful, one of Jane's friends invites intrusive and often inaccurate TV reporter Lance King to Jane's caroling party. Appalled, Jane makes the woman rescind the invitationAbut to no avail as Lance shows up anyway, intimating that he has a shocking disclosure to make about one of Jane's neighbors. Before he can spill the beans, however, Lance is pushed to his death from the Johnsons roof. Jane and her best friend, Shelley, much to Mel's dismay, decide to find out who had a secret so dire that they'd murder Lance to keep it quiet. The friends unearth a slew of suspects, and all the while, Jane dodges the potential disasters associated with hosting holiday events and entertaining a potential mother-in-law while keeping track of her own three children. In the end, levelheaded, redoubtable Jane weathers the storms, identifies the killer and manages to have a happy holiday season as well. This is standard, lighthearted caper fare from the ableAand very popularAChurchill. Agent, Faith Childs.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1st edition (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380975696
• ISBN-13: 978-0380975693
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,212,032 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jill Churchill has won the Agatha and Macavity Mystery Readers Awards and was nominated for an Anthony Award for her bestselling Jane Jeffry series. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed Grace and Favor mysteries and lives in the Midwest.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you Ms. Churchill, July 9, 2000

By 

"trautman" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Merchant of Menace (Jane Jeffry Mysteries, No. 10) (Hardcover)

This series keeps gettng better with each new book. The friendship between Jane and Shelly is fun and so real I feel like I am listening in on a private conversation.Keep them coming Ms. Churchill

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The witty dialog between Jane and Shelly is worth the price, September 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Merchant of Menace (Jane Jeffry Mysteries, No. 10) (Hardcover)

Although it is the holiday season, Jane Jeffry feels more harried than merry. On Friday night, she is hosting a caroling party. On Saturday, she is giving a cookie exchange party for the nrighborhood. On top of all that, she must meet the mother of her lover for the first time. To make matters worse for Jane, a well-meaning neighbor informs Jane that she has invited the scandal mongering reporter, Lance "The Merchant of Menace" King to cover the event and the tabloid journalist accepts the offer.

Though she prefers he did not, Lance arrives at the caroling party. Broadcasting from Jane's home, he hints to his TV audience that on his next show he will reveal a scandal here in suburbia. Later that evening, Jane looks out her window and sees Lance's body impaled on the antler of a reindeer in her neighbor's yard. The police believe a homicide occurred, as there is evidence the man was pushed from a rooftop. Jane believes that one of her guests wanted to silence Lance before his next show. As she has done before with her friend Shelly, Jane begins to investigate the murder.

The ninth entry in the Jeffry mystery series is funny, witty, and an example of how well written dialog can turn a good story line a great novel. The repartee between Jane and Shelly is some of the best interplay since Lucy and Ethel. With her jocular THE MERCHANT OF MENACE, Jill Churchill has sold the idea that suburbia can be an exciting place.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun-filled holiday mystery., November 8, 2000

By 

William Felty - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Merchant of Menace (Jane Jeffry Mysteries, No. 10) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a fun book to read during the Christmas season (but would be just as enjoyable year-round.) The holidays are busy for suburban mom and part-time sleuth, Jane Jeffrey. She's hosting two neighborhood parties, back-to-back, and trying to get her house and family ready for Christmas. Of course, just like Jessica Fletcher, someone around her always turns up dead. This time is a muck-raking reporter who falls off her neighbors' roof. Added to the mix is her detective boyfriend's mother who's "temporarily" staying with her. Luckily she has her good friend Shelly to help out with keeping her sane and with her sleuthing. This one will keep you guessing and laughing until the final pages.