Once A Thief [Mass Market Paperback]

Suzann Ledbetter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2006

Trouble.
It's all relative.

If there's anything Ramey Burke requires from life, it's harmony. But now her well-ordered existence is shot. Ramey's elderly uncles and aunt, Ed, Archie and Melba Jane Dillinger, are out of the slammer -- and the gang swears they've finished robbing banks for good. The geriatric felons have nowhere to go, so how could Ramey turn them away? Besides, what mischief could they possibly get themselves into now?

But trouble soon arrives when a corpse turns up in Ramey's front yard. Now sexy detective Mike Constantine is sniffing around the scene and Ramey's uncle is looking more like a murderer by the minute. With her own suspicions and family secrets to keep, Ramey finds that her life is definitely more law than order these days. And at the end of the day, Ramey has to decide if she can trust her aged kin -- but she can't help thinking once a thief . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The latest from the diverse Ledbetter (Ahead of the Game) is a crowd-pleasing, lightweight whodunit filled with unabashedly wacky characters. Lonely, sarcastic Ramey Burke is a "home-stager" (a person who fixes up houses about to go on the market) who has lost her husband and parents "all in a three-year span." When three aged ex-cons stop by looking for a place to stay, Ramey can't say no—they're family, and they're just out of jail. The addition of two uncles and an aunt to the household makes for a festive reunion—Aunt Melba Jane Dillinger whipping up a 40-pound bowl of mashed potatoes, Uncles Ed and Archie sharing secrets of the bank-robbing trade—until a corpse shows up in the house shrubbery. When the victim turns out to be an old acquaintance of Ramey's houseguests, suspicion falls on the Dillinger trio. Convinced of her relations' innocence—at least in the homicide department—Ramey teams up with sexy detective Mike Constantine to find the killer. Ledbetter has crafted a comic romance mystery that gives equal weight to all three elements and caps it with an ending that doesn't disappoint. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* In the space of three years, Ramey Burke lost her mother, father, and husband. The worst of her grief has passed, and she now lives in the old family home in a small town in Missouri, schlubbing around in her sweats and eating when she isn't preparing houses for sale. But her quiet life takes a U-turn when three long-incarcerated relatives show up at her door. Now senior citizens, her aunt Melba Jane and uncles Ed and Archie Dillinger (the Other Dillinger Gang) were once notorious bank robbers. With nowhere else to go, they promise to make themselves useful if allowed to stay. Ramey reluctantly agrees. But within days, the body of "Shifty" Falcone, the Dillinger's getaway driver, is found on Ramey's property. When attractive Detective Mike Constantine arrives on the scene, Ramey's placid life shifts into overdrive as she attempts to find the real killer, deal with her comical houseguests, and fend off a would-be suitor. Funny, smart, and moving, Ledbetter's original romance is a real treat. Maria Hatton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Mira (May 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778323005
• ISBN-13: 978-0778323006
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,273,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Suzann's mother taught her to read at age four, assuming a tomboy couldn't have her nose in a book and get into trouble, simultaneously. It didn't work, but somehow, Suzann's insatiable curiosity, smarty-pants mouth, tendency to make up stuff and love of Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden novels became the basis of a diverse writing career.

Suzann (www.SuzannLedbetter.com) is a Writers Hall of Fame of America inductee and received a Western Writers of America Spur Award for her biography, NELLIE CASHMAN, PROSPECTOR & TRAILBLAZER. Suzann was an editor-at-large for Family Circle magazine for over a decade and is a client of Greater Talent Network, an international talent agency.

In April 2006, Suzann's short story "How To Murder Your Mother-in-Law" will appear in Avon's DEADLY HOUSEWIVES anthology. May marks publication of her latest suspense/caper, ONCE A THIEF (Mira) and in August, SHADY LADIES, a biographical collection of 19th century nonconformists is due out from Tor/Forge.

Suzann and her husband share their Missouri Ozarks home with three retired racing greyhounds, two morbidly obese cats and way-more books than the children's library her mom hoped would tame the ornery streak Suzann allegedly inherited from her father's side of the gene pool.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A LIGHT HEARTED MYSTERY-SURE TO PLEASE!!!!!, May 8, 2006

By 

Lester E Williams "Les" (Lincoln, Nebraska United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Once A Thief (Mass Market Paperback)

Ramey Burke and her sister Portia Carruthers live in Plainview, Missouri. The sisters are the daughters of former Police Chief Bill Patterson. Nothing much happens to Ramey until one morning. There on her doorstep are three seventy plus year old visitors. Only these visitors happen to be family. Her maternal Uncles Ed and Archie and her Aunt Melba Jane, also known as the Other Dillinger Gang. Ramey's geriatric relatives have just been released from prison after serving thirty four years. It seems that the trio had taken a liking to relieving banks of their money.

The Burke household settles in to a routine. Ed and Archie busy themselves with much need repairs while Melba Jane took over the cooking. A discovery one night changed everything. Returning from one of his nocturnal wanderings, Ed finds a body by the driveway. Ed fears he, his brother or Melba Jane will be accused because they are ex-cons. He drags the body out back placing it underneath a brush pile. Ed is unaware the he is observed from the house by his brother. While Ed returns through the front of the house, Archie goes out the back. This time Archie places the renains in a trench out back. As he re-enters the house and goes upstairs to their bedroom, Melba Jane exits the house. Now it is her turn to once more trsansport the victim. She wraps the body in an old rug and drags it to the curb for the garbage man to pick up. This final disposal brings to Ramey's door Detective Sergeant Mike Constantine.

Uncle Ed becomes the primary suspect since he was the first person seen dragging the corspe out back. Mike takes Ed in for questioning. Before the two leave for the station, Ramey calls her brother-in-law Preston Carruthers to represent Ed. He is not a trial lawyer but Ramey figures he is better than nothing. Sergeant Constantine learns nothing from the old man and soon releases him. Ed is not the only suspect. There is Don Blevins who wants to be more than a friend to Ramey but she rebuffed him. Also Howard Chinn, the victim's stepson who stands to inherit from a life insurance policy. And of coarse there are the Other Dillinger Gang members. Through some good detective work, Constantine collars the murder and the motive behind the killing. Suzann Ledbetter gives us a light hearted mystery that makes you want to curl up in your favorite chair to read the day and night away. She must have had a good time writing ONCE A THIEF because I enjoyed reading it as I chuckled my way through it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars amusing lighthearted romantic mystery, May 3, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Once A Thief (Mass Market Paperback)

In Plainfield, "home stager" Ramey Burke knows she is all alone as she has been for a few years since her spouse and parents are gone and her living relatives are behind bars. Though feeling overweight, Ramey likes her current serene lifestyle in which she is involved with no one except clients when she finalizes the clean up of a house before it is placed in sale.

That is she was all alone, but now the state has freed elderly Aunt Melba Jane and Uncles Ed and Archie, who move in with Ramey. The Dillinger trio enjoys discussing the good old days of professionally robbing banks, which Ramey finds appalling and fascinating. However, when Ramey finds a corpse of a colleague of her live in relatives, the Plainfield police immediate suspect the Dillinger trio killed the victim. Ramey knows her felonious relatives would never murder anyone so she begins to investigate. That makes lead police detective Mike Constantine worried for her safety though he welcomes her intelligence and insight as she proves more than capable as a sleuth and definitely kissable though the case comes first.

ONCE A THIEF is an amusing lighthearted romantic mystery starring likable lead characters and her zany relatives. The whodunit is fun to follow as Mike realizes quickly that Ramey is more than just an asset on the case as he uses her help almost as much to keep her safe as for her insight. Suzann Ledbetter writes a comical wacky tale that her fans will fully appreciate.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a romance, May 21, 2006

By 

L. Matthews (Lake Charles, La) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Once A Thief (Mass Market Paperback)

Ramey Burke is a homestager with a overacheiving older sister. Her soulmate husband died right after her mom and dad. Her aunt and two uncles were incarcerated for bank robbery when she was a child. They are out on parole and have come home to find their stolen money. While, looking they help her come into her own as a person. Oh, there is also, a murder of the relatives' old getaway driver. She meets Sgt. Mike Constantine, who is investigating the murder. There are other accidents that happen too Ramey and company. The book leaves a lot to be desired in the ending. I can only assume there will be a sequel. This book is not much of a romance but it is a pretty good mystery. So, it you want a whodunnit more than a happily ever after this is the book!