Customer Reviews

Mulch Ado About Nothing (Jane Jeffry Mysteries, No. 12)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love this series (and book) for it's humour and warmth. Jill Churchill's humourous look at the life of a single mother (Jane Jeffry) with three teenage children, a dog and two cats, is brilliant. And I love her portrayal of the obssesively neat and in control Shelley (Jane's neighbour and best friend), which juxtaposes nicely with Jane's more relaxed take on things. The friendship and chemsitry between these two characters is wonderful. I think I'd be quite accurate in stating that Jill Churchill has probably created one of the best female detective partnerships around. Having enthused about the series, I must say that I was somewhat disappointed in the mystery this time around. What happened to it? I had to read much of the book twice to see if I had missed something the first time around that would make sense of the resolution. The Jill Jeffry mystery series is one of the best "cosy" murder mysery series around. However this latest installment is not one of Jill Churchill's better works. This novel rates well on warmth and humour, but not very well as a mystery. However, I do like this series so I will give the next Jill Jeffry mystery novel a go.

A flower arrangement meant for Julie Jackson is accidentally delivered to Jane Jeffry. Living in the same neighborhood, Jane and her best friend and neighbor Shelly deliver the flowers to Julie. Upon arrival at her home, they find a crime scene tape barring their way. Jane's police officer friend Mel informs the two women that someone knocked out Julie in her basement office.

Julie was supposed to teach a gardening class, but her injury precludes that from happening. Dr. Eastman conducts the session attended by Jane and Shelly. The students tour each other,s gardens picking up tips along the way. When their teacher is found dead in his garden, Jane and Shelly begin an investigation into what is happening amidst the gardening set.

MULCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING is a character-driven tale that is a bit short on plot, but huge on imagery and humor. The individual gardens are described so well that the audience will feel they are along on the tour. The killer is a shocker to those readers smelling the roses and not paying attention to the motives driving the characters. As usual, Jill Churchill provides her fans with a delightfully amusing novel.

Harriet Klausner

Jill Churchill does it again. She is able to put Jane Jeffery and her best friend Shelly in a simple enviroment and once again find murder.Jane and Shelly decide to take a gardening class together over the summer,but who would have thought that someone wanted to have the teacher push up daisies instead.Add a classroom full of less than normal people,Jane's daughter taking a cooking class,her son's new girlfriend and a broken foot and trying to create the perfect garden thatt make this one great cozy mystery.This has to be one of my favorite Churchill book, mainly because she never disappoints but anyone who has suffer with a broken foot or in my case an ankle can relate to Jane adventures with a cast and crutches.Whether you love to garden or not read this book.

One of my favorite authors, Jill Churchill, not only entertains, but her books are keepers! One can always go back and spend a cozy time with Jill, her family and her special neighbor Shelly. The troubles she finds herself in are wonderful,and light. I can always rely on Ms. Churchill to provide me with a quality book with the charm and a bit of danger mixed with the hectic life of a mother! Perhaps that's what keeps me coming back for more!

As usual, Jill Churchill pens an enjoyable novel with lots of entertaining dialogue between Jane Jeffrey and her neighbor Shelley. The plot is a simple one. Jane and Shelley decide to improve their gardening skills by taking a botany class. Before the class starts, the instructor is beaten and ends up in the hospital with amnesia about the event. She is replaced by a stodgy old fellow who manages to bore all of the participants with his overly-detailed lectures. When he encounters an untimely end, Jane and Shelley decide that there is a connection. Their suspects include all of the eccentric people in their class. There is very little intrigue in this one, and the false leads that make mysteries so much fun, are missing. This book is fun, and I wouldn't miss one of the Jane Jeffrey books, but it is definitely lacking in plot and suspense.

If you like light, frothy and cozy mysteries, this is the book for you. I enjoy Jill Churchill's books even though I have been able to guess the murderer in each, but this does not deter me from further reading.

Jane and Shelly are best friends living next door to each other. Jane (not unlikely for a cozy mystery) has a detective boyfriend named Mel. So when a murder does happen, he is conveniently there to help her and her friend solve it.

In this book, Jane and Shelly enroll in a gardening class, but the teacher has bludgeoned and lies in a coma. A stuffy plant researcher takes over the class but instead of teaching the basics of gardening, he immediately delves into plant patents by showing off his pink marigolds.

The class itself is made up of an odd assortment of garden "lovers" who want to show off their particular gardens to the others--some of which are very good and some horrid.

Then, the substitute lecturer is found dead in his own compost pile, and Jane and Shelly are off to find who in the class did him in.

Mulch is an enjoyable and quick read with many humorous touches thrown in by the author. Plan to read Jill Churchill's books if you want to be entertained, and you won't be disappointed.

Jill Churchill has always written wonderful books and this one is no different. Jane and Shelly are placed into a normal situation but nothing normal ever comes out of their situations. Beside the bit of mystery, her books also show interesting insights into raising children as a single parent, aging, dating and other real life situations. These things are always interwoven in her books in an insightful manner which just makes the books that must more interesting.

While this isn't the best of the Jane Jeffry series, it is still entertaining and worth reading. It is summer and Jane and Shelly decide to take a gardening course at the local community center, unfortunately, the instructor is attacked and left in a coma. More of the standard mayhem follows. Formulaic, but enjoyable.

Todd was at soccer camp, the cooking lessons were to keep Ursula away, who cares what Shelley's husband was doing? Or Jane's in-laws? Or if a murder doesn't actually happen until late in the book? It's still got a mystery in it! I liked Shelley's and Jane's gardening solutions, too!

I picked up this book at the grocery store when I was desperate for something to read while visiting relatives. What a joy! Although this was my first Jan Jeffry novel, it's not my last!

Jane Jeffry and her friend Shelly Nowack offer some laughs while they work to solve a crime. In this case they signed up to take a gardening class when the instructor is attacked and the substitute instructor is killed. While Jane juggles house work, raising children and a gardening class, her and her friend work to solve a the murder.

If I could rate it a 4+ I would have done that or a 5-. Mainly because I thought the ending was a little bit abrupt. However, it was a great read and I'm buying more of her books today.

Enjoy.