Out of Time: A Casey Jones Mystery (Casey Jones Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Katy Munger (Author)

Book Description

Series: Casey Jones Mysteries | Publication Date: August 1, 1998

Meet Casey Jones--an unlicensed, no-nonsense private detective who hides 160 pounds of muscle with an in-your-face femme fatale style. She's bold, she's bad and, most of all, she's nobody's fool. Underneath her wise-cracking, 100% Southern exterior, there beats a 14-karat heart with a definite spot for life's losers. With the brains to take on any challenge and the guts to impose her own brand of justice, Casey Jones has what it takes to be your best friend--or your very worst enemy.

This time around, Casey takes on a case that batters her once-sturdy body and threatens to expose her closest held secret. When her investigation into the case of a woman on death row sets her at odds with her hometown police force, Casey quickly learns that true blue friends aren't necessarily clad in blue. One by one, bodies begin to fall, while Casey holds her ground. She must race to uncover the truth before more people die--and before she takes the rap for their murders. With the help of an unlikely pair of bloodhounds and even more unlikely pair of bloodhounds and even more unlikely allies, Casey battles back to reclaim her client's life and her own, and to set a trap for a very clever killer. . .before time runs out.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Raleigh, N.C., gumshoe, 160-pound Casey Jones (first introduced in Legwork) has more than her usual hassles. Her current beau, a cop, is berating her for agreeing to look for evidence that could overturn a woman's death sentence. The woman supposedly killed her husband, another cop. Not only does Casey run smack into several police departments who won't help her, but someone tries to kill her. And whenever she seems close to getting a break on the case, she turns up near a dead body and the police are certain she's involved. All the while, Casey tries to fortify herself with doughnuts, fried chicken and just about anything else, at least until she can sort out her case and her love life. Casey's size and tough manner belie her Southern roots; in fact, she wants a man to wait on her and woo her but only on her terms. ("I've kept telling him that he's going to have to kiss my .45 caliber ass for the next twenty years in order to atone.") The atmosphere is thick with greasy foods and pervasive corruption, but Casey makes this is a delightfully funny read, perfect for a rainy afternoon or long train ride.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Author

This book is out of print in print format, but available in the Kindle store: enjoy!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Avon (August 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380791382
• ISBN-13: 978-0380791385
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #763,437 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Katy Munger is an American writer best known for writing the Casey Jones mystery series. She has also written under the name Gallagher Gray (the Hubbert & Lil series mystery series) and is currently writing the Dead Detective series as Chaz McGee.All of these books are now available in Kindle format.

She was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is a former book reviewer for The Washington Post and was a founder of Tart Noir, a subgenre of crime fiction created in part by Munger, Sparkle Hayter, Laura Lippman, and Lauren Henderson.

She began her writing career as Gallagher Gray, writing four books in the Hubbert & Lil series in the 1990s. During the late '90s, she began the Casey Jones series and is now writing the Dead Detective series, under the pseudonym, Chaz McGee. Beginning in 2012, her Dead Detective series will begin appearing in hardback from Severn House publishers under her real name.

Books By Katy Munger

Hubbert & Lil series (as Gallagher Gray)

* Hubbert & Lil: Partners In Crime (1991)[13]
* A Cast Of Killers (1992)
* Death Of A Dream Maker (1995)
* Motive For Murder (1996)

Casey Jones series
* Legwork (1997)
* Out of Time (1998)
* Money to Burn (1999)[14]
* Bad to the Bone (2000)
* Better Off Dead (2001)
* Bad Moon on the Rise (2009)

Dead Detective series (as Chaz McGee)
* Desolate Angel (2009)
* Angel Interrupted (2010)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smart and Sassy, March 16, 2002

By 

Sherrie Martin "sherchez" (Roanoke, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of Time: A Casey Jones Mystery (Casey Jones Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Since recently discovering this series, I have systematically worked my way through almost all of them, and love every single word of them.

Casey Jones is a big gal, which comes in handy in her line of work. Casey's a Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, PI -- unlicensed thanks to a long-ago brush with the law. In this story, Casey is hired by the no-nonsense matriarch of a no-nonsense family to try and save her granddaughter, Gail Honeycutt Taylor, from her impending date with the executioner. Gail is on Death Row for the murder of her police officer husband, and it had never occurred to Casey before to question her guilt. The more she digs into the case, however, the more she becomes convinced that Gail didn't do it. It doesn't help matters that Gail is almost suicidally apathetic and won't lift a finger to help herself. Casey's unorthodox recources and colorful associates make for a devilishly delicious story as she battles cops and bad guys -- and sometimes can't tell the difference -- while Gail's time is rapidly running out.

Casey Jones is a true-blue Southern belle, as is her creator, Katy Munger. She can come join my group of same any time! This book with its quick wit, sparkling dialogue, and stylish plot is not to be missed. In truth, the whole series is divine and I am just dying for the next one.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm Hooked!, July 7, 2001

By 

Carol A. Strickland (NC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Out of Time: A Casey Jones Mystery (Casey Jones Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Katy Munger was recommended to me because I love Janet Evanovich's books. Not as over-the-top as Evanovich, this book had its share of wit but combined it with a tight mystery plot and a horde of fascinating secondary characters. A writing workshop lecturer once told me: every character in your book thinks they're the star of it. Well, every character in this book COULD be the star of their own story because they're so wonderfully crafted and intriguing.

Even if the ending stretched out overlong, I didn't mind because it gave us the conclusions for each character's story, and by that time I'd come to care about what happened to them.

Casey Jones is a fascinating character, a little too much on the yang side at the beginning but who softens up during the course, a woman who makes mistakes but learns from them; smart and sexy, confident and not twenty-one. We care what happens to her. We care about the case she's working on and the people she's working for.

And it's all set right around my house! I was THRILLED to see landmarks of North Carolina's Research Triangle throughout the book, adding layers of our area's peculiar flavor to an already eccentric viewpoint.

So I'm here on Amazon to snarf up some more Casey Jones books. You go, Katy Munger! One question to you and Evanovich: how can your heroines eat so much and not gain weight???

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Evanovich Fans, Take Notice of Casey Jones!, February 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Out of Time: A Casey Jones Mystery (Casey Jones Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Out of Time is Katy Munger's second entry in the gut-busting and suspenseful Casey Jones mystery series. In the sequel to Legwork, Jones is in search of the answers that might prove the innocence of a young woman on death row. Unfortunately, the woman was convicted several years ago and her execution date is only a few weeks away.

Although Casey quickly becomes convinced of the young woman's innocence, her efforts to find proof to clear her name are challenging. Casey slowly uncovers evidence that leads her to consider several possible suspects for the crime - a conspiracy involving several law enforcement officials. Even more alarming, one of those suspects is Bill Butler and that puts a crimp in Katy's plans for Bill. Unfortunately for Casey, her client is running out of time - and as Casey puts herself straight in the line of fire, so is she.

Set in North Carolina, the Casey Jones series is not only characterized by a feisty heroine and plenty of action, but by a distinctly southern feel. And fortunately for readers, all of these elements are presented with Munger's devastating sense of humor. I mean, how often does a suspense story regularly make mention of Krispy Kreme doughnuts? (Needless to say, those of us who live or have lived in the south can sincerely appreciate Casey's weakness for this delicacy.)

If you haven't read the first Casey Jones mystery, Out of Time is easily read as a stand-alone novel. But I'll bet you a couple of moon pies that you'll be racing out to the bookstore to get a copy of Legwork soon after you've finished this book.