A Quarter After Tuesday (The Light Foot Trilogy #2) [Paperback]

Jo Kadlecek (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 14, 2007

Jonna Lightfoot MacLaughlin is the new religion reporter for a top New Orleans newspaper. She has yet to have a date, a good news story, or even a bowl of jambalaya, but all that will change when threats of a voodoo fill her in-box. A suspicious death at a respected nursing home soon has Jonna uncovering plots of political corruption and running for her life.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

With her recent move to the New Orleans, Jonna Lightfoot MacLaughlin has opened her chocoholic heart to the local treasure of fried dough and powdered sugar, the beignet, and embraced the horror that triple-digit humidity means frizzy hair forever. Formerly the number one?and only?religion reporter for the Denver Dispatc h, her hometown paper, she now holds the same position at the New Orleans Banner , where the competition is fierce but the po?boys are well dressed and just downstairs.

She has yet to have a date, a good news story, or even a bowl of jambalaya, but all that will change when threats of a voodoo fill her in-box. A suspicious death at a respected nursing home soon has Jonna uncovering plots of political corruption and running for her life.

About the Author

Jo Kadlecek is a former waitress, soccer player, and high school debate coach who's always loved a good story. She grew up in the Mile High City of Denver before heading to sea level, first in Mississippi, then New York City, and most recently the Jersey Shore. In 2006, she joined the faculty at Gordon College in Massachusetts as assistant professor of communication arts. Jo is the author of several nonfiction books. This is her third novel.


[BIO corrected per conversation with Jo 4/18/2007]

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: NavPress (June 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600060501
• ISBN-13: 978-1600060502
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,040,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Quarter After Tuesday ~ Reviewed, October 1, 2007

By 

Novel Reviews "www.novelreviews.blogspot.com" (Every City, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Quarter After Tuesday (The Light Foot Trilogy #2) (Paperback)

As the religion reporter for the New Orleans Banner, Jonna Lightfoot MacLaughlin is a single woman looking for love and a good story. She's soon up to her neck in both. While visiting a local senior center filled with authentic faith, Jonna believes she has finally found good news. But after a resident's mysterious death, Jonna learns that someone may have dark plans for the small community.

Jonna's pursuit of a front page story leads into the heart of New Orleans varied views on religion and faith. The writing is solid and the main character interesting, but the pacing felt slow and there didn't seem to be any memorable climactic event. Only toward the last 1/3 of the book does the mystery begin to unravel and the pace increase. The villain is portrayed realistically and the ending gives hope for a third book and perhaps a permanent romantic interest for Jonna.

Reviewed by: Sandra D. Moore
[...]

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read, July 16, 2008

By 

FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Quarter After Tuesday (The Light Foot Trilogy #2) (Paperback)

It's 2004, a year before Katrina would pound the Gulf. Jonna Lightfoot MacLaughlin has settled in to her new job as religion reporter for the New Orleans Banner, having been recruited because of her stellar work for the Denver Dispatch. New Orleans is a world of its own, and Jonna is adjusting --- learning new vocabulary words, discovering new foods and drinking chicory with her coffee.

Pushing age 30, trying to stop smoking and vaguely hoping to lose 10 pounds, Jonna eagerly awaits and actively looks for feel-good stories that will draw in readers. But not all her leads look to be as inspirational as she would hope. There's the hateful graffiti displayed on the synagogue and the historically desegregated old-folks home mystified about the death of one of its residents.

Jo Kadlecek packs a lot into her pages. It's been going on a year since Jonna has had a date, and now in the course of two weeks, three men are vying for her attention: influential real estate developer Reginald William Hancock III, local councilman Stephen Dall, and a one-time blind date in Denver --- nondescript David --- who comes to town for a convention.

It seems that part of Kadlecek's vision is to break down stereotypes that her Christian readers might have of people who hold beliefs different from their own. Augustine's claim that "All truth is God's truth" is the lens through which Jonna sees life, whether relating to her neighbors or tracking down her stories --- from the crowd gathered around the tree-bark in which the Virgin Mary has been sighted, to the seemingly crazed woman who hassles the mayor, and the letter-writer who threatens Jonna with a voodoo curse. Confident in the basics of her own faith, Jonna listens to people with respect, not with fear.

As in Denver, Jonna's social network includes an older brother living nearby, her newsroom co-workers and an apartment-house neighbor. She's a bit of a loner, dedicated to her work and not surrounded by girlfriends who gather to chat about their social lives. This dynamic gives the series a charm that seems a little offbeat from --- and less cynical than --- "chick lit."

This, the second book of Kadlecek's Lightfoot Trilogy, stands alone as a self-contained mystery, though peculiarities of Jonna's parental dynamics and eclectic childhood memories will make more sense to those who have read A MILE FROM SUNDAY. It's clear that the trilogy will end with Jonna living in New York City, looking for new stories. Oh, and isn't that where David lives?

Kadlecek notes an extra perk or incentive for book buyers: that "all royalties from the sale of this book will go to charities and ministries in New Orleans."

--- Reviewed by Evelyn Bence

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read it in 2 sittings, July 17, 2007

By 

Alyice Edrich "TheDabblingMum.com" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Quarter After Tuesday (The Light Foot Trilogy #2) (Paperback)

This is a great book. While many think of this book as a chick-lit filled with romance, I found it more of a tame mystery with just a hint of romance. I really enjoyed the book. It kept me on my toes and intrigued to the very end. In fact, I want to know what happens next...when's book 3 coming out????