Murder of a Pink Elephant (Scumble River Mysteries, Book 6) [Paperback]

Denise Swanson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 2004

When Skye Denison's brother forms a band called Pink Elephant, the town goes wild-maybe too wild. First, a groupie turns stalker, seducing the band members one by one. Then, one of the Pink Elephants winds up murdered. Who's to blame? Everyone seems to think it's the drummer-and now Skye has to clear her brother's name.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"When writers as sharp as Margaret Maron, Earlene Fowler, and Jerrilyn Farmer all rave about a colleague . . . take notice."
-- Chicago Tribune (Chicago Tribune ) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Signet (July 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 045121210X
• ISBN-13: 978-0451212108
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #96,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Last Dance for a Pink Elephant, September 13, 2004

By 

L. Kelly (Lakewood, CO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder of a Pink Elephant (Scumble River Mysteries, Book 6) (Paperback)

School psychologist Skye Denison has lined up her older brother Vince's bank "Pink Elephant" to play at the Scumble River High School's Valentine dance. While attending a band rehearsal before the dance, Skye becomes worried because the band members seem to be fighting amongst themselves. During the Valentine dance, a fire breaks out in the gymnasium where the dance is being held. After the fire is brought under control, a charred body is found by the stage. The victim turns out to be one of the members of the band, and the local police chief seems to be focussing on Vince as his prime murder suspect. With her proven track record in solving the town's mysteries, naturally Skye tries to solve the murder in order to clear her brother.

There have been quite a few strange occurrences in Scumble River of late, with the school fire being just the latest of them. Skye begins to suspect that some of the high school students may be taking drugs, which could account for their bizarre actions. So in addition to looking for a murderer, Skye finds herself searching for a meth lab as well. Also, a slick promoter named Moss Gibson has rolled into town to try to build a new amusement park, and Mr. Gibson is trying to get the local residents to sell their farmland to him. There's lots going on in Scumble River!

This series is really enjoyable in the way it depicts small town life, where everybody knows everybody else. One of the funny storylines in this book is how Skye and her new boyfried Simon must sneak around the town to keep their relationship out of the gossip mill.

All the different storylines are well tied together at the end, but certainly kept me guessing about the murderer's identity.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cruisin' Down the River, July 22, 2004

By 

TundraVision (o/~ from the Land of Sky Blue Waters o/~) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Murder of a Pink Elephant (Scumble River Mysteries, Book 6) (Paperback)

Here's another fun little lite cozy murder mystery featuring Skye Dennison and her friends and family. This time, it appears Scumble River and the surrounding communities in Illinois' Heartland are being visited by the plagues of Egypt: Fire, Flood, Famine, - and the death of the lead singer in Skye's brother Vince's band, the Band Formerly Known As Plastic Santa, now Pink Elephant. In keeping with the Band Motif, the chapter names are apt and fitting from Our Generation - like "Fire and Rain" and "That'll Be The Day."

Author Denise Swanson, herself a School Psychologist in Illinois, was paying attention in writing class when the teacher told them to "Write what you know!" The results work. The reader need not read all the books in this series in order - Swanson artfully gives new readers the background and returning readers a refresher course - but why miss all the fun back down on the farm? The plot and pace are perky. The style's breezy. If you live in small town, or used to, you KNOW some of these characters!
/TundraVision, <- that's my Amazon reviewer name, it's been that for a long, long time, & it will remain my Amazon reviewer name!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars upbeat amateur sleuth mystery, July 6, 2004

By 

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

This review is from: Murder of a Pink Elephant (Scumble River Mysteries, Book 6) (Paperback)

When Sky Dennison graduated school, she left Scumble River before the ink on her diploma was dry. After she lost her job, her boyfriend dumped her and she didn't have enough money to pay the rent, she returned home. Her uncle got her the position of school psychologist and after almost three years Sky realizes she likes living and working in her hometown, being close to friends, family and her lover Simon.

The high school sponsors a dance for the students and hire Pink Elephant, a band that includes Sky's brother Vince, to play at the event. She notices that two members are at each other's throat but her brother won't tell her why. At the night of the dance, a fire alarm evacuates the building; when Skye looks to see if anyone is in the building, she trips over the dead body of a band member. Vince is a prime suspect so Sky once again tries to track down a murderer so that she can exonerate his brother.

Although Scumble River is a small community, it has many of the problems of a big city including students taking hard drugs. While trying to find a killer, Sky always wants to find the methamphetamine lab so the sheriff can close it down and arrest the dealer. The heroine is tough when it comes to her students and her family, going the extra mile to get them out of trouble yet with Simon all she can think of is "Give me give me good lovin". MURDER OF A PINK ELEPHANT is an upbeat amateur sleuth mystery that takes place in a quirky town with zany characters.

Harriet Klausner