Thistle and Twigg (Thistle & Twigg Mysteries, No. 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Mary Saums (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 2008

Jane Thistle was happily married to a career military officer whose job took her all around the globe. But now that he’s passed, she’s happy to call the quaint town of Tullulah, Alabama, her new home. Her new best friend, Phoebe Twigg, is also a widow, and has lived in Tullulah all her life. Phoebe is about as different as could be from the worldly and refined Jane. But Phoebe’s warm, welcoming Southern nature wins her over, and the two women end up making quite a pair. Especially when they stumble over a dead body while on a walk in the woods…

And that’s not all: Someone is threatening Jane’s neighbor, a local old recluse who seems to have more interest in the land than in its inhabitants. Then a firebomb explodes in Phoebe’s kitchen. And random unexplainable sounds and objects keep disrupting the peace and quiet at Jane’s house. What on earth is going on in the otherwise ordinary town of Tullulah? Now it’s up to the extraordinary team of Thistle and Twigg to find out….

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this delightful first of an offbeat new series from Saums (Midnight Hour), recently widowed Jane Thistle, who has lived many places as the wife of a career military officer, moves to Tullulah, Ala., where she soon meets Phoebe Twigg, also a widow, who has lived in the small town all her life. The two women, despite their differences in outlook and personality, become close friends. When they find a dead body in the woods, and Jane's neighbor Cal Prewitt is arrested for murder, they turn detective to exonerate him. Phoebe's kitchen is firebombed, and Jane is subject to eerie happenings in her house. They persevere, despite the threats, and prove that two crafty widows are more than a match for the bad guys. Saums ably weaves humor, suspense and a dash of the supernatural in this winning twist on the Southern cozy. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

After her husband's death, Jane Thistle moves to sleepy Tullulah, Alabama, a town that has been calling to her since her first visit years before. She moves into an old house on the edge of a wildlife refuge and quickly becomes good friends with Phoebe Twigg, a lifelong Tullulah resident. Jane also manages to befriend Cal Prewitt, her eccentric neighbor and the owner of a piece of untouched wilderness. When Jane and Phoebe find a body on Cal's land, Cal becomes the chief suspect in the murder. Because of Jane's belief in Cal's innocence, the two investigate, discovering a dangerous conspiracy. The natural world, Native American lore, an excellent sense of place, and touches of the supernatural frame the story. Jane and Phoebe, who alternate as narrators, are sympathetic, well-developed characters whose developing friendship adds to a satisfying mystery. While the crime seems a bit intense for a cozy, Phoebe and Jane, with their quite different personalities, make an interesting team in this series debut. 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

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (February 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312947291
• ISBN-13: 978-0312947293
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #696,384 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Unique & Enchanting Cozy Mystery, April 30, 2007

By 

Lorraine Talbot (Winsted,, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thistle and Twigg (Thistle & Twigg Mysteries, No. 1) (Hardcover)

Jane Thistle is able to fullfill the fantasy that many widowed women share. No longer having to consider her late husband's wishes, she can settle permanently in a small Alabama town she'd been attracted to years before when she'd passed through it enroute to her husband's military post assignments.

She buys an old house and meets Phoebe Twigg, a local widow. They become friends, easily overcoming many character differences.

Jane has a reclusive, cantankerous neighbor, Cal, that she grows fond of when he permits her to walk on his beautiful 100 acre property. She and Phoebe go there so she can teach Phoebe to shoot a pistol. Jane is the possessor of an arsenal collected by her husband.

They find a body and the msytery begins. Cal is a suspect in the death. Jane and Phoebe want to clear him. It's well plotted and I had to read to the end to learn the identity of the killer.

There is so much to this book that makes it hard to describe. Some of the things I loved about it are, the friendship of the two women, their competence (no hand-wringing old ladies, these), the glimpses of natural beauty seen through Jane's eyes and the Southern small town life seen through Phoebe's eyes. There's a touch of the paranormal as Jane's old house is haunted by friendly ghosts. There's even a loveable dog if you're a pet person. (I am).

I hope this book is the start of a series because I want to spend more time with these gals.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet Home Alabama, July 14, 2008

By 

Dennis Phillips "The Book Friar" (Bulls Gap, Tennessee USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thistle and Twigg (Thistle & Twigg Mysteries, No. 1) (Hardcover)

Being a native Southerner and a fan of cozy mysteries I am naturally always looking for a cozy series set in the South. I have yet to find such a series that I didn't like but obviously some of my finds are better than others. One of my favorites was the "Southern Sisters" mysteries by Anne George but that series came to an end with the passing of the author and I still find myself mourning that loss. With this series however I may have finally found something just as good.

This book revolves around two older ladies who happen to both be widows. Jane Thistle is the widow of a career military man and spent most of her life moving from base to base. On one of her moves she happened through tiny Tallulah Alabama and she fell in love with the place. After her husband's death she resolved to move to Tallulah because of the town's beauty and also because of a strange spiritual draw that she felt for the place. One of her first acquaintances there is Phoebe Twigg who is a native of the town and knows or is related to everybody there. They become fast friends and naturally it isn't long until the stumble on a dead body and from there the two amateur sleuths go to work.

There are several things that make this book stand out and at the top of the list is the dialogue between the characters. This author has the gift of being able to make a conversation come to life and I could clearly picture these two ladies bantering to and fro and occasionally halting their conversation so that they could laugh themselves silly. Phoebe is especially outspoken and her conversations with the other citizens of the town are often quite hysterical. Often completely in the dark as to what is going on Phoebe nevertheless speaks her mind and does so without hesitation and she isn't at all above a good kick if someone really upsets her. As can be deduced from the cover there are also ghosts in this book and they are a playful lot who add a lot to the story. I was just so impressed with the characters and the setting that I find it hard to put into words. After all, where else but in the South could one of the characters attend a gun and crafts show and who else but a very talented author would think to include such an event in a book?

Despite the obvious distractions however this book keeps a pretty tight hold on the plot and the reader is led through a web of deceit, murder, greed and extortion. There is danger at every turn and it often comes from some very unexpected sources. There was actually quite a bit that I didn't see coming but I loved every minute of the journey and can't wait to read the second installment of this series. It has been quite a while since a cozy has captured my heart like this one has.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Robyn, April 30, 2008

By 

Franklin's Mom (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thistle and Twigg (Thistle & Twigg Mysteries, No. 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

If you are looking for something original and a little different in a cozy this book is for you. It's yet another female "odd couple", but the author makes it seem natural (and if you read a lot of mysteries, you may be pleased to note that there is no resorting to that tired plot device of a male authority/romantic figure warning about "meddling"). It also has a playful touch of the supernatural, which does not seem at all out of place. Throughly recommended for an entertaining weekend's reading with the cat on your bed.