Murder, Mayhem & a Fine Man (Amanda Bell Brown Mysteries, No. 1) [Paperback]

Claudia Mair Burney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2006

For Amanda Bell Brown, turning forty is murder! How's a woman supposed to grapple with her faith when she finds herself in the middle of mysteries-and not the God kind?

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Funny, smart, self-deprecating, and strong, Amanda Bell Brown is the best private psychologist-sleuth to emerge in religious fiction in decades." -- Phyllis Tickle, compiler of The Divine Hours

"A sassy, intelligent, church-girl-whodunit romance! Get out the Godivas, wiggle into your fuzzy slippers, and enjoy this hold-your-breath read! Way cool!" -- Sharon Ewell Foster, author of Passing by Samaria and Ain't No River

"Claudia Mair Burney does a great job of blending mystery, romance, humor, and Christian truth to create a story that is hard to put down. I laughed out loud and I teared up, but I never stopped turning the pages. I'm ready for the next book." -- Angela Benson, author of The Amen Sisters

"Murder, Mayhem & a Fine Man seamlessly combines sass, smarts, and spirituality. Burney draws characters you love, and her page-turning storyline integrates faith beautifully into the plot. I absolutely can't wait for book two in the series. Sign me up for the fan club!" -- Lisa Samson, author of The Church Ladies, Songbird, and Club Sandwich --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Claudia Mair Burney is the author of Murder, Mayhem & a Fine Man, Death, Deceit & Some Smooth Jazz (both titles in the Amanda Bell Brown Mystery series) and the young adult novel, Exorsistah. She lives in Michigan with her husband, five of their seven children, and a rabbit. Visit her blog at ragamuffindiva.blogspot.com. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 301 pages
• Publisher: Navpress Publishing Group (July 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576839788
• ISBN-13: 978-1576839782
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,914,113 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ragamuffin.
Loved by God.
Amazed by grace.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Told with Style and Heart, July 7, 2006

By 

Eric Wilson "novelist" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Murder, Mayhem & a Fine Man (Amanda Bell Brown Mysteries, No. 1) (Paperback)

Despite a great title and cover, I was unsure if I would like this book. Would it be too chick-lit, too romance-oriented, for an average white male? Within a few pages, my doubts were erased. By the end of the book, I became a loyal Burney fan.

Amanda Bell Brown is one sassy, funny, and independent woman--Dr. Brown to her counseling patients. Her psychology experience draws her into a murder mystery, which soons threaten her life in a number of ways. First, she is assailed by a spontaneous combustion of the romantic kind, in her initial encounter with Jazz, a likeable cop. Second, she is drawn into the dark corridors of a Scripture-twisting cult, which seems to have been involved on some level with the murder victims. Third, she must face her own painful past or risk losing even more than she has already.

Humor keeps the book well-balanced, and there are some sassy, realistic handlings of the romantic moments. At the point in which I thought things would turn saccharine, Burney kicked things into a darker, grittier gear, never shrinking from some heart-wrenching scenes. Told with style and heart, these parts of the story are all too real, and Burney unveils the deceptions with masterful skill.

What's not to like? If you're searching for suspense, humor, romance, or Biblical truths applied to real-life scenarios, you'll find them all in this wonderful debut. I can't wait for the next Amanda Bell Brown mystery.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Murder She Wrote, March 29, 2008

By 

Donielle - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder, Mayhem & a Fine Man: An Amanda Bell Brown Mystery (Paperback)

In Claudia Mair Burney's, Murder, Mayhem & A Fine Man, it is Amanda Bell Brown's 35th birthday and what began as dinner with her sister turns out to be much more than she bargained for. Bell, who would rather have been at home watching CSI, finds herself, in a hot, little birthday dress and heels, doing some real crime scene investigation of her own. Carly, Bell's sister and medical examiner, gets a call and takes Bell along to the crime scene. On the scene, Carly introduces Bell to Jazz Brown, lead detective and oh so fine man. Bell is immediately smitten, as is Jazz, but tries to keep her cool when he asks her to take a look at the scene and give her professional opinion as a forensic psychologist. What unfolds next, amidst dead bodies and cult connections, is linked to Bell. She and Jazz then set out to find a killer and not only find the connection between Bell and the victims but between each other.

Claudia Mair Burney has written a charming and most enjoyable story. Murder, Mayhem & A Fine Man, the first in the Amanda Bell Brown Mystery series, is christian fiction, mystery, comedy and romance all rolled up into one cool package. Burney's writing style is fresh and witty, also reflective and thought-provoking without being over-the-top. Amanda Bell Brown is a riot. She is hilarious and very real. The seriousness and dangers of murder and religious cults were weaved in, seemingly effortlessly, with the plight of a single woman who tries to balance her faith, her desire for a husband and child, and some serious sexual tension all at the same time. Besides Bell and Jazz, there are other characters you will love as well. Rocky, Bell's pastor, and ex-boyfriend, will crack you up. I highly recommend this entertaining story. If this is not your usual genre, I suggest you give this story a shot. There is something here for everyone.


Reviewed by Donielle
APOOO BookClub

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars (RAW Rating: 4.5) - Murder and a fine man, December 9, 2007

By 

The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder, Mayhem & a Fine Man: An Amanda Bell Brown Mystery (Paperback)

Amanda Bell Brown is celebrating her thirty-fifth birthday by having dinner out with her sister, Carly, who is a medical examiner. Carly gets a call to go to a crime scene and has to take Amanda, a forensic psychologist, with her. The investigation interests her and Jazz Brown, the detective in charge, is one fine man who also interests her. She looks over the scene and offers some suggestions to Jazz, who wants nothing more than a date with her. During the course of the investigation, they manage to get together, but both have trust issues with the opposite sex, as well as remembered pain from past relationships. In addition, Jazz, who was previously married, has religious beliefs which conflict with becoming involved with another woman.

MURDER, MAYHEM, AND A FINE MAN by Claudia Mair Burney, also explores cults and the deviousness involved. Amanda has first hand knowledge with cults and uses it to help solve the murder. Her only problem is, she gets very close to the cult responsible for the mayhem. Will she survive? And if she does, will she and Jazz be able to bury their old pain and move on?

Claudia Mair Burney has written a wonderful mystery that keeps you guessing about everything right up to that very last page. It is well written and the characters are so well-developed I could actually feel their emotions. The novel brought out love, hate, religion, as well as cults and I found myself reacting to the emotions of the characters. I alternately wanted to slap them, rejoice with them and urge them to move on with their lives. It is a novel that is extremely hard to put down.

Reviewed by Alice Holman
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers