Restored to Death [Large Print] [Paperback]

Nancy Bell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2003

Restored to Death introduces Jackson Crain, a widowed county judge who lives with his delightfully idiosyncratic thirteen-year-old daughter.

When his deceased wife’s sister is bludgeoned to death, and her husband, Ron Hughes, is accused of the crime, the judge decides to assist the investigation. Things do not look good for Ron, who is rumored to be having an affair with the red-haired waitress at the town’s only cafe.

Soon a young vagrant girl is discovered: she has been bludgeoned to death, too. As Judge Crain explores further, he is surprised to find a possible connection between the murdered girl and a new woman in town whom he finds attractive.

Full of quirky characters like the gossip-laden ladies down at the Knitter’s Nook, Restored to Death is the start of another top-notch series from Nancy Bell.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

All you fans of Bell's six cozies about small-town Texan Biggie Weatherford and her 12-year-old grandson, J.R. (Biggie and the Meddlesome Mailman, etc.), should saunter on down to Post Oak, Tex., and meet Judge Jackson Crain and his 13-year-old daughter, Patty. The judge's beloved wife has been dead for two years, and the ladies of the town, particularly Dora, his shrewish sister-in-law, are determined to find him a nice, motherly replacement. Dora's henpecked husband, Ron, has found consolation in the arms of Muriel, the waitress at a popular restaurant. The day after Dora ridicules Ron's request for a divorce, she turns up dead on the patio. Whom would you suspect? Meanwhile, in the mansion on the hill, the elderly couple purported to be the town's wealthiest citizens are being plagued by noisy intruders in the attic and mysterious fires in the living room. Then a farmer's son stumbles across a pretty girl, naked and dead in his field. Everyone expects Jackson to sort it all out, but he's having serious distractions of his own in the form of an exotic newcomer with whom he's fallen hopelessly in love. Bell's plot sprawls like its location, but it all comes together in a most unexpected and gratifying conclusion.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Praise for Restored to Death

"Fans of Bell's six cozies about small-town Texan Biggie Weatherford . . . should saunter on down to Post Oak, Tex., and meet Judge Jackson Crain"--Publishers Weekly

"Quaint characters and locales, frequent humor, and comfy prose commend this to all collections."--Library Journal

"Restored to Death brings to life the townsfolk (and a few corpses) . . . [of] down home Texas. Jackson is a delightful main character"--Midwest Book Review

"A reading adventure"--Cozies, Capers, and Crimes

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 317 pages
• Publisher: Chivers; Lrg edition (June 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0754072924
• ISBN-13: 978-0754072928
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars interesting small town regional mystery, March 1, 2003

By 

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

This review is from: Restored to Death: A Judge Jackson Crain Mystery (Hardcover)

Post Oak, Texas is a very tiny town where everyone seems to know one another, even their darkest secrets. To the surprise of the locals, the single father of a teen, Judge Jackson Crain, is seeing a visiting outsider preservationist out in the open. However, the county magistrate, like everyone except one person, has no idea who strangled his sister-in-law Dora Hughes and a transient. Jackson investigates, as he needs to know.

Still, in spite of the two murders, the women continue to meet at the Knit Shop to share tidbits about anyone who is not there. On the other hand the men never gossip except over coffee at the Wagon Wheel. While chitchat seems to be the cottage industry of Post Oak, the killer has struck at least twice but will the law figure out the identity in time to stop the culprit before he or she kills again.

RESTORED TO DEATH is an interesting small town regional mystery that brings to life the townsfolk (and a few corpses) so that the reader understands down home Texas. Jackson is a delightful main character, but even he seems overwhelmed by the obvious typecasting that engulfs him. The who-done-it pales next to the ensemble cast so that Nancy Bell's tale is not quite a Biggie.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars mystery doesn't quite work, June 27, 2003

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Restored to Death: A Judge Jackson Crain Mystery (Hardcover)

When his sister-in-law is murdered and his brother-in-law identified as lead suspect, Judge Jackson Crain decides he has to investigate. Ron just isn't the type to brutally murder a woman--even a woman as cruel as Dora. When a second woman is killed, Ron would seem to be off the hook, but Post Oak, Texas is a small town and two brutal murders is a lot. Unfortunately, his investigation seems to point the finger directly at the one person he really doesn't want to doubt, his new girlfriend.

Author Nancy Bell offers a charming look at small-town Texas. The gossip, religious extremism, and kindness all ring true. Bell is also convincing in her description of battered and abused women--who, sadly, seem to make up the majority of the females in this story.

As a mystery, RESTORED TO DEATH is only adequate. It is hard to believe that even a small-town police force would fail to follow up on the connection between the two victims. For me, the resolution was so forced that I kept looking for the last chapter--the one that explained that the supposed solution was wrong and that the real killer remained to be found. Too much of the mystery was left as coincidence and meaningless.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reinforcing my enjoyment of East Texas towns., September 11, 2009

By 

Patricia Upchurch (Tyler, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Restored to Death (Judge Jackson Crain Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

I believe I recognize Post Oak and its inhabitants. It's about three towns down the road from me. I went to Sunday school with some of the people. Nancy Bell writes with an deep knowledge of the area. I hope Judge Jackson Crain will be around for a long time. The story began with a reference to Atticus and Scout and they would have felt right at home with all the characters portrayed in RESTORED TO DEATH.