Customer Reviews

Murder Talks Turkey (The Yooper Mysteries)

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

 

 

Although I have several of her Dolls To Die For Mysteries on my bookshelves, Murder Talks Turkey is the first Deb Baker novel that I've read, actually. What a hoot! Yep, her other books have now moved waaaaaaaay up on my TBR list. I'll admit, before reading this book, I had NO clue as to the definition of a Yooper - in fact, I don't believe I've ever heard the term before. Shocking, eh? Deb Baker does the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and its inhabitants proud.

Having spent the majority of my life in places in the West where absolutely everyone over the age of 10 knows how to use a firearm - the enclave of quirky characters residing in Stonely, Michigan totally resonates with me. Gertie Johnson, 66-year-old grandmother and widow, along with her good friends Cora Mae and Kitty, make up the Trouble Buster Investigative Company. Although their business is in its infancy, they have garnered their first real paying client - sort of. The investigation has barely gotten off the ground, when the Stonely Credit Union is robbed, with Gertie and Cora Mae inside. The robber is brought down by gunfire, but the real mystery begins when none of the sheriff's men take credit for the kill, and the dead robber is found to be holding a bag full of play money.

What transpires is a testament to Murphy's Law, "what can go wrong, will go wrong," and it does - with a vengeance. It reminds me of when one hears a story that is so incredibly unbelievable that it just might be true. Who could make up this stuff, you know? Gertie gets herself in so much hot water that there doesn't seem to be ANY way out, but with the help of her good friends and family (even the irascible Grandma Johnson), Gertie manages to come out smelling like a rose, albeit a bit worse for wear.

The book is very fast paced - I read it in just an afternoon. The characters are full-bodied and enjoyable, and Gertie's sarcastic wit had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion. The ending portends interesting things to come - I'll definitely be on the look out for the next Yooper Mystery!

Carol Ann Hopkins 5/5/2008

When 66 year old widow Gertie Johnson and her friend Cora Mae are in line at the credit union, waiting to cash their Social Security checks on that blustery cold April day, the last thing they thought they'd have to contend with was a bank robbery. Not a lot ever happens in the tiny town of Stonely, Michigan, and this event promised to be something to talk about for weeks. But one of the tellers hits the panic button and the local inept Deputy Sheriff Dickey Snell comes running to the rescue, just as a sniper from a rooftop across the street shoots the robber square between the eyes as he's coming out of the safe carrying a pillowcase full of what turns out to be Monopoly money. Something is mighty funny about this whole business, and Gertie soon recruits her partners in Trouble Busters (their fledgling "detective" business) to figure out what's going on. But before she can get a handle on things, the sniper is found dead with a bullet between his eyes lying behind Gertie's truck with her gun smoking on the ground next to him. Hiding her flaming red hair (the result of a haircoloring accident that she has grown to like) under a series of Cora Mae's wigs, Gertie goes undercover, trusting only a few people to help her find out where the real money went and who keeps killing people. Having to contend with her crotchety 92 year old senile mother-in-law and her mentally addled son, Sheriff Blaze Johnson who is recovering slowly from a near-fatal round of meningitis, Gertie has her hands full this time around.

I really enjoy this series of books. The characters crack me up and the story this time was complicated enough that every time I thought I knew who the bad guy was, I was wrong. I did finally figure it out, but the story was hilarious all the way through to the end. Lord, I wish I knew these gals!

Laugh out loud, fun mystery. Gertie, along with her posse Cora Mae and Kitty will find the answers no matter how much it drives her sheriff son crazy.

It's "The Fugitive," geriatric-style, in Deb Baker's third Yooper mystery featuring sixty-six year-old Gertie Johnson. When a bank robber misguidedly attempts to rob the bank (not the brightest decision in a town where nearly all the citizens fulfill their right to bear arms) and is shot dead, you would think that the case would be closed. It would be if not for the fact that no one is owning up to shooting the robber, and while the bank is showing a loss of funds the bag of money held by the criminal was from a Monopoly game. With the sheriff, Gertie's son Blaze, suffering from Malaria-induced Vietnam flashbacks that make him even less helpful than usual, the replacement deputy is bent on solving the case; especially when al the evidence seems to point towards Gert. A body is left by her pickup truck with her son's weapon left by the corpse, so Gert goes on the lam aided and hindered by her best friends and mother-in-law. Wigged out, undercover, and destroying a few law enforcement vehicles, Gert is determined to protect her family and prove her innocence.

Once again Baker creates a delightful mystery with a heroine who is feisty, strong, and never a caricature. Despite its cast of comical and unique characters the plot never takes a second seat and carries the reader swiftly through to the end. Full of humor with a surprising amount of emotional resonance as Gert finds herself isolated and persecuted, Death Talk Turkeys continues to entertain in this strong series with completely original characters and a fun plot.

Hope this series continues. I find them truly funny and the characters are a set of the most colorful types I have met. At some time in my life I have seen most of them, but to have them all working together, or at odds,is truly hilarious.

I had really begun to enjoy Deb Baker's Yooper mysteries, but this one was a disappointment. It started off promising, but Gertie's anticts quickly went "over the top" and became totally unbelievable. I was also disappointed that the author had Gertie hopping in the sack with George without the benefit of marriage. Called me old fashioned, but I think the book would have been far more romantic if it had ended with a wedding.

I liked the first 2 Yooper mysteries much better, and I felt like I was ripped off paying as much as I did for this book.

In Deb Baker's favor, I appreciate that she doesn't lace her books with curse words and graphic sex.

If you haven't read Deb Baker's other Yooper mysteries, you are way behind. I loved MURDER PASSES THE BUCK so much I went out and found Deb at a booksigning to tell her that she'd captured the characters in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (Yoopers) dead on. Whether real or creations of Deb's mind, they're rugged individuals with heart and humor. Gertie and her friends will charm you even if you've never been north of Detroit.

I introduced my husband to the series, and he read as eagerly as I. We waited anxiously for MURDER GRINS AND BEARS IT and even longer for MURDER TALKS TURKEY. Neither was a disappointment. Gertie is true to herself and always in trouble, and the surrounding cast of characters, the setting, and even the crimes they solve are all top-notch and great fun, so enjoy.

"Gertie", the main character, thinks the rules apply to everyone but her. There's no doubt she is a bane to the county sheriff, her son.
The capers in which she and her friends become involved are ludricrous.
Sorry, but by no scope of the imagination can I visualize these as real characters.
If the author would rein in the character to a more realistic 66 year-old character, I am willing to give her books another opportunity to win me over.
Due to an oversight on my part, I paid $9.99 for this book, instead of $0.99.
(I have many favorite authors and would have preferred to have spent money on one of their books.) I believe the publisher has the book mis-priced. It is closer to being a $0.99 book rather than a $9.99.