This Old Murder (A Josie Pigeon Mystery #4) [Mass Market Paperback]

Valerie Wolzien (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 5, 2000

When the production crew for Courtney Castle's Castles invades contractor Josie Pigeon's job site to shoot a PBS remodeling series, Josie's fifteen minutes of fame seem imminent. Unfortunately, the confusion of taping compounds the chaos of construction, and Josie is soon ready to kill.

Which is why, when a bludgeoned body appears on the premises, Josie is a top suspect. That's when she decides to make her own suspect list.  But the more Josie hammers down the facts, the closer to home she hits . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Against her better judgment, Josie Pigeon (last seen in Deck the Halls with Murder) single mom and owner of Island Contracting, agrees to allow her all-woman crew to be filmed by a PBS remodeling series, only to find that the show's beautiful host, Courtney Castle, is her childhood nemesis. Ever protective of her past, Josie tries to hide her connection to Courtney, but when the popular host goes missing and is presumed dead, the small island town's citizens are soon whispering that Josie had something to do with it. Josie turns to her boyfriend, former lawyer Sam Richardson, for advice on how to clear her nameAand to protect the members of her crew from unwanted scrutiny. Josie is an expert carpenter, and loveable and entertaining to boot, but she's no Nancy Drew: she jumps to conclusions and fails to ask the obvious questions necessary to solve the mystery. Somehow, though, everything comes together in her mind, and she single-handedly divines the killer's identity. Wolzien has an annoying habit of not telling the reader what Josie knows until after the fact, which detracts from what little suspense there is. The insight into Josie's secret past, however, will surely delight the series' fans, and a visitor from Wolzien's Susan Henshaw series is a clever tie-in.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A nice writing style and considerable wit."
--Chicago Tribune

"A nice writing style and considerable wit."
--Chicago Tribune

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (July 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449006298
• ISBN-13: 978-0449006290
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,292,791 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing characters..., August 10, 2000

By 

Amy J. Alessio (Roselle, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: This Old Murder (A Josie Pigeon Mystery #4) (Mass Market Paperback)

The Josie Pigeon series is a refreshing addition to the amateur-detective mystery genre. Josie, owner of an all-women remodelling crew, is an independent woman in an industry where that is rare. She is also intelligent, a good mother, and an interesting woman with many layers. Why is it that Josie has no contact with her family? What is her connection with the famous and perfect TV personality Courtney Castle? The reader will be wondering about these questions as much as she will wonder who killed the person Josie's crew finds in a house they are working on. "This Old Murder" has many intriguing mysteries, keeping the reader wondering right until the end!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It was okay, but . ., August 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: This Old Murder (A Josie Pigeon Mystery #4) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read other Josie Pigeon books, and liked both the style and the characters. However, this one didn't seem to have the same zing that the prior ones did. For one thing, I guess I'm a little tired of Josie and company finding and hiding bodies, and Sam (her attorney boyfriend) covering up for them. Any real attorney would know he could lose his license for that kind of behavior, and anyone with the kind of intelligence Josie is supposed to have would use a little forethought.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Josie nails another case shut, August 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: This Old Murder (A Josie Pigeon Mystery #4) (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this book at the shore, and it was the perfect complement to sand, sea, and sun. Josie Pigeon and her eclectic crew have to cope with a PBS crew filming Island Contracting's most recent remodel. As usual, Josie's group of women workers have their secrets, some of which might make them suspects when the high-powered murder victim is found. Josie's son is home for summer break, getting into the kinds of trouble even the best teenagers manage to find. Our favorite island characters are there--Sam, Josie's Italian landlady, and even the small-brained police chief and his son. This book is like a visit to a favorite vacation spot--intriguing, amusing, and hard to relinquish once it's done.