Customer Reviews

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

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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

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!

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.

Murder Carries A Torch proves what I've been claiming loudly for years: Anne Carroll George is one of the country's best writers, whether she bends her talents to literary novels like This One and Magic Life, or her Southern Sisters mysteries. Whatever world she decides to inhabit, you can bet she will bring that world alive for her readers.

In Murder Carries a Torch, Patricia Anne and Mary Alice are again drawn most plausibly into the most implausible circumstances, chasing a murderer through a snake-handling church in northern Alabama. The unusual religious characters are treated respectfully, the snakes are genuinely scary, Mary Alice gets a new boyfriend, and Patricia Anne is... well, the lovable and slightly acerbic Patricia Anne.

The best thing about reading all of Anne Carroll George's books is that you become part of a wonderful family universe. Visiting with Patricia Anne and Mary Alice is like joining a funny, interesting, eccentric family. George parcels out personal information much the same way you would get to know friends in real life. With each new novel, the joy of small discoveries draws you more and more easily into a warm, familiar environment.

For myself, I'm too impatient to wait for the paperback. If like me, you need your prescription of Anne Carroll George right now, add Murder Carries a Torch to your shopping cart. I guarantee you'll love this book.

Patricia Anne, Mary Alice, and Fred return from a trip to Warsaw, Poland, to visit Patricia Anne's daughter when they are greeted with a frantic phone call from cousin Luke (nicknamed "Pukey Lukey" by the Sisters because of his penchant for carsickness.) Luke has reason to be upset because his long-time wife, Virginia, has run away with the house painter. The painter is also a preacher and snake-handler, which causes no end of complications throughout the story. The Sisters accompany Luke to the preacher's church in hopes of uncovering some clues as to Virginia's wherabouts. They are greeted with a second body, which sets off the usual hilarious investigation by Patricia and Mary Alice. Reading this series of books is a bit like eating your favorite dessert. Each bite (or page in this case) is to be savored and enjoyed. I heartily recommend this delightful book and look forward to the next one.

Anne George has blessed her readers with another splendid Southern Sisters mystery! It's a humorous storyline with two very funny, very down to earth amateur sleuths. The author tells the story from Patricia Anne's point of view, with the occasional third person as well.

For those you who have yet to meet this hilarious southern sister duo, I will introduce you. Patricia Anne is also known as Mouse. She could be a Jeopardy contender, loves Wheel of Fortune and has been married 40 years to Fred, who greatly appreciates solid ground when he is back on it, almost to the point of embarrassment for Mary Alice. Then there's Mary Alice, who has her sister carry home something on the plane that shocks and embarrasses Patricia Anne. She is also a member of the Angel Sighting Society, widowed many times, and worried that her "sell by date" is near expiring and needs to get married this year.

In their latest whodunit, Patricia Anne, her husband, and Mary Alice are back in Alabama after a trip to Warsaw on a visit. As soon as they return, a relative, who they call Pukey Lukey, calls asking for help. His wife has disappeared and he thinks she ran off with a preacher. The cousins agree to help and this takes them to Chandler Mountain where they meet a variety of characters who are so diverse in personalities that it isn't possible to confuse them. One is a sheriff who seems to cause a personality change in Mary Alice whenever he is near. Once at the church on the mountain, they find a victim. She isn't the one they are looking for, but they are still involved because Luke is seriously attacked during the visit and they have to find out why. Later another victim is found, and now things are looking frightening for Luke's wife. The sisters aren't sure who or what is causing the deaths and near tragic happenings. Did the strange things they use during the unusual church services cause it or is it the Chandler Mountain Booger? That's something I think readers will enjoy finding out as they read Murder Carries a Torch.

While the mystery carries on, there is interaction with other members of the family, one being emails between Patricia Anne and her daughter-the grown and married Haley. The interaction blended well with the mystery since it was a relative they were helping, and watching the interaction with other relatives varied from sweet to an absolute hoot.

I enjoyed this mystery from page one. The personality and humor of the characters, all of them, are outstanding. The relationship between the sisters is priceless. The main mystery plot may or may not be one of a kind, but how it's written and handle is. Whether or not you're a fan or familiar with the southern sisters, any reader would get their money's worth with this mystery.

You want some kind of southern fun and a coincidental dead body or two? Anne George dishes both up in each of her Southern Sister "Murder" books. She can make you laugh out loud when you read of Mary Alice and Patricia Anne and their escapades. I have purchased and given sets of George's books as gifts to folks ranging in age from 30-80. All have agreed that these are fun mysteries. Murder Carries a Torch does not disappoint. George rehashes enough in each book of the series to keep the reader from feeling lost. The books do follow a publication date sequence, but reading them out of sequence does not hurt at all. Having emailed Anne George and receiving her reply, I am anxiously awaiting Murder Does the Dirty Boogie With Elvis. Treat yourself!

My grandmother wrote this book, so obviously I am a little bit biased, but this is my favorite of the Southern Sisters mysteries. I love the details about the snake handlers in the mountains of Northern Alabama. Not only is it very entertaining, but extremely interesting. Overall, this is a superb read, and one that no one in their right mind would want to miss.

In MURDER CARRIES A TORCH, Patricia Ann and Mary Alice (those outrageous sisters) find themselves trying to help their cousin Luke. Apparently his wife, Virginia, has run off with the man that was hired to paint their home. Luke is so distraught that the sisters have to step in and take over the search for Virginia. It turns out that the charismatic house painter named Monk, is also a snake-handling preacher. The sisters, always the first to find trouble, discover the body of a beautiful woman in his church and the search for Virginia continues. Of course, Mary Alice dressed in her new purple boots and matching cape bewitches another fellow who falls madly in love with her. This time it's Sheriff Virgil Stuckey, the officer in charge of the murder investigation.

I can only say that like the other books in this series, this is hilarious and a great way to escape for a few hours.

Anne George has done it again if you want to read a great book then get this one . I read this book in about five hours I couldnt put it down Sister and Mouse are still rolling with the punches and makeing me roll with laughter, Anne has another hit on her hands ! Also i highly recommend all of the Souther Sister mysteries and her novel This One And Magic Life its great . So for a great read give Anne a try and you will be hooked!!