Mississippi Vivian (Five Star First Edition Mystery) [Hardcover]

Bill Crider (Author), Clyde Wilson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Anthony-winner Crider's laconic down-home humor suffuses his colorful second collaboration with celebrated Texas PI Clyde Wilson, who died in 2008 (after 2007's Houston Homicide). In the summer of 1970, a possible insurance scam takes Houston PI Ted Stephens to Losgrove, Miss., where he meets Mississippi Vivian, a waitress at the Magnolia Café, the town's nerve center. A corporate client, the National Insurance Company, is skeptical of 12 suspicious claims originating from Losgrove. Ted asks Mississippi for her help, but the possibly self-inflicted shooting death of one of the claimants, Perce Segal, at the house of another claimant, Wade Dickie, complicates his mission. What should be a simple case of insurance fraud becomes increasingly more sticky when Wade turns up dead only a couple of hours after Ted had a fight with Wade. The authors get the Southern atmosphere and period details right in this funny, country-fried mystery. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

In 1970, Losgrove, Mississippi, wouldn’t seem to be a hotbed of crime. It’s a sleepy burg in which the Magnolia Café serves as the community center, and its proprietor, Mississippi Vivian, is the filter for all gossip and news. Ted Stephens, a Houston private eye, is working for National Insurance. The company suspects a worker’s disability scam with a dozen or so citizens—an inordinate number in such a small town—receiving payments. Stephens is a stranger and viewed with suspicion by the citizenry. His only ally is Vivian; she feeds Ted info and meatloaf. Both have a fixed price. Ted suspects a recent death may be related to the scam and thinks a cover-up is in place. Soon enough, Ted’s life is in danger, and another body turns up. Crider, an award-winning master of the small-town whodunit, is at the top of his game here, with the low-key Stephens and the acerbic Vivian providing some classic repartee. Quite enjoyable with a puzzler of a plot and satisfying conclusion. --Wes Lukowsky

Product Details

• Hardcover: 236 pages
• Publisher: Five Star; 1 edition (May 7, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594148740
• ISBN-13: 978-1594148743
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,944,402 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born and brought up in Mexia (that's pronounced Muh-HAY-uh by the natives), Texas, went to college at The University of Texas and North Texas State University, and taught high school and college classes for many years. In 1992 I retired as Chair of the Division of English and Fine Arts at Alvin Community College, in Alvin, Texas. I'm married to the lovely Judy, and we have two grown children, Angela, who's an attorney in San Francisco, and Allen, who's in the music business in Austin. Other than that, I'm a pretty boring guy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars terrific investigate historical tale, May 8, 2010

By 

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

This review is from: Mississippi Vivian (Five Star First Edition Mystery) (Hardcover)

In 1970 the Houston based National Insurance Company Claims manager Don Cogsdill is appalled with a dozen worker's compensation cases involving longshoremen on a ship channel in Losgrove, Mississippi. He becomes suspicious when he realizes the same doctor Gillespie signed the claims and the same lawyer Campbell filed them.

Don hires former cop Ted Stevens to investigate whether fraud has occurred. Ted arrives in town and quickly learns the communication center is at the Magnolia Cafe where Mississippi Vivian works. He soon finds out one of the claimants is dead and not long afterward a second filer also is dead. As he investigates the potential insurance fraud, Ted also looks into what he believes are homicides within a town without pity that prefers to keep secrets buried.

This is a terrific investigate historical tale that is filled with action and amusing southern hush puppies wit for instance the three state Vivian's. Ted makes the story line fun as he is the straight man to a town of eccentrics and a killer. Sub-genre fans will appreciate laconic Ted as he inquires into increasingly what seems like fraud, which leads him to a killer in a superb period piece.

Harriet Klausner

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining Read, November 30, 2010

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S.P. - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Mississippi Vivian (Five Star First Edition Mystery) (Hardcover)

Bill Crider is a new favorite of mine and my mom's. Humorous, light reading but hard to put down without reading the next chapter. I am looking forward to reading and collecting more from this author.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Superb Outing for Stephens, June 1, 2010

By 

Benjamin Potter "Loom & Wheel" (Mulberry Grove, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mississippi Vivian (Five Star First Edition Mystery) (Hardcover)

With this one, Bill Crider claims to be everywhere. So he might as well be here, too. And he is. And I'm glad. In the second outing for Ted Stephens, Crider and Wilson have another winner. Sadly, Wilson passed away after the writing but before the publishing of this novel (October, 2008). Even so, you will be glad to pick up a copy of Mississippi Vivian for your own shelves.

The setting is August, 1970, and Ted Stephens, Houston private detective, finds himself on assignment in the backwoods town of Losgrove, Mississippi. It's in Losgrove that Ted meets the title character--one of three Vivians in town who are distinguished by their points of origin: Texas Vivian, Idaho Vivian, and Mississippi Vivian. She becomes a part-time informant for Ted as he investigates some claims fraud cases for National Insurance. What he discovers is that in Losgrove, Mississippi, his suspects are dying all over town, and the rest of the town--including the sheriff--aren't interested in talking to him.

Filled with Crider's trademark down-home characters, and his wry humor, Mississippi Vivian is another example of nostalgia married to an investigative procedural. One of the things to like best about Stephens is that he doesn't really care when people put him off, he just wants to do his job. If you're skeptical just read a page or two, and you'll find him saying so himself. You sometimes even forget that the setting is from thirty or forty years ago, until Stephens mentions the Falcon that he rented for the job.

Thanks again for a great afternoon's diversion, Bill and Clyde. And here's your five reading glasses for the trouble.

--Benjamin Potter, June 1, 2010