Skeletons in Purple Sage [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

Barbara Burnett Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 19, 2002

Purple Sage, Texas, is experiencing a natural disaster, with floodwaters rushing through the streets and torrential downpours continuing with no end in sight. This calls for a dinner party! The governor's in town to assess the damage, and Jolie Wyatt, mystery novelist and amateur sleuth, is hosting an after-hour reception in his honor. Only problem is, the historic home that's to be the site of the extravaganza is under six feet of water.

Not to worry--Jolie has it under control. She moves the party next door, making the best of the resulting logistical and personal problems, since the new hostess is the younger second wife of the ex of one of Jolie's best friends. Despite the distractions, the governor's visit is running smoothly until a dead body turns up in a rain-drenched ditch.

The investigation takes the whole town by storm, forcing Jolie to step in and find out what really happened on that dark and rainy night in Texas. Skeletons in Purple Sage is a tangled web full of small-town politics and complex personal relationships tinted with the Texas charm that has made Barbara Burnett Smith's cozy Jolie Wyatt mysteries a big hit.

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

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Amateur sleuth Jolie Wyatt has her hands full with another round of suspicious deaths in her fifth down-homey whodunit, Barbara Burnett Smith's Skeletons in Purple Sage. It's monsoon season in the small Texas town, and the mysterious drowning death of a local doctor and the disappearance of a young and somewhat unpleasant wife have Jolie juggling investigative duties, interpersonal politics and complex family dramas, all with her characteristic wit and aplomb.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Jolie Wyatt, KSGE radio reporter, wife, and mother, is back in her fifth cozy set in Purple Sage, Texas. During a flood that ravages the small town, a respected local citizen is found wedged in a tree, the body half in a swollen creek. Deep affection for the victim propels Jolie to investigate the death (and disprove the rumors of suicide, which in a small fundamentalist community like Purple Sage could cause the shunning of the victim and his family). The mystery is secondary here to the interlocking relationships of families and friends in the close-knit community, all of which is described in an appealing conversational style by the fiercely independent, highly sympathetic narrator, Jolie, who also takes time to discuss her own personal travails brought on by her beloved father's death and her mother's seemingly uncaring attitude toward her. Reminiscent of Susan Wittig Albert's China Bayles series, in which China also has a strained relationship with her mother. Sue O'Brien
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• ISBN-10: 0312284632
• ASIN: B000H2MVCG
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,527,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Purple Sage Book yet!, August 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Skeletons in Purple Sage (Hardcover)

Austin, TX writer Barbara Burnett Smith has done it again--Jolie Wyatt, everywoman and perfect amateur detective, is up to her ears in flood waters and murder in the latest Purple Sage mystery. Things start innocently enough when Jolie and best friend Diane arrange a tribute dinner for a couple of old friends from their past. But thanks to the monsoons, before the night is out, one of honored guests has had the humiliating experience of being hosted in her former home by the husband who left her and his new trophy wife--and the other Guest of Honor is dead.

Then the sheriff announces that the death may be a suicide--and Jolie's on the warpath. Dr. Bill did NOT kill himself--and she's going to prove it. Complicating her mission are a host of suspects who may have believed they had ample reason to hate Dr. Bill, the arrival of Jolie's estranged mother, and Jolie's own fluctuating temper and emotions--is it sheer frustration from multiple directions, PMS--or even humble pie, as Jolie discovers friends who are foes, foes who might become friends, black is white, Truth may be relative and...well, the waters run very deep.

This Purple Sage contains the things we've always loved about Smith's books--the great small-town politics and tangled personal relationships--and takes them in unexpected directions. If you enjoyed the other Purple Sages, don't miss this one. And if you haven't tried them yet, what are you waiting for? And yes--I think you can start with this one, if St. Martin's STILL hasn't reprinted the others!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strong Purple Sage gang reunion, August 18, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Skeletons in Purple Sage (Hardcover)

Purple Sage is a small Texas town founded by nine religious fundamentalist families and even today their influence can be felt. Jolie Wyatt, a newcomer to the town and married to native-born Matt, is hosting a party in honor of retiring Dr. Bill Marchak and Beverly Kendall, who has returned after a three year absence to take care of her ailing father.

The only problem is that most of Purple Sage is flooding and the house where the reception is supposed to take place is underwater. They are forced to hold the party at the home of Beverly's ex-husband Tom who divorced her to marry Leigh. A gracious Beverly insures no one feels uncomfortable. Later that night, Dr. Bill's body is found tightly wedged in a drawn wrenched ditch. Nobody knows the cause of death but rumors abound. Shortly thereafter, Leigh disappears. Julie finds the body believing that the same person murdered both people.

The protagonist, trying to achieve justice for the dead, almost finds herself becoming the third victim of a demented killer. Her bravery and unwavering quest for the truth as well as her loyalty to friends and family are only some of the reasons the heroine is easy to like. Sad to say, the killer's identity is totally believable and raises some interesting legal and social issues. After a two-year absence, it is good to see the Purple Sage gang reunited again.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A danagerous, fascinating visit to Purple Sage, Texas, July 14, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Skeletons in Purple Sage (Hardcover)

With Skeletons in Purple Sage, Barbara Burnett Smith has
created a very appealing heroine in Jolie Wyatt, a
realistic and interesting family and a whole town of
characters, good and bad.
A disasterous flood has brought the Governor to town
to asses the damage and Jolie has been picked to host
a reception - difficult to do when the site is under
six feet of water.
The next available location is logical but difficult,
since the hostess is the new wife of Jolie's good friend's
Ex. After that, the discovery of the body of the town's
beloved doctor in a ditch just piles on the trouble.
Jolie wants to find out who took her doctor's life, why
the local fundamentalist church is shunning the doctor's
funeral and why her Mother always liked her sister best.
I strongly recomment this book for its character development
and the exciting plot.