Customer Reviews

Murder Passes the Buck: A Gertie Johnson Backwoods Adventure

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Adulation" meaning extravagant praise. I thoroughly enjoyed Deb Baker's start to each chapter with the "word for the day" approach, providing it's definition and having the central character, Gertie try to use it. As Gertie works to solve a hunting murder, she flies in the face of all societal norms and makes her son, the sheriff, determined to declare her unfit to take care of herself. Her friends provide the only means of support to help her solve the murder and protect her from her son taking her rights away. Thus, following Gertie through her quirky and outright funny trevails throughout this book is just outright fun. I can't wait for the next book to follow. This story is a clever mystery and moves along so well that I didn't want to put it down.

Picture Grandma Mazur of the Stephanie Plum series sporting hunting orange, living in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan, and trying to operate her own PI business, and you have the laugh-a-minute fun of Murder Passes the Buck. The mystery itself takes a backseat to the wacky characters, but if you love slapstick fun, you won't mind. I found myself laughing out loud every few pages.

Reviewer: Anne Godden-Segard

This is a fun book. I really enjoyed it. Right from the start you know the heroine, Gertie, 60 something, is no run of the mill granny. She has bright orange hair, a dye job gone wrong, and she just can't seem to stay out of trouble. From the minute she suspects that her neighbor, Chester Lampi's death was no accident until the conclusion, she's in it. And we, and her friend Cora Mae, also 60 something in her come hither outfits and an eye for the guys, and self appointed body guard, Kitty, are along for the ride. And this ride includes Gertie teaching herself to drive mid-investigation! She's seen others do it. How hard can it be? Whoops! She soon becomes intimately acquainted with a lot of Upper Michigan ditches. This all horrifies and worries her son Blaze, the local sheriff, who's ruled the death accidental. His mother is causing so much attention with her investigation that she's in danger and he fears for her life and even her sanity! (She named her three children after horses: Heather, Star and Blaze.)
What's especially attractive about this book is the age of the heroines - mid 60s. It's a refreshing change to have a book with mature heroines who can have adventures, get the job done and not even have to stop and take a nap!
And as for the word fun at the start of each chapter, I was very relieved to discover that I knew each one!

It's a hair-raising ride when Gertie Johnson gets behind the wheel, and readers will enjoy the trip. Unique characters, headed by Gertie, drive the action when her neighbor is found dead with a bullet hole in the head, fired from his own gun. Gertie believes it was murder, but the local Sheriff (her own son) thinks Gertie is out of her mind--and the tries to prove it. Sometimes Gertie's her own worst enemy, but that also drives the humor as she somehow manages to wriggle out of one uncomfortable situation after another. Bring on the next in the series, Deb!

It may be because I've been there, but I don't think so. Deb Baker's depiction of the UP is spot on, with characters and places drawn with deft phrases thrown in as if by accident. There are characters, not caricatures, in this hunting season mystery, and the plot moves along as quickly as protagonist Gertie does when she gets into trouble with her son the sheriff. Friends and relatives help and hinder in unique ways, but Deb isn't making fun of her cast. She loves them in all their eccentricity, and therefore you will too!

I enjoyed this book, but being a fan of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books, it was hard not to notice the many similarities between the two. Bad hair job - check. Crazy happenings at funerals - check. Overweight friend - check (and the way this friend was desribed in the book was a bit harsh).

That said, I did enjoy the word of the days and the references to the U.P. (as I am a Yooper and live just north of Escanaba). The murder mystery is great. I thought I knew who it was, then questioned it, then thought I knew again, etc. I like when a murder mystery isn't easy to figure out. The author's style of writing flows easily and reads quickly. This book is fun, that's for sure.

By the way, the correct spelling for our delicious dough concoction filled with meat and veggies is pasty, not pastie!!

Gertie Johnson lives in Stonely, in the Michigan Upper Peninsula, the U.P., where her son Blaze is the Sheriff and he lives on Gertie's East 40 with his wife Mary, daughter Star lives on the West 40 with Gertie residing on the middle 40. Daughter Heather lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her son, Little Donny, Gertie's favorite grandson, has come to visit for Deer Hunting Season as usual. Gertie's husband, Barney passed away not long ago and she is working on life without him.

Her friend Cora Mae, had given her a police scanner after Barney died. She finally hooked it up and was one of the first to know that her neighbor had been shot and killed in his hunting blind. Blaze tells her it was an accidental shooting, but Gertie doesn't believe that for a second. So the sixty six year-old widow decides to become a detective and do an investigation on her own. Let's just say Blaze is not happy or amused by this development and the fact that his mother is always just one step ahead of him doesn't help. What Gertie didn't plan, was putting herself in the line of fire, but she is not giving up until she solves the case.


This book is hilarious!!!! Gertie is such a capricious character and the others are more than quirky. Every family has a few unusual relatives and every town has its share of offbeat citizens, but this family and the town of Stonely are overrun with both, which makes this story side splitting funny. I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. There is a part with some sled dogs that had me crying with laughter. I also loved the idea of learning a new word every day. A great way to start each chapter.

Along with all the high jinks there is a wonderful mystery, plotted well, with several twists to keep the reader guessing. A truly excellent story written so well you won't be able to put this book down. I can't believe it took me so long to discover the marvelous Gertie Johnson and her Backwoods Adventures. Need a light entertaining book to tickle your funny bone and tease your mind, this is the perfect book for you. Gertie is a hoot and a half!!!!


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

I REALLY wanted to like this book. After all, I'm a native of Michigan, although from the southern part to be sure. Plus, I always like to support books about older people, since I'm now one of that category, too. But really now!

One of the supposed benefits of aging is the acquisition of wisdom and the foolishness of thinking one knows it all. In fact, the definition of insanity is to repeat the same action over and over expecting a different outcome each time. One can hardly wonder that Gertie Johnson's son Blaze (named after a horse she never had) and now the local sheriff, sought a court hearing questioning her ability to live by and care for herself.

Any responsible child would do the same if an elder in their family behaved the way Gertie does, with little or no regard for anyone else in the world. Especially as her husband had died just a bit more than a year earlier, and goodness knows, that'll throw anyone off-kilter for a while. In addition to bunches of stereotypes, she also makes way too many generalizations about the Swedes and the Finns and several other nationality groups who shall remain un-named here.

She's politically incorrect on nearly every page, but that didn't bother me so much as her continued insistence on doing stupid things. (I prefer to think she's politically irreverent, because she's not at all mean-spirited about it.) She's lived in the U. P. for too many years to not respect the climate and the weather conditions there. Having never driven any sort of motor vehicle in her life, it should come as no surprise that trying to drive a pickup truck in a northern Michigan winter would see her in a ditch. Several ditches, in fact. However, she does mostly injure only herself, physically, at least. Not that she doesn't sometimes do in others (not fatally) but it's about three to one in her favor.

So, with all these complaints why did I give this book 3 stars? Well, it is well-written, with a lot of good-natured humor, and it's very descriptive of the area and the people within the book. The geography is spot on. I just wish Gertie wasn't so hard-headed that she continually endangered her family and every other person in the book in her quest to become an investigator. It's certainly not the worst book I've ever read (and I did read it through to the end) but it's not the best, either. It's sort of in the great middle somewhere. I wish I could have liked it more. I'm not sure I liked it enough to want to read more of her tales, but we'll see . . .

I love this book! Murder Passes the Buck is one of those tongue-in-cheek mysteries that suspend reality enough that you can go along for the ride and just enjoy the wacky characters and their adventures. And these characters are a little wacky. Baker has set this book in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and peopled it with Yoopers (think U.P.'ers and you eventually get to Yoopers).

I have to admit that I was predisposed to this book because I do live in Michigan - but I am a Troll, not a Yooper. Trolls live under the Mackinac Bridge in the Lower Peninsula, Yoopers live above. I have met a few Yoopers here and there and they are different. The ones I have met are tremendously resourceful and hardworking and willing to eat any varmint that comes their way - all of which comes from living in a hostile climate, I suspect. Baker has created an entertaining and fun look at life among the Yoopers by keeping it farcical and light-hearted.

Our heroine, Gertie Johnson, has decided that her neighbor was murdered in his hunting blind and when her lazy son Blaze, the Sheriff, says it is an accident, she decides to investigate. She tromps all over the frozen North with her grandson Little Donny and her friends Cora Mae and Kitty and, along the way, teaches herself how to drive (sort of), dyes her hair orange (okay, that was an accident), and learns how to use a stun gun (OOPS!).

This book is very funny, the mystery is pretty good, and the characters and setting are fantastic. If you like a comedy/adventure mystery, this is right up your alley.

Did I guess it? Yes. Will I read more? Just as soon as the next one comes out!

I purchased all three of Deb Baker's books set in the Upper Peninsula. All were very entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the escapades of Gertie Johnson. I hope there are more Gertie Johnson books in the works!