Customer Reviews

Murder Over Easy (A Trailer Park Mystery #2)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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

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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Well, this one was real cute. The attitudes and local flavor of the people described could have been telling about my home town.
Mayrene is so funny and a typical "redneck" southern woman. She'll get her men back on way or another.
Cute second installment

I noted in a review for the first book in this series that I hadn't imagined that I would come to care so much about what was happening in the lives of the characters in that book but that by the end of it I was hooked. Wanda Nell and her family had come to life for me and I really found that I was worried about their safety and well being by the end of the first book. In this second installment of the series the author has come through with flying colors again and I have found that I am even more attached to the Culpepper clan.

In the first book the author introduced his readers to Wanda Nell and her family and friends, and an eclectic bunch they are. They run the gambit from Wanda Nell's youngest daughter Juliet who does everything she can to make Wanda Nell's life easier to some less than agreeable ex-in-laws and co-workers. One of the more disagreeable characters from the first book only makes an appearance in this book as a corpse and Wanda Nell's boss and friend Melvin Arbuckle is arrested for the crime. Melvin has come to Wanda Nell's aid on many occasions and in this, his time of need, Wanda Nell comes through for him and risks her very life to find the real killer.

The author has done a marvelous job of creating the town of Tullahoma, Mississippi and when Wanda Nell begins her search for the killer there are no shortage of suspects. Before long she finds herself knee deep in a sleazy enterprise that involved the murder victim and some of the most prominent men in town, including the president of the bank that holds her mortgage. Wanda Nell presses on though despite the fact that the police are very standoffish about digging in the dirt that she is finding. Her goal is to turn up more evidence than the police can possibly ignore and eventually she succeeds but the question is whether she is following the correct trail herself.

Just like in the last book, while searching for clues Wanda Nell also has to deal with family problems galore and all of the other trials that come with everyday life. Unlike most amateur sleuths in these cozy mysteries Wanda Nell has to worry about breakfast for her family and washing dirty diapers and such details lend a note of reality to the story. The only drawback to this book is that I was able to figure out who the killer was well before the end of the book despite plenty of red herrings thrown out by the author. Otherwise I found this to be a very believable, very well written and very enjoyable book. If you think that you have troubles, just wait until you get a load of Wanda Nell's life!

"Murder Over Easy" was great with one exception. The murderer was painfully obvious; in fact, I have never read a mystery where the "whodunnit" was quite so apparent. The characters & Tullahoma made me finish the book just because they are all so wonderful. There is a pretty big revelation about one of the characters, so "Murder Over Easy" is still a must read for this series.

I know some people like the ones in the novel. One of my friends is waiting for me to pass my copy on to her. Don't give trouble to a redneck woman who owns a shotgun. You could get yourself hurt. And don't knock around a woman who has access to a baseball bat. A couple men in this novel are lucky they didn't get Bobbittized.

It all starts when Melvin Arbuckle calls Wanda Nell Culpepper from the county jail. He has been arrested for murdering Fayetta, a waitress from the Kountry Kitchen that he owns. You might remember her from Flamingo Fatale. As Wanda Nell puts it, "she was conniving and two-faced, and those were her good points." Nobody is really sorry to see her gone, but Melvin and Fayetta had been fooling around outside work, and Melvin is now the prime suspect.

When Wanda Nell starts looking into things, with a little help from her friend Mayrene, they dig up a can of worms. Some prominent men in the town had a little something going on the side. Fayetta had been involved (she had a thing about running around with married men). Fayetta had children by four different men, three of whom are unidentified. It is suspected that she was getting a little child support under the table. There are some dangerous people involved, and a lot of suspects. Now things are being exposed to the light of day, and everything is hitting the fan.

The novel seemed to start out a little slow, maybe because some of the novelty wore off the characters after Flamingo Fatale, but things pick up as the novel progresses. The ending was a bit of a surprise, at least to myself. There is a secondary plot about Wanda Nell's family, expecially T.J., but that is a little transparent and not really related to the main plot. You might feel a little sorry for some of the characters, or maybe not. Some people get what they deserve.

I liked this second novel in the 'Trailer Park Mystery' series so much more because of knowing the characters. Not to mention, the writing was excellent, the plot tighter, and the subject matter so relative to today's world.

Our Sleuth is a single mom with children going through their own personal growth and issues. Her name is Wanda Nell and they live in a small town in Mississippi. Wanda Nell's life is difficult but she is amazing in her acceptance of it, and yet, there is the feeling of hope that surrounds her, for a better life.

Wanda Nell holds a couple of jobs just to get by. One is a waitress of a diner. Her boss telephones her and tells her he has been arrested for the murder of a co-worker. To be honest I figured out the killer fairly quickly, however, this did not stop me from reading to see the motivation. I'm glad I did. The crime was suspenseful but finding out about the life of the murdered co-worker was intriguing.

Throughout the crime plot, the Author deftly wove personal stories about Wanda Nell, her son, her young teenaged daughter and her son, and her even younger high school daughter. This story really focused on T.J. (Son) and changes in his life. I do not want to say too much and give the plot away as this life story of T.J. and Mom was so beautifully written that I had tears several times. For me, the storyline was amazing and fulfilling even without a murder, which of course, is what I bought the book expecting to read.

I heartily recommend buying and reading this book. I know it is older and out of print in some markets but, it behooves you a true reading experience and you will feel the effort taken to find it worthy of your time, in my opinion.

When her old friend (and boss) Melvin Arbuckle is accused of brutally murdering one of his employees, Wanda Nell Culpepper knows she can't stand by while the authorities send the wrong man to prison. She soon discovers that the victim, Fayetta, has been keeping some dangerous secrets and that there are several powerful and influential men in Tullahoma that would prefer those secrets stay permanently buried...and proving Melvin's innocence could be dangerous for Wanda Nell and those close to her.

On the homefront the hard-working single mom can't shake the feeling that something is bothering her son, T.J. While Wanda Nell is happy that T.J. has turned his life around she senses (correctly) that she doesn't know the whole story. She's also struggling with sorting out her feelings for her late ex-husband so that she can make room for a new man in her life. Add to that two jobs and one irresponsible teen-age daughter and Wanda Nell is just about at the end of her rope...

These characters could easily be real people and the author does a good job of making the small southern town come alive and drawing you in to the charater's lives. I guess the "Catch 22" of realistic characters is that they do some pretty ordinary things and the book does get bogged down with everyday mundane activities. The mystery as a whole was quite good although I thought the murderer was obvious. I spent a few pleasant hours totally immersed in Tullahoma, Mississippi and thoroughly enjoyed it. I would recommend that you start with the first in the series, "Flamingo Fatale" , which gives you the background on the main characters.

this is just a light and easy read, very entertaining, and soooo much better than reruns on tv. I will read all the books in this series.