A Quiet Undertaking: A Connor Westphal Mystery [Mass Market Paperback]

Penny Warner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 4, 2000

Macavity Award-winning author Penny Warner knows there's no rest for the dead....

Life is never dull in the California Gold Country town of Flat Skunk. But deaf journalist Connor Westphal is shocked all the same when she learns that boxes of human ashes have been found stashed in a nearby self-storage facility. The space is leased to one Jasper Coyne, a bourbon-happy fisherman hired by the Memory Kingdom Memorial Park to scatter the ashes at sea.

Connor thinks the scandal will make great copy for her paper, the Eureka!--until Jasper is murdered and suspicion falls on Connor's own best friend, Memory Kingdom owner Del Rey Montez. Connor is sure Del Rey is innocent. To prove it, Connor must navigate mortician politics and skinhead teens to untangle the secrets of Del Rey's past. But when she gets too close to the truth, she makes an enemy who's determined to make sure the intrepid reporter bites the dust along with her biggest scoop of the year.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Penny Warner has created a fascinating community of eccentrics and a heroine who is charming, clever,  and funny."
--Jill Churchill, author of Fear of Frying

Praise for Right to Remain Silent:

"Wicked humor, warm characters, and excellent storytelling abound....Warner builds suspense every step of the way."
--Romantic Times

"A great who-done-it due to the warm, witty star...the entire series [is] a refreshingly unique reading experience."
--Under the Covers

From the Inside Flap

Macavity Award-winning author Penny Warner knows there's no rest for the dead....

Life is never dull in the California Gold Country town of Flat Skunk. But deaf journalist Connor Westphal is shocked all the same when she learns that boxes of human ashes have been found stashed in a nearby self-storage facility. The space is leased to one Jasper Coyne, a bourbon-happy fisherman hired by the Memory Kingdom Memorial Park to scatter the ashes at sea.

Connor thinks the scandal will make great copy for her paper, the Eureka!--until Jasper is murdered and suspicion falls on Connor's own best friend, Memory Kingdom owner Del Rey Montez. Connor is sure Del Rey is innocent. To prove it, Connor must navigate mortician politics and skinhead teens to untangle the secrets of Del Rey's past. But when she gets too close to the truth, she makes an enemy who's determined to make sure the intrepid reporter bites the dust along with her biggest scoop of the year.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Crimeline (January 4, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553579657
• ISBN-13: 978-0553579659
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,491,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't keep quiet about this one!, March 12, 2000

By 

Maria Y. Lima "Chickwriter" (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Quiet Undertaking: A Connor Westphal Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

Connor Westphal, owner of the local newspaper, the Eureka!, is always looking for a good story. When an incredible tale of unscattered human ashes falls into her lap, she knows it'll make great copy - that is until she finds out that the perpetrator, Jasper Coyne, was once married to her best friend, and Memory Kingdom owner, Del Rey Montez and that some of those cremains were processed by Del Rey's own funeral home. When Coyne turns up murdered, Connor begins to investigate, uncovering far too many secrets, lies and tangled relationships that could end in her own death.

Once again, Penny Warner pens an excellent tale with sidebars of lighthearted humor & eccentricities. Her complex characters, especially the deaf Connor, showcase all sides of the human condition and wrap the reader up in a tangled tale of intrigue and suspense. This is Warner's fourth book in the series and she is only getting better! A QUIET UNDERTAKING is a must read for fans of the amateur sleuth - and for those that like their murders a little more hard-boiled.