Murder of a Smart Cookie (Scumble River Mysteries, Book 7) [Mass Market Paperback]

Denise Swanson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 7, 2009

Yard sales can bring out the worst in people. So when Scumble River school psychologist Skye Denison organizes a 100-mile yard sale, otherwise neighborly folk get downright nasty: her own mother creams a woman, and a battle of the sexes breaks out. But when her former boss is found murdered, nobody knows for sure how this cookie will crumble.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The quintessential amateur sleuth: bright, curious, and more than a little nervy. -- Earlene Fowler

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

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Signet (April 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451215842
• ISBN-13: 978-0451215840
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #243,494 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Smart Series, July 12, 2005

By 

TundraVision (o/~ from the Land of Sky Blue Waters o/~) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Murder of a Smart Cookie (Scumble River Mysteries, Book 7) (Mass Market Paperback)

Here's another fun little lite cozy murder mystery featuring Skye Dennison and her friends and family. This time, our hapless heroine Skye is on summer vacation from her vocation as a school psychologist in the small Illinois town of Scumble River - where she is in charge of her community's part of a 100 mile long Yard Sale along old Route 66. Alas, poor Cookie, we barely knew ye, but, as must happen to make a murder mystery, ye are dead. And Skye's on the case. The chapter titles in this Classic Route 66 installment of the series are apt and fitting from Classic TV: "To Tell the Truth," "Truth or Consequences," "I've Got a Secret," and, oh yes, "Murder, She Wrote."

Author Denise Swanson, herself a School Psychologist in Illinois, was paying attention in writing class when the teacher told them to "Write what you know!" The results work. The reader need not read all the books in this series in order - Swanson artfully gives new readers the background and returning readers a refresher course - but why miss all the fun back down on the farm? The plot and pace are perky. The style's bright and breezy. By the next book, expect a "What's it gonna be? Him or Me?" <-Do you remember? Can you sing along with Paul Revere and the Raiders?

If you live in small town, or used to, you KNOW some of these characters! Maybe you CAN go home again - at least within the friendly confines of this smart series. /TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars That's how the Cookie crumbles!, July 28, 2005

By 

Karen Potts (Lake Jackson, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder of a Smart Cookie (Scumble River Mysteries, Book 7) (Mass Market Paperback)

Skye Denison is looking for a summer job to supplement her income as the school psychologist in Scumble River, Illinois. She starts working for Cookie Caldwell who buys and sells antiques, but she gets fired after she reveals to an elderly customer, Mrs. Griggs, that Cookie is trying to cheat her by giving her less for an item than it is really worth. Her next job is as an assistant to her Uncle Dante who is promoting the First Annual Route 66 Yard Sale which has 100-miles of continuous sales in small communities along the old Route 66. Skye gets more than she bargains for when two murders occur. Added to this is the disappearance of her student Justin and marital battles between her parents and some friends. Skye is also torn between two men in her life and can't seem to decide which one she really loves. Denise Swanson does her usual good job of mixing interesting characters and plot to create an enjoyable "cozy" mystery.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The ultimate yard sale!, June 20, 2006

By 

Carolyn Rowe Hill "author of 'The Dead Angel" (Ann Arbor, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder of a Smart Cookie (Scumble River Mysteries, Book 7) (Mass Market Paperback)

Having just gone to a community yard sale in a small Michigan village over the weekend, this book (which I had just finished before leaving town) took on new meaning for me. Although the dynamics of the event were totally different than those in Smart Cookie, which takes place along a stretch of famous Route 66 in the state of Illinois, it was, nonetheless, a connection. It was 90 degrees and there were some great deals to be had, but, as far as I know, no one was murdered.

In Murder of a Smart Cookie, Skye Denison is a school psychologist in Scumble River, Illinois. Skye is in her early thirties and finds herself, once again, involved in solving a murder. Her Uncle Dante Leofanti, mayor of Scumble River, has roped her into organizing the First Annual Route 66 Yard Sale after his latest assistant bolted. Skye needs a summer job, so....

When a particularly unpleasant TV personality and her crew arrive, lovable Uncle Dante sublets to the crew the little cottage Skye rents. He does this behind her back, of course. Skye ends up moving in with Mom and Dad for nine days...and they aren't getting along. Shortly after the yard sale begins, antique maven and Cookie's Collectibles shop owner, Cookie Caldwell, is murdered. She may not be the most pleasant person around, but murdered? Why? Old Mrs. Griggs is not at all happy with Cookie after finding out that Cookie tried to cheat her on the price of one of her valuable antiques. Could Mrs. Griggs have killed Cookie? As the days pass, Skye gets more deeply involved in Cookie's murder, has to put up with unhappy parents, a friend contemplating leaving her husband, a student who has disappeared, a boyfriend who's out of town, and growing romantic feelings for police chief, Walter (Wally) Boyd. Another murder occurs and things get downright scary for Skye as county sheriff and bully, Buck Petersen, decides Skye is the guilty party and arrests her. In the end, the cases are solved, and life begins to return to normal...or does it? A good beach read.

Note: I thought the television show chapter headings were clever: To Tell the Truth; All in the Family: Name that Tune; Meet the Press, etc. Very clever, indeed. Enjoy!

Swanson's next book is due out next month! (Jul 06)

Carolyn Rowe Hill