Nursing a Grudge (Hometown Mysteries) [Paperback]

Chris Well (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2010 | Series: Hometown Mysteries

What's a grouchy old man to do when two attractive women drag him from his assisted-living apartment to join a clandestine chili party? He almost has fun--until someone ends up dead. Now Earl Walker seems to be the only person suspicious of the way the partygoer met his demise. Can he solve the puzzle--and figure out his relationship with his new lady friend--before the home is closed down by state inspectors and all the suspects move away?

Editorial Reviews

Review

Chris Well does a wonderful job of describing the inner workings of a Retirement Community. His characters are well-developed and easy to fall in love with. Earl reminds me of a man I used to know who lived in a nursing home where I once worked (rough around the edges, but a big teddy bear inside). Jenny reminds me of many well-meaning college girls I know at my church. Together, the two make a humorous duo.

 

I eagerly look forward to reading more from Chris Well.

(Beth Gawlowicz Blissful Beth )

Book Description

Earl Walker is content being a reclusive old geezer until he is coerced into attending a clandestine party and witnesses a partygoer’s demise. How can it be that no one but Earl believes this was a murder? Can he find the truth—along with a little help from a beautiful lady?

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc. (July 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602603448
• ISBN-13: 978-1602603448
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #610,516 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Fascinated with stories from a young age, Chris Well always knew he wanted to write fiction. Following a lengthy tangent during which he became an award-winning writer and editor for magazines and newspapers (which, of course, is still "writing"), he published his first novel in 2005.

Chris' whodunit trilogy the Earl Walker Mysteries comes out in 2012 from Spyglass Lane Mysteries. He and his wife make their home in Tennessee, where they create the weekly comic strip drama "Best Mann For The Job." He is also hard at work on his next novel(s).

Chris is represented by MacGregor Literary.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Old Curmudgeon Mystery and Humor Rolling Along!, February 14, 2011

By 

Wolfe Moffat (Franklinville, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nursing a Grudge (Hometown Mysteries) (Paperback)

If you've been tired of the same old, same old these days, then look no further and see what Chris Well has in store for you! It is always known with Well that he'll have something clever cranked out, with a few laughs behind it all. In this case, the mystery and humor is cranked out in a wheelchair. Ah, c'mon. You think I'm kidding? Read on!

Welcome to Candlewick Retirement Community, home of Oscar the Grouch. Ok, not exactly Oscar the Grouch, but close enough when you meet Earl Walker. He doesn't like to be bothered, and that's exactly what a young church-going lady does as she takes him through a tour of the home! And between all that and a chili party among retirement friends, the bad apple of the whole bunch keels over and dies. So what's the big deal? People are always dying while in the old folks' home, right? What's another one? Well, Earl is set to get down to the bottom of it, and his years of driving a bus have taught him to always be on the lookout!

Oh, and speaking of being on the lookout, there might be a lady who catches Earl's interest as well. Things are moving quickly for this cranky old curmudgeon, and he's not sure if he likes it that way. Well, none of the residents like the fact that the home will be closing soon at that.

So, Chris Well brings old people to the table in his latest read. Or at least he keeps them in the home and makes it quite interesting! And not to mention laugh out loud hilarious! It was so good that there was more than one book. And I'm going to go read that right now. Thanks, Chris!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Christian Book Review Recommended Book by BOOKHEN2 Mary Katherine May, July 25, 2010

By 

BOOKHEN2 "m." (Minnesota just west of the Mississippi River) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nursing a Grudge (Hometown Mysteries) (Paperback)

This book is poignant, funny, a mystery, and a romance. Earl Walker is the main character--a retired bus driver. His sidekick is Jenny--a Christian volunteer from her church, in college training to be a social worker. Someone dies, and Earl suspects the death not to be natural causes. This is Christian fiction. Definitely. Excellent writing, interesting characters, and I don't think you will figure out WHO DID IT until the end!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nursing a Grudge, July 17, 2010

By 

C. Brown "writer" (OH, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nursing a Grudge (Hometown Mysteries) (Paperback)

Nursing a Grudge by Chris Well

A mystery

Review by Carole Brown

Book Cover:

What's a grouchy old man to do when two women drag him from his assisted-living apartment to a clandestine chili party? He almost has fun-until someone drops dead. But Earl Walker is the only one suspicious of the way the partygoer met his demise. Can he solve the puzzle-and figure out his relationship with his new lady friend--before the state shuts down the home and all the suspects move away?

My thoughts:

Nursing a Grudge is written by Chris Well and published by Barbour. This is not Well's first book, but in my opinion, his best so far. It's a wonderful addition to the mystery world. Wells delivered with his usual ability, another book that keeps your attention. Who would have thought a mystery with a nursing home protagonist could be so overwhelmingly good?

When young and blundering Jenny Hutton, with her inapt attempt at witnessing, forces her unwanted attention on crabby Earl Walker, sparks fly. She's determined he should "get out." He's just as determined to stay in his rooms and watch any TV sitcom available. Keeping to himself so that he can keep his wife's memory alive, will serve another purpose too: the less he has to do with others, the less trouble he'll have to deal with. He didn't blend with the activities and the other residents when he first came, and he doesn't want to begin now.

When Jenny and Gloria, with the big red hair and new name for Earl (Blue Eyes), plot together for his good, they unknowingly push him into finding the murderer of the most unliked person at the home: George Kent. The problem is it could be any of the residents for they all have secrets that pertain to Kent. Since they all have reasons to hate Kent, he digs into each person's life to find the answers.

Romance blossoms between Gloria and Earl, but he's not sure that's what he wants. She has an overblown personality, but is attractive and friendly and makes his heart flutter (it's not a heart attack, is it?). His lack of concern at dressing his best (for what he refuses to acknowledge is a date) is frustrating for poor Jenny. His feeble attempts at conversation with Gloria are touching.

Even danger enters the picture when Earl corners a fellow resident to ask questions. Obviously the murderer doesn't like it, because Earl is almost killed with a knife.

The whole story takes several twists and turns, including blackmail, with Earl pointing a figurative finger at several residents, but at the last, when all evidence points to the one person that he'd rather it didn't, he "confesses." In his frustration at his own lack of ability to save that person he finally turns to God.

One of the first things that caught my attention was Earl Walker's personality. Well did a superb job letting that shine through, and I loved it. Yes, he was grouchy, but he was also smart, with a dry wit evidenced by his constant gentle harassment of do-gooder, Jenny Hutton.

A cute tidbit that I liked was how Jenny, so taken up at first, with one of the male employees that got fired, toward the end shrugs her shoulders, and eyes a different man. Coming from the point of view of an elderly person, it was a particularly funny piece of information about the fickleness of young love that added to Well's book.

And the second part that enraptured me, was his ability to bring out the setting so well. Though there wasn't an abundance of nursing home employees involved in the book, the whole atmosphere shone through perfectly. From the activities room to the exercise room, from the cafeteria to the disturbingly endless hallways, each part played a small, but integral part in bringing the setting to life.

Chris did an excellent job with this novel. The flow of the whole story, the individualistic development of his unusual characters, the plot, all of it was written with a natural and smooth rhythm. I'd love to read more of his mysteries and look forward to it. He's just shot to one of the top spots in my mystery writer's list.