Murder of a Royal Pain: A Scumble River Mystery (Center Point Premier Mystery (Large Print)) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Denise Swanson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Center Point Premier Mystery (Large Print) | Publication Date: June 2009

When school psychologist Skye Denison stumbles over the body of pushy “Promfest” chairperson Annette Paine during a Halloween fundraiser, it looks like a clear-cut case of promicide. Annette was not the only prom mom desperate to see her daughter crowned queen. But she was also wearing the same witch costume as Skye, so which witch was the intended victim?

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Denise Swanson has worked as a school psychologist for 17 years. This is her second novel featuring Skye Denison and Scumble River. Her first book, Murder of a Small-Town Honey, debuted to advance praise from the Charlotte Austin Review, Meritorious Mysteries, and BookBrowser. She is currently working on the next Scumble River mystery, Murder of a Sleeping Beauty. Denise lives in Illinois with her husband, Dave, and their cool black cat, Boomerang. For more information, visit her website: www.deniseswanson.com

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 334 pages
• Publisher: Center Point Large Print; Lrg edition (June 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602854866
• ISBN-13: 978-1602854864
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,651,797 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prom Overkill, April 22, 2009

By 

S. D. Beallis (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder of a Royal Pain: A Scumble River Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

I admit, I may like the Scumble River books from Denise Swanson more than some others might, because I grew up, and still live, in the Joliet area, where all of her books are set. I played in a band with the guys who PINK ELEPHANT is dedicated to (their band was called Plastic Santa in real life) and I know the dentist to whom this book is dedicated. The settings are real to me, and become sort of an additional character for me.

But I think these books, and specifically this book, stand on their own merit. In this one, Skye Denison finally has the help she has so often requested when the school board hires a social worker. But this new colleague is a bit over-zealous and soon has Skye feeling pressure to do more herself. So against her better judgement, she becomes the liason between the parent's Prom committee planning Promfest and the school administration, and is roped into volunteering for the haunted house.

It's at this haunted house that the particularly obnoxious chairwoman of the committee is found dead, the victim of an apparent accident where she ran into a rope. But who put up that rope anyway? And might Skye herself have been the intended target?

It's another fun romp through Scumble River, with the usual feisty characters and a good solid plot. It continues Skye's tale quite nicely, and sets up numerous possibilities for the next book. I really enjoyed it, and found it to be an engaging and quick read. It may help that I am intimately familiar with the settings of this book (I had dinner at Merischka's about 2 months ago) but I think any lover of cozy mysteries will enjoy this book immensely.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Book, Terrific Series, July 10, 2009

By 

Dee Marie (Cody WY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Murder of a Royal Pain: A Scumble River Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

For me, one of April's highlights is the release of Denise Swanson's latest Scumble River mystery, and this year was no exception. There's nothing not to like about the sleuth in this series. Skye Dennison is a most likeable and appealing personality. The reader wants to know her better, and as one reads through the series more and more is revealed about this school psycholgist/crimer solver. "Murder of a Royal Pain" is, I think, the best Scumble River Mystery yet. I highly recommend it. However, if you haven't yet had the pleasure of reading the earlier titles, I would recommend reading them in the order written. Have fun, the entire series is terrific.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Usually Love the Scrumble mysteries but................, April 25, 2009

By 

Sassy girl "Sassy" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder of a Royal Pain: A Scumble River Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

This book just didn't do it for me.
The teenage plot just left me a little disappointed. It was a good mystery, but just not one of her best. I had a friend who just finished reading this book.
She said it was just" so so." I said ,"I agree."
I always enjoy coming back to Scrumble River. This time, the book was just a little slow and the plot was not a memorable one for me.
I will look forward to the next one.