To Thine Own Self Be True: A Stella Crown Mystery [Hardcover]

Judy Clemens (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2006

Stella Crown rarely takes a break from managing her Pennsylvania dairy farm unless it's to take a spin on her Harley, but in the midst of the Christmas season she treats herself to a new tattoo. Halfway through the sitting at Wolf Ink, her tattoo artist and his wife, Mandy, disappear into the back room. Stella, whipped, dozes off and, when she awakes and they've not come back, she drives home. Before long, the police arrive to inform her that Mandy has been discovered dead behind the tattoo parlor, while Wolf is nowhere to be found.

Angry and guilt-stricken that she hasn't protected her friends, Stella--something of a suspect herself--sets out to assist the cops and rescue the missing Wolf. And to ask, where is their young son, also missing?
With the help of another tattoo artist and an old flame who's arrived at the farm, Stella dives into the world of tattooing, where she finds not only a close-knit and knowledgeable community, but also an underworld of back alley hacks, stolen designs, and violent patrons, plus some looming and controversial state legislation.

Stella, stymied by more suspects than answers, is dragged yet again into a realm full of greed and danger when all she wants is to be left alone to run her farm and figure out the rest of her life. But first she must do everything in her power to get Wolf back where he belongs.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bikers and tattoos have something of an image problem, but Clemens's fun and surprising third Stella Crown mystery (after 2005's Three Can Keep a Secret) goes a long way toward improving that image. Shortly before Christmas, Stella, a Harley-riding Pennsylvania dairy farmer, is getting a new tattoo at Wolf Ink, when the tattoo artist, Wolf, interrupts their session and takes off with his wife, Mandy. Stella falls asleep, and later leaves in a huff with only half a tattoo. Then the cops show up at Stella's door to report that Mandy has been found outside the tattoo parlor, frozen to death after being hit on the head. Wolf, who has disappeared, is the chief suspect in the murder, but the net expands to include shady fringe tattooists (who ink underage kids and "forget" to change needles) and legislators who wish to close down the whole industry for the sins of a few. As Clemens waxes poetic about tattoos, readers will view this subculture in a brand new light. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Clemens brings tattooed biker and dairy farmer Stella Crown back for her third unconventional adventure. Treating herself to a new tattoo for Christmas, Stella is at Wolf Ink, where her friend Wolf and his wife, Mandy, are amusing her with stories as they create the new design. Suddenly, they get a phone call and disappear. Stella dozes off and awakens to find them gone. She goes home and later, the police arrive to tell her that Mandy is dead and Wolf has disappeared. Feeling guilty, Stella tries to assist the police in their search. Since she was the last person to see them, she is also a suspect. An old flame, Nick Hathaway, arrives for a visit and ends up stranded during a severe snowstorm, providing distraction and assistance in her search. Clemens offers readers an intriguing story that takes them inside the world of tattooing and gives them a taste of daily life on a dairy farm. That may seem like an odd combination, but Clemens makes it work, thanks to abundant wit, well-developed characters, and a vividly realized rural setting. Barbara Bibel
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 226 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press; 1 edition (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590582985
• ISBN-13: 978-1590582985
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,838,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Judy Clemens has lived in seven states and decided to settle in the beautiful farmland of Ohio. She has been nominated for the Anthony and Agatha awards, and is the immediate past president of Sisters in Crime. She loves chocolate, watching movies, reading fantasy (especially YA and middle-grade) and is an active member of Grace Mennonite Church. She has two children, is married to a soccer coach, and lives in a farmhouse that is constantly being renovated. Learn more about her at www.judyclemens.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Keep up the good work, Ms. Clemens, September 28, 2006

By 

PJ Coldren (Saint Helen, MI, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To Thine Own Self Be True: A Stella Crown Mystery (Hardcover)

Dairy farmer Stella Crown is mourning the loss of her good friend and farm hand Howie by having his name tattooed as an ID bracelet on her wrist. It's the end of a long day, and when Wolf stops tattooing to follow his wife Mandy into the back room, Stella nods off for a little while. She's mildly irritated when she can't find Wolf or Stella, but figures something came up and she'll get the rest of the tattoo next time.

Unfortunately, there may not be a next time. Mandy is dead of hypothermia after being hit on the head and left in a snow bank; Wolf is the obvious suspect for the police, because he can't be found. Stella and her friends know better, but have a hard time convincing the police. Stella gets help on the case when a man from her past, Nick, shows up on her doorstep. Together they start nosing around the tattoo community, finding controversy and hidden agendas all around them.

TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE is the third in the Stella Crown series. The plot takes Stella out of her comfort zone, both personally and within the surprisingly diverse tattoo sub-culture. As in the previous books, Clemens seems to take pleasure in rearranging Stella's world from the ground up. It's certainly a pleasure, as a reader, to watch Stella cope with all the changes, to see her grow as a character. It's also a challenge trying to figure out where Clemens can go from here, a challenge she's surely capable of meeting.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars strong amateur sleuth mystery, September 3, 2006

By 

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

This review is from: To Thine Own Self Be True: A Stella Crown Mystery (Hardcover)

Deciding to treat herself for the holidays, Pennsylvania dairy farmer Stella Crown drives to Wolf Ink to have artist Wolf etch her a new tattoo. While Wolf lectures Stella to stop moving, his wife Mandy tells her droll stories that keep her laughing. Mandy leaves for the back room, but soon asks Wolf to join her for a minute; Stella dozes for twenty minutes. When she awakens from her catnap, she finds herself alone with only half the tattoo finished and the weather turning ugly. She goes home though the ride takes over twice as long as normal due to the falling snow.

Soon afterward Lansdale Police Detective Shisler and Officer Beane arrive to question Stella about when she last seen Scott (Wolf) and Mandy Moore. After answering specific questions from the two cops, Shisler informs Stella that just outside the tattoo parlor Mrs. Moore froze to death after being hit on the head; Wolf vanished. Feeling guilty because Mandy may have died while she left in a tizzy, Stella investigates an angry client and illegal tattooists working the under sixteen trade in back allies while never changing needles.

The third Stella Crown amateur sleuth mystery is an entreating and educational tale that will have the audience appreciating the heroine's efforts as well as reconsidering the stereotyping of bikers and tattoo artists. The story line is driven by the Harley riding tattooed Stella who feels a sense of responsibly for Mandy's death though she knows she did not cause the tragedy. Her inquiry enables the audience to understand the damage caused by the back alley criminal tattooists (sounds like abortion before Roe vs. Wade) and the holier than thou legislators who condemn an entire industry due to these few miscreants.

Harriet Klausner

4.0 out of 5 stars Third Book in Series, Starts of With a Harlan Coben Like Scenario, November 4, 2011

By 

James N Simpson (Gold Coast, QLD Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: To Thine Own Self Be True (Paperback)

To Thine Own Self Be True is the third book in this series. Although this one gives away a lot less of the first and second novels, than the second did of the first, you really do need to read these books in order so when you do go back and read the prior novels, you get to read all the surprises when they happen. Although you could read this as a standalone and understand everything, you're appreciation for Stella, Lucy, Tess and Lenny will be a lot more having read the other novels first. Till the Cows Come Home is the initial Stella Crown dairy farm set adventure, Three Can Keep a Secret is the second.

In this adventure, Stella still mourning the loss of her father figure farm hand, decides to get a permanent homage to the man tattooed on her wrist. However there's a crash out back and her tattoo artist is asked to by his wife Mandy to come to the backroom, midway through the procedure. Stella's pretty tired from all her hard work on her farm, the chair is comfy and she nods off. When she awakens embarrassed that she fell asleep she wonders where everybody is. Looking at her wrist she knows Wolf, the tattoo artist did not return and finish off the tattoo. Maybe he's offended she fell asleep, or simply didn't want to wake her, so she decides to walk around his establishment to find him. The back door is wide open letting in the cold snow chilled air, there's a tray of stuff on the floor that probably made the loud crashing sound. Wolf and his wife's apartment is above the parlour, Stella knows she needs to get back to the farm for milking time so decides to interrupt whatever the couple is doing with a phone call. They don't answer the call and since it's vital she's back at the farm she decides to just leave a post it note with her phone number on it. However it's not Wolf that contacts her. Instead a patrol car from the neighbouring town which the tattoo parlour was in pulls up at the farm, interrupting a reunion between herself and a former employee. The body of Mandy has been discovered between a dumpster and the very back door Stella looked out of. She would have still been alive if Stella looked in the direction of the dumpster when she leaned out the door. Wolf seems to have vanished off the face of the earth. Racked with guilt, Stella is determined to discover what happened, she doesn't believe Wolf would have harmed Mandy and is determined to save him if he is still alive. She knows bikers and others in the tattoo world aren't always forthcoming or co-operative when talking with the police, so she's determined to ask the questions and relay the info she finds out to a homicide detective.

To Thine Own Self Be True although not quite as good as the initial Till the Cows Come Home, is a lot more interesting than the first sequel was. Judy Clemens other series (The Reaper Series) is also very good, like this series you need to start at the beginning with Embrace the Grim Reaper.