Customer Reviews

Mummy Dearest (Claire Malloy Mysteries)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I eagerly awaited another Claire Malloy mystery but was really disappointed in this one. It was fun to see Claire in a different setting but the cast of characters were many and it took a long time to get into the mystery. Some parts were also very silly and situations were hard to believe.

For some reason, Joan Hess never seems to put the effort or intellect into the more recent Claire Malloy volumes as she does in the ones on Maggody, which are, without exception, far superior. The characters are bland, the plot overdrawn and protracted, and the ending no surprise. This volume about Claire's long awaited honeymoon was so mediocre that I kept falling asleep. I get the feeling that Hess no longer likes this character. If not, do the kind thing and bump her off! To Ms. Hess - Go back to Maggody where the characters are full of life and humor. It's by far and away your best work.

I was delighted to see a new Joan Hess book and couldn't wait to read it! Then I couldn't wait for it to end. Ms. Hess describes her trip to Egypt with Barbara Mertz (aka Elizabeth Peters) and it was painfully obvious in Mummy Dearest that she is a Peters wanna-be. It was either a sore attempt at mimicry or an equally poor attempt to satire Amelia Peabody.

There were a vast number of characters streaming in and out unannounced and typically unwelcome, a mystery man in disguise, cocktails at the drop of a hat, a convoluted and improbable storyline, and even a descendant of Peters famous character Amelia Peabody-Emerson.

Very disappointing and poorly done. Hope the next Claire Malloy book is an improvement.

Finally Claire Malloy, bookstore owner in the small college town of Farberville, Arkansas, and mother to Caron, one of the more outrageous teens in existence, has married her long suffering boyfriend, Lt. Peter Rosen of the Farberville Police Department.

They are on their honeymoon in Luxor, Egypt. Well, Claire, Caron and her best friend Inez, are on a honeymoon, Peter seems to be called away frequently on some mysterious government business. Ever since he had some FBI training, he has been secretive and acting very peculiar.

Claire is left staying at the luxurious old Winter Palace and doing her best to avoid a coterie of eccentric archaeologists, British expatriates and odd collectors: Lord Bledrock and his handsome n'er-do-well son Alexander; the strange Mrs. McHaver and her daughter Miriam; Magritta and Shannon King, both working on the excavation funded by Lord Bledrock and sponsored by a small American college; and the obnoxious Texan developer, Sitterman.

There are also several odd Americans, Buffy and her boyfriend Samuel-are they really tourists? No one is what they seem. Everyone appears to be putting on an act. Claire hears all about the death of Oskar, Magritta's late husband, in a suspicious fall at the excavation site three months previously. Then Dr. Shannon King is found dead in a similar manner at the excavation site after a remarkable find is made. During a tour of Abu Simbal, several scruffy young locals on horseback kidnap Buffy. Caron and Inez are hours late from an evening out at a local party with friends. Peter is concerned about terrorists. What more could go wrong?

Humorous, with loads of amusing characters and situations, Hess will have you giggling and guessing your way to the very end.

Lady Amanda Peabody Emerson makes an appearance as an expert in Egyptian antiquities, carrying a parasol, and lending an air of professionalism-an homage to the Elizabeth Peters Lady Amelia Peabody series!

Armchair Interviews says: Joan Hess does it again with her Claire Malloy mystery.

I've read all the other Claire Malloy mysteries and this is by far the weakest of the series. Other reviewers have noted that it seems the author no longer enjoys writing the characters in this series and I would have to agree. I didn't feel like any of the characters were charming or witty as they had been in the past. Everyone, including the protagonists, behaved rudely and strangely.

Another thing that bothered me while reading the book was that Claire and Caron have always been portrayed as lower to middle class, barely making ends meet, living in a small apartment, driving a beat up old car, and generally living without any luxury. You'd imagine that this formerly single mother and child who had never been able to travel would be in awe of the history and culture around them and thrilled to see ancient sites. They are on a first class trip to Egypt, no expense spared, and they don't seem to care. In fact they complain. A lot.

It was as if, inspired by her trip to Egypt with Elizabeth Peters (this is mentioned in an afterward) Hess felt compelled to do an homage and so crammed a story that wasn't very interesting or well-paced into her vacation diary.

This was so much fun, it almost makes up for no Amelia Peabody book (written by Elizabeth Peters) this year. I got to visit Luxor again.

I enjoy all of Joan Hess's books and was so excited to finally get this one that I just opened it and started reading. By the time I was on page 50 it felt so familiar that I had to stop and investigate. I turned back to the front of the book and found that it was dedicated to Barbara Mertz also known as the Elizabeth Peters mentioned above. And in the endnotes you find that Joan Hess actually went to Luxor with Barbara Mertz/Miss Peters -- what a dream trip!

I really enjoyed the book but I kept expecting Amelia and Emerson (from the Peters' books) to suddenly appear at one of the cocktail get-togethers. They would have had to time-travel forward 80 years but it would have been great. (I think maybe a descendant was there.) The names and characters and settings were all so familiar and to have Claire, Peter, Caron and Inez there was twice as fun.

Peter and Claire are finally married, she gets involved with stuff she shouldn't, as usual. Bringing Inez and Caron along on the honeymoon was hilarious. I'm still not sure who two of the English women were (red herrings, I guess). But I did enjoy the book a lot.

It will be fun to see if Miss Hess stays with this storyline with Peter as CIA (or whatever) and lets Claire travel to solve more international mysteries or takes them back home to Arkansas and the bookstore.
-cba

Joan Hess is my favourite author, her humour and skilful writing bringing her zany plots to life. Before I received this book, I had just re-read her The night-blooming cereus (a Theo Bloomer mystery) she wrote under the name Joan Hadley, and this latest and most rounded of the Claire Malloy series reminds me very much of the earlier book. I think it is a great blend of humour and mystery and an introduction to Egypt; I found her view of Egypt and tourism very informative, as well as giving opportunity for crazy sub-plots and even crazier people. Not her funniest, but her most thoughtful.

Arkansas bookseller Claire Malloy and Lieutenant Peter Rosen tie the knot. Peter disappeared after the wedding, going to Egypt on business where he will meet up with his bride for the honeymoon in Luxor. Claire understands her Peter will vanish periodically because he works with Egyptian authorities in connection with a newly formed terrorist organization.

Also on the honeymoon are Claire's seventeen year old daughter Caron and her friend Inez. The three ladies are quickly absorbed into the expatriate community, of who many are not what they seem as they have hidden agendas that arouse Claire's suspicions. The girls believe a mustached man with a scar is following them. They tell Claire and Peter that they were late because they eluded this stalker. While sightseeing, one of the female visitors is kidnapped by men on horses; her lover persuades Claire to help him find her, but he disappears too. Soon expatriates are killed allegedly linked to an undiscovered tomb. Claire investigates with a need to know what is going on amidst the tourist trap.

The latest Claire Malloy book is a delightful, charming and hilarious amateur sleuth tale that refreshes the series by moving the heroine from the States to Egypt where she and readers meet an eccentric cast. Armchair travelers will thoroughly enjoy the tour of Luxor, but make no mistake it is Claire's investigation that carries the plot. Although why the student asked Claire to make inquires seems odd, fans will appreciate this charming complicated cozy as no one except Claire and her retinue is what they purport to be; thus much of the fun is figuring out just who each of these masqueraders truly is.

Harriet Klausner

I couldn't wait for this book to end! The characters repeatedly do the same activities over and over again.....eat a meal, go shopping, or visit an ancient temple. I think the author was trying to make the book humorous, but it didn't come off that way. The characters seemed rude and very strange. The ending was so convoluted that I really still don't know "whodunit" and I don't care! Total waste of time, reading this book!

I have been reading this series from the beginning, some are better than others and this is among the best. I like the tribute to Elizabeth Peters, who writes mysteries in Egypt, but it was definitely still a Joan Hess mystery.

Claire has married her long-time boyfriend, Peter and has gone to Egypt for her honeymoon with her teenage daughter Caron and her best friend Inez. Peter is taking lessons in espionage or has left the police force for a more global organization and leaves Claire to her own devices for most of the story. Once the long list of eccentric characters' stories get muddled and a fellow-traveler is kidnapped; the lazy trip to Egypt to look at ruins and to shop becomes a sleuthing tour for Claire.

Funny and enjoyable, I also found the mystery to be a good one as well.