Murder Over Easy (A Trailer Park Mystery #2) [Mass Market Paperback]

Jimmie Ruth Evans (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 5, 2006

As if Wanda Nell Culpepper didn’t have her hands full juggling two jobs and herding her kids around, Melvin Arbuckle, her boss at the Kountry Kitchen, has been arrested for murder. The victim was Wanda’s fellow waitress, a woman with the personality of a snake and the reputation of a minx. She also had expensive taste in men—including some of Tullahoma, Mississippi’s big-shot businessmen. Convinced of Melvin’s innocence, Wanda Nell puts herself on the trail of a ruthless killer—and almost gets her goose cooked…

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Wanda Nell and her shotgun-toting buddy Mayrene are wonderful people to get to know.”—Charlaine Harris



“Wanda Nell Culpepper is a steel magnolia to cherish.”—Carolyn Hart

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (July 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425209245
• ISBN-13: 978-0425209240
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #342,014 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Trailer park tea cosy, October 9, 2006

By 

R. Kyle (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder Over Easy (A Trailer Park Mystery #2) (Mass Market Paperback)

Wanda Nell Culpepper is a divorced mother of three, who works two jobs to support her family, and lives in a trailer park. She and her beautician next door neighbor, Mayrene, seem real unlikely detectives, but they've now got two successful murder cases under their belts and there's probably no stopping them now. And this reader is particularly glad about that.

Ms. Evans has created a real small-town landscape in her mysteries. Everyday women with guts and common sense are solving their own problems and helping friends. Okay, they're taking the law into their own hands, but hey--that's where the fun comes in.

The story opens with Wanda Nell getting a call from her boss, Melvin, who owns the Kountry Kitchen diner where Wanda Nell works. Melvin's in jail for the murder of fellow employee Fayetta, who in Southern parlance 'deserved killing' but Wanda Nell certainly didn't want to see her boss get jailed for the crime.

So, Wanda Nell and her sleuthing partner Mayrene set out to clear Melvin's name. On the way, they discover a private men's club and enough scandal to set their small town on its ears. Plus, Wanda Nell has some surprises in store related to her son, TJ.

This novel might have deserved a five had there been more doubt in my mind as to who the murderer actually was. Also, I think Evans needs to do a better job of drawing her characters. Still, Evans has created an interesting and convincing world. I like Wanda Nell and Mayrene and I'll probably find more of her books to read.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fun regional mystery, July 5, 2006

By 

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

This review is from: Murder Over Easy (A Trailer Park Mystery #2) (Mass Market Paperback)

Wanda Nell of Tullahoma, Mississippi has known hard times, the worst being when her son T.J. was arrested for killing his father. She made a lot of enemies in the police department for investigating on her own this case, but in the end she cleared her son's name. She is now very happy, living in her double wide trailer with her sixteen year old grandson as well as her daughters while Wanda Nell works part time at the supermarket and full time at a restaurant.

Wanda Nell gets a call from her boss Melvin at the jail where he was arrested for murdering his other waitress who was also his lover along with about half the men in town. She was knifed so many times that her bedroom looked like something out of a slasher movie. Wanda Nell knows he couldn't have committed such a heinous crime and she starts investigating on her own to clear his name. She finds a bankbook that has a huge sum of money in it that her peer couldn't earn on a waitress's salary, a list of powerful men she was blackmailing and a key card to a club in which the movers and shakers belong and the women do more than serve food. Both Wanda Nell and Melvin's lawyer are worried, but the spunky investigator is determined that justice will be served even if she has to do it herself.

Fans of regional mysteries are going to find MURDER OVER EASY a refreshingly original who-done-it. The characters act true to type as everyone who lives in a small southern town knows and the heroine, who usually goes with the flow, becomes an independent tornado sweeping away everything in her path as she pursues the investigation her way. Readers will thoroughly enjoy this talented woman who practices what she preaches and hope Jimmie Ruth Evans will write more stories about this intrepid heroine.

Harriet Klausner

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great new series set in a trailer park, August 17, 2006

By 

Dawn Dowdle "Mystery Lovers Corner reviewer" (Lynchburg, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Murder Over Easy (A Trailer Park Mystery #2) (Mass Market Paperback)

Melvin, Wanda Nell's boss at the Kountry Kitchen restaurant, has been arrested for murdering Fayetta, another waitress. They had been dating. He asks Wanda Nell to help clear him because she helped clear her son recently when he was charged with murdering his dad. As if Wanda Nell didn't have enough to do.

Fayetta wasn't a nice person. She and Wanda didn't get along, but no one deserved to die the way she did. So, Wanda Nell decides to try to help Melvin in any way she can. She runs the Kountry Kitchen in his absence, hires Tuck as his lawyer, and does some snooping on her own.

She discovers that Melvin wasn't the only man Fayetta was dating. Plus Wanda Nell finds a bankbook with a large sum in the savings account. There was no way she made that money as a waitress. Wanda Nell works to uncover more about Fayetta's life and those she "worked" with, including a club where it didn't appear she was delivering food. But can Wanda Nell discover the truth without putting herself or her family in jeopardy?

I love this series. Wanda Nell is such a terrific character. I love how she interacts with her kids and grandson, as well as her best friend Mayrene. Tuck is a wonderful character as well. Wanda Nell's mother-in-law is as cantankerous as they come, but that makes it work so well.

The fact that Wanda Nell lives in her double wide mobile home with her 2 daughters and her 16 month old grandson lends a lot of credibility to the story. So does the fact that she has to work two jobs to make ends meet, and then it's still tough.

The setting is great and the plot has plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing who did it until the end. I highly recommend this book and the series.

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