Strange Brew (Callahan Garrity Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Kathy Hogan Trocheck (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 27, 2005 | Series: Callahan Garrity Mysteries

The winds of change are blowing, bringing gentrification to Callahan Garrity's funky Atlanta neighborhood. Though it probably won't harm her House Mouse housecleaning service, not everyone welcomes the rebirth. And when the body of a murdered microbrewer is discovered in the aftermath of a furious Halloween gale, suspicion falls on the aging "flower child" shopkeeper whom the victim put out of business.

A former cop, Callahan isn't as quick to condemn a colorful local character as some law officers still on the force. But her investigative zeal is stirring up secrets that are forcing her to reassess old friendships and a one-time love -- and is brewing up more lethal trouble than Callahan and her "mice" can safely swallow.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Kathy Hogan Trocheck's cleverly plotted puzzlers are a gift...witty dialogue, sassy characters, and an unobtrusive subtext about social issues." -- -- Orlando Sun-Sentinel

"Murder meets its match in this feisty, funny heroine...A tidy mystery with...polished writing and industrial suspense." -- -- Sue Grafton

"As Strange Brew proves, there's nothing strange about Kathy Hogan Trocheck's growing reputation. Her writing here is just as flip, just as New South sassy as ever, but underneath is a deepening compassion that wisely gives even her modern-day devils their due." -- Margaret Maron

"Kathy Hogan Trocheck's cleverly plotted puzzlers are a gift...witty dialogue, sassy characters, and an unobtrusive subtext about social issues." -- Orlando Sun-Sentinel

"Murder meets its match in this feisty, funny heroine...A tidy mystery with...polished writing and industrial suspense." -- Sue Grafton

About the Author

Kathy Hogan Trocheck is the author of ten critically acclaimed mysteries, including the Callahan Garrity mystery series. A former reporter for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, she is also the author of Little Bitty Lies and the Edgar®- and Macavity-nominated Savannah Blues, under the name Mary Kay Andrews.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Avon; paperback / softback edition (September 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061091731
• ISBN-13: 978-0061091735
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #599,094 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kathy Hogan Trocheck has published 17 novels, 10 critically-acclaimed mysteries under her own name and seven other bestselling novels writing as Mary Kay Andrews.

A native of St. Petersburg, Florida, Trocheck earned a B.A. in journalism from the University of Georgia in 1976. She started her professional journalism career in Savannah, Georgia, where she covered the real-life murder trials which were the basis of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. She left journalism after a ten-year stint as a reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Her first book, Every Crooked Nanny, featuring a clever, snoopy housecleaner named Callahan Garrity, appeared in 1992. It was followed by seven other Garrity novels including To Live and Die in Dixie (1993), Homemade Sin (1994), Happy Never After (1995), Heart Trouble (1996), Strange Brew (1997), Midnight Clear (1998), and Irish Eyes (2000). The two Truman Kicklighter novels were Lickety Split (1996) and Crash Course (1997).

The first novel to be published under the name Mary Kay Andrews was Savannah Blues (2002). It was followed by Little Bitty Lies (2003); Hissy Fit (2004); the New York Times bestseller, Savannah Breeze (2006); the New York Times bestseller, Blue Christmas (2007); Deep Dish (2008); and the New York Times bestseller, The Fixer Upper (2009).

Her mysteries have been nominated for the Agatha, Anthony, Edgar, and Macavity Awards.

As a lifelong "junker" the author claims to know the location of every promising thrift store, flea market, and junkpile in the southeastern United States, plus many parts of Ohio.

She is a frequent lecturer and writing teacher at workshops including Emory University, The University of Georgia's Harriet Austin Writer's Workshop, the Tennessee Mountain Writer's Workshop, and the Antioch Writer's Workshop. Her mysteries have been nominated for the Edgar, Anthony, Agatha and Macavity Awards.

Married to her high school sweetheart, she is the mother of two grown children and a proud grandmother. After a brief hiatus in Raleigh, NC, she and her husband moved back to their old neighborhood in Atlanta, where they live in a restored 1926 Craftsman bungalow. She divides her time between Atlanta and her restored beach cottage on Tybee Island, GA.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterful tale that transcend genre, August 17, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Strange Brew (Callahan Garrity Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Ex police officer turned private investigator and owner of a cleaning service, Callahan Garrity, is watching her Atlanta neighborhood dramatically change. Historically, Candler Park has been a working class neighborhood, but recently Yuppies have discovered it, driving prices up and ousting long term residents. One individual feeling the change is local toy store owner Wuvvy, whose shop is being closed to make room for a Yuppie establishment. Wuvvy feels betrayed by a relative. So when that individual is found dead, Wuvvy becomes the prime suspect.

Wuvvy asks Callahan to help prove her innocence. However, before the private investigator can begin, Wuvvy's past is announced on the news. She once served ten years for murdering her wealthy spouse. Not long after that, Wuvvy's body is found, an apparent suicide victim. Callahan thinks otherwise and decides to vindicate her client, posthumously even at the cost of her own life.

This sixth installment in the Callahan Garrity series is Kathy Hogan Trochek's best work to date because the novel transcends genre stereotyping with its literary appeal, reminiscent of the early works of Sharyn McCrumb. The gentrification of a working class neighborhood and the impact on its long time residents is carefully examined as an overlooked social problem. This adds to the charm of the book. There are no simple solutions in STRANGE BREW. Instead it is a thought provoking piece of entertainment.

Harriet Klausner

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, But Not Great, December 9, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Strange Brew (Callahan Garrity Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have to give this book only 4 stars for several reasons. The first is that the beginning is rather tedious until Callahan finds the body of one Jordan Poole, the guy who was going to put a senior citizen hippy, Wuvvy, out of business by turning her adult toy store, YoYos, into a microbrewery called Blind Possum. The book starts out with threatening weather that quickly and viciously turns into a tornado. And Callahan, with her annoying habit of finding dead bodies, goes after her boyfriend's, Mac McAuliffe's, dog, Rufus. So there goes Callahan, running with a flashlight, through the driving rain and hellacious thunderstorm on her way to find Rufus. She finds herself at YoYos, which is right beside her pal's, Hap's, bar, The Yacht Club. The door to YoYos is open, so she goes in and finds Jordan Poole's body.
And that's all you're gettin'!
But I will tell you this: This adventure featuring cleaning whiz Callahan Garrity, ex-cop, sometimes P.I., is a romp that will leave you laughing, possibly crying. But, be forewarned, this does start out a little slow. What the hell am I talking about, it takes about 100 pages to get interesting, but like she always does, Kathy Hogan Trocheck with explain, in the end, why she put us through the boring stuff in the beginning. 'Cause it just might help Callahan save her life.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read, November 12, 2000

By 

Helen - See all my reviews

This review is from: Strange Brew (Callahan Garrity Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

This author can be relied upon to present wonderful characterisations and excellent plotting. She has succeeded again with this installment in the Callaghan Garrity series. The storyline revolves around the inhabitants of the down and out area of Atlanta near where Callaghan and her mother live. The author depicts the struggle and horror of the lives of these people in a poignant sub-plot. The major plot involves a twenty year old murder and its modern-day consequences. This is something that of course has been done before but this author carries it off with her usual high skill and humour.