Murder Carries a Torch: A Southern Sisters Mystery (Southern Sisters Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Anne George (Author)

Book Description

Series: Southern Sisters Mysteries | Publication Date: July 3, 2000

Siblings couldn't be more opposite than Anne George's hilarious southern sisters. Flamboyant, much-married Mary Alice, with her empress-sized figure and matching libido, is always on the lookout for her next rich husband, while prim, proper, pint-sized former-schoolteacher Patricia Anne is perfectly happy with her one and only, good old Fred. Yet with the sisters' penchant for stumbling upon dead bodies and matching their wits against the killers, this pair has turned solving murders info an uproariously funny partnership.Murder Carries A Torch

Just back from vacation -- where Patricia Ann spent quality time with her married daughter Holey and Mary Alice spent money on a pair of outrageously sexy hot purple boots -- the sisters are greeted by cousin Pukey Lukey who's in a terrible state. Pukey got his nickname from his childhood addiction to carsickness, but now poor Luke's problem is heartsickness. His wife of forty years, Virginia, has run off with a housepainter/preacher.

Cousin Luke is so miserable the sisters agree to drive to the top of Chandler Mountain in search of Virginia and her newfound man of God. But no sooner do the three start snooping around the deserted grounds when Luke goes into the rundown old church and doesn't come out. Mary Alice and Patricia Anne rush in to investigate, and there's Luke -- on the floor moaning and holding his injured head. Next to him is a pretty young redhead who isn't making a sound. She's dead.

Luke is taken to the hospital; Sheriff Virgil Stuckey is called to investigate; the sisters find out the faithful are into snakehandling -- and the sheriff falls instantly in love With Mary Alice and her purple boots. But all is not heavenly at the Church Of Jesus Is Our Life And Heaven Hereafter. A venomous struggle forsuccessor to the head holy man causes some to suspect the killing is the work of the legendary Chandler Mountain Booger, the region's own version of "Bigfoot." But Mary Alice and Patricia Anne suspect there's a real live murderer on the loose and they have plenty of questions to ask -- including who killed the redhead and bopped Luke, who committed murder-by-snake, how does Luke's still-missing wife fit info the picture -- and who tossed a live rattlesnake into the sisters' very own car?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sixtyish sisters Patricia Anne and Mary Alice return for more wacky fun and adventure in their seventh mystery in this popular series from Agatha-winner George. Soon after returning home to Birmingham, Ala., from Christmas in Poland, Patricia Anne and Mary Alice agree to help their cousin Luke track down his wife of 40 years, Virginia, who's run off with a house painter-cum-preacher with the Salinger-esque name of Holden Crawford. They start their search at Crawford's Jesus is Our Life and Heaven Hereafter Church, where someone hits Luke over the head and the two sisters find the neatly laid out body of an unknown woman in a pew. While Luke is in the hospital, the renegade preacher turns up in Virginia's car, dead of a snakebite. Patricia Anne and Mary Alice, aided by the local sheriff, unearth plenty of signs of jealousy, blackmail and adultery as they strive to clear Virginia's name and get to the bottom of her disappearance. Hilarious dialogue and small details (pimento cheese sandwiches?!) enrich a plot that's spread thin over past events and secondary players. Some questions are left unresolved, while othersAless important to the storyAare addressed by a person who appears only in the final chapters. Despite a weak ending, the eccentric characters and southern flavor should endear the book to cozy readers. George has written another genuinely funny mystery, and fans will be glad to see many familiar faces from earlier escapades.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Petite Patricia Anne and hefty Mary Alice, series sister-sleuths in their sixties, hasten to the aid of their cousin Luke, whose wife has apparently run off with a painter. They search for the woman and discover a dead body in a "snake-handling" church; much-married Mary Alice meets and flirts with the investigating sheriff; police find the painter dead; and someone "hides" a rattlesnake in Mary Alice's car. Loads of excitement, then, accompanied by sisterly repartee, mostly humorous family complications and narrow escapes; light reading for most collections.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1st edition (July 3, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380978105
• ISBN-13: 978-0380978106
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,335,325 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anne George (c.____ - 2001) was the Agatha Award-winning author of the Southern Sisters mystery series which culminate in Murder Boogies with Elvis, publishing in August 2001. Like Patricia Anne, she was a happily married former school teacher living in Birmingham, Alabama. Ms. George was also a former Alabama State Poet and a regular contributor to literary publications. During her lifetime she was nominated for several awards, including the Pulitzer. Being a true lady of the Old South, her date of birth will forever be a mystery.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fun cosy, July 4, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder Carries a Torch: A Southern Sisters Mystery (Southern Sisters Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Birmingham, Alabama's Southern Sisters are tired after just returning home from spending two weeks in Warsaw, Poland celebrating the wedding of Patricia Anne's daughter. However, their idyllic breather ends even before it begins when cousin Luke "Puke" Nelson asks for their help. Apparently, Virginia, Luke's wife of forty years, left him for a house painter, Holden "Monk" Crawford. Reluctantly Patricia Anne agrees to accompany her more enthusiast sibling Mary Alice in finding the runaway.

Mouse and Sister as Patricia Anne and Mary Alice are more commonly known trace Virginia and Monk to a remote church on Mount Chandler. However, instead of finding the runaways, the Southern Sisters find the corpses of two murdered people, neither being Monk or Virginia. As they continue their inquiries, Sister and the local Sheriff seem stuck on one another. Ultimately, they locate a dead Monk, but they still have not found the missing Virginia.

Fans of the series will fully enjoy the seventh cozy in the Southern Sisters series. MURDER CARRIES A TORCH centers more on Mouse's humorous asides with the reader about the excessive behavior of Sister than on detective work. Still, that should not surprise fans of the series, as that is the essence of all the novels.

Harriet Klausner

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid Gold for Mystery Lovers!, July 9, 2000

By 

Karen Vincent "spikeyv" (New Orleans, LA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Murder Carries a Torch: A Southern Sisters Mystery (Southern Sisters Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Anne George continues to top herself with each Southern Sisters mystery. I became interested in them initially, because I, too, had an Aunt Sister, but the lively plots and characters keep me coming back again and again. There are very few books that make me laugh out loud, but these do and in particular, her latest entry. Patricia Ann and Mary Alice get mixed up with snake-handling holy rollers and all hell breaks loose! I could not put it down and literally read all night. Don't miss this one!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anne George Does It Again!, July 7, 2000

By 

"cherrycocacola" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder Carries a Torch: A Southern Sisters Mystery (Southern Sisters Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I love the Southern Sisters Mystery series by Anne George. Murder Carries a Torch is the seventh serving of this wonderful series. Sister and Mouse encounter a missing cousin, snake-handlers and two murders on this latest romp thru Birmingham and places nearby. Most authors get stale after writing about the same characters, but not Anne George. The seventh book is as fresh as the first. My only regret is that I'll have to wait another year before another Southern Sister Mystery comes out. I don't know if I can stand the suspense. If you are looking for a lighthearted good read with a heart, you need to read Murder Carries A Torch.