Silence of the Hams (Jane Jeffry Mysteries, No. 7) [Mass Market Paperback]

Jill Churchill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1996

Pompous, pig-headed attorney Robert Stonecipher is a major pain in the ham hocks. So no one is terribly upset when he's fatally mashed by a falling rock of hams at the new deli where suburban single mom Jane Jeffry's son works part-time.

But when Stonecipher's most obnoxious employee meets an equally appropriate end, Jane knows the fat's really in the fire. And though her homicide detective honey Mel VanDyne disapproves, Jane is determined to dive headfirst into this deadly daze of swine and neuroses -- and hunt a hog-wild murderer despite her own killer agenda as homemaker/PTA/church/community busyperson.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Housewife and sleuth Jane Jeffry makes her seventh outing in this breezy mystery of Agatha Award-winning author Churchill (A Quiche Before Dying). When loathed attorney Robert Stonecipher is felled by a rack of hams at the opening of a neighborhood deli where Jane's son works, she and her friend, Shelley, begin snooping. With reluctant help from her boyfriend, homicide detective Mel VanDyne, Jane uncovers plenty of skeletons in closets, all the while trying to find time to restock her own pantry, chaperone the school's grand night party and make peace with her teenage daughter. Complicated by plenty of twists and seasoned with wit, the investigation of Stonecipher's death should build reader appeal for Churchill's first hardcover, War and Peas, scheduled for release in November.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Jane Jeffry is irresistible!"
-- Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Avon Books (July 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380777169
• ISBN-13: 978-0380777167
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #821,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jill Churchill has won the Agatha and Macavity Mystery Readers Awards and was nominated for an Anthony Award for her bestselling Jane Jeffry series. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed Grace and Favor mysteries and lives in the Midwest.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, entertaining, absorbing, well written!, October 20, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Barbara Jones, Pullman, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Silence of the Hams (Jane Jeffry Mysteries, No. 7) (Mass Market Paperback)

Jane Jeffry, much beloved single mom and solver murder cases, takes time off from domestic chores and car pool duties, to probe yet another puzzling murder case. A much disliked neighborhood political figure is found dead under a pile of hams in the storeroom of a newly opened restaurant. And found by none other than our beloved Jane Jeffry! Clever yet endearingly klutzy, pretty yet never chic, Jane is never boring. Churchill has another winner here!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fluffy, but fun, February 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Silence of the Hams (Jane Jeffry Mysteries, No. 7) (Mass Market Paperback)

Jill Churchill never disappoints. Silence of the Hams continues the enjoyable Jane Jeffries series with Jane and Shelly investigating yet another murder in the wilds of suburbia. If you are looking for enduring literature, look elsewhere. If you are looking for a fun read, this is the right place.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars There is a sort of euphoria if you burn your bridges, December 15, 2003

By 

Mary E. Sibley (Carneys Point, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Silence of the Hams (Jane Jeffry Mysteries, No. 7) (Mass Market Paperback)

Hams are relevant to delis and lawyers. A lawyer appears under a rack of hams. Robert Stonecipher has made a nuisance of himself in the community trying to shut down people's businesses. Two mothers, Shelley and Jane, are bored with Cub Scouts and school awards assemblies and decide to team up to thwart Robert Stonecipher. Everyone shows up for the opening of a new deli and, as previously mentioned, Stonecipher is discovered under a rack of hams.

Under the circumstances nearly everyone in the community is a suspect until it is learned that Stonecipher died of natural causes. Next his secretary departs life and her death renews the efforts of the police officer, Mel, Jane's friend, to trace the possiblity that some people were being blackmailed by the pair. The solution to the mystery is of the psychological kind and is well done. The women, Jane and Shelley, along with Jane's son Mike, and Mel are delightfully rendered by the author.