Top O' the Mournin' : A Passport to Peril Mystery [Mass Market Paperback]

Maddy Hunter (Author)

Book Description

Series: Passport to Peril Mysteries | Publication Date: August 1, 2003

WHEN IRISH EYES ARE LYIN'...

Emily Andrew is earning some much-needed green by navigating the twisting roads of Ireland with a group of seniors, including her beloved Nana. But once the hearty troupe from Iowa lands on Irish sod, trouble starts brewing: there's a death-defying incident with a horse-drawn carriage . . . and a gender-bending encounter with Emily's ex-husband Jack, now known as Jackie. No wonder Emily has come down with a smarting case of hives!

The plot thickens like Irish stew when the group settles into Ballybantry Castle, where a ghost is said to wander the halls. But it's no blarney when a very real corpse turns up in one of the guest rooms. While the murderous malarkey has Emily step-dancing as fast as she can, one sure thing emerges from the mists: not even St. Paddy himself could drive out the spiteful serpent that slithers among them!

Editorial Reviews

Review

...hilarious and delightful....I found myself laughing out loud and wiping away tears (of joy!)... -- Old Book Barn Gazette

Belly laughter, or at least a chuckle, on each page. This is the most fun read I've had in awhile. -- The Mystery Company Newsletter

No sophomore jinx here...very funny and full of suspense. -- Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine

[A] belly laughter, or at least a chuckle, on each page....the most fun read I've had in a while. -- The Mystery Company Newsletter

About the Author

Maddy Hunter has endured disastrous vacations on three continents in the past five years. Despite this, she aspires to visit all seven continents in the future. Top O' The Mournin' is the second novel in her Passport to Peril mystery series featuring Emily Andrew. Alpine for You, her debut novel, is available from Pocket Books. She lives with her husband in Madison, Wisconsin.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (August 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743458125
• ISBN-13: 978-0743458122
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #472,483 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TOP O the MORNING is TOPS, October 15, 2003

By 

Anthony L. Piccione "TONY P" (LONE ROCK, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Top O' the Mournin' : A Passport to Peril Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

After reading Maddy Hunter's 'Alpine For You', I looked forward to reading the 2nd in her series 'Top O The Morning'. It didn't disappoint. New adventures in another land with an elderly Iowan tour group mixed with a bunch of New Yorkers and a haunted castle and a little bit of foot fetish, death and humor abound.
The setting is in Ireland and Emily is on the trail of a web-footed ghost from the past that scares the 'death' (or is it life?) out of it's victims.
Etienne Miceli, who Emily fell
for in Maddy's first book, makes a surprise appearance as a member of the tour group and once again there are serious intentions on getting together in the sack. Also making a surprise appearance is Emily's gay ex-husband who adds a little spice and some complications to the mix.
Emily does some sleuthing to expose the so-called ghost while trying to keep sexy Ashley, the tour guide, away from Etienne. The nasty cheap
shots among the females in the group fly and makes for great entertainment. These women go right for the jugular. Many theories are concocted by Emily as to who or what is causing the deaths throughout the book but I must say I never figured it out until the very end.
I am really looking forward to Maddy's next book 'Pasta Imperfect'.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent storyline & characterizations, August 5, 2003

By 

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

This review is from: Top O' the Mournin' : A Passport to Peril Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

After learning her husband is gay, actress Emily Andrews leaves New York to return home to Iowa where she takes a job as an escort for a bank sponsored senior citizen tours. Last year she went to Switzerland where she was involved in a triple homicide (See ALPINE FOR YOU), caught a killer, and met the love of her life Swiss Detective Etienne Micelli.

This year Emily escorts seniors to Ireland where they stay at Ballybantry Castle, renovated into a hotel but rumored to be haunted. The trip begins wonderfully when Etienne shows up unexpectedly for a rendezvous but the fires burn out when two of the hotel's staff are found dead with wet webbed footsteps found near one of the bodies. Haunting cries in the night, cold spots in unexpected places, and electricity going out for no logical reason turns Emily's job into a nightmare. Meeting her former husband who had a sex change operation and is on a honeymoon complicates matters. When Emily discovers there have been over forty deaths at the castle in two years, she decides to find out who the killer is.

TOP O' THE MOURNIN' is a delightful cozy that is low on gore but rich in plot and characterizations. There is plenty of slapstick humor especially when the heroine and her significant other are repeatedly interrupted during an interlude. The mystery is well constructed and the support cast yields a number of suspects, one of whom has an excellent motive for wanting to destroy the castle's reputation by making it seem better to vacate than spend a deadly vacation there.

Harriet Klausner

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous read!, January 25, 2004

By 

Beachreader "BeachReader" (Port Townsend, WA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Top O' the Mournin' : A Passport to Peril Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

I don't read a lot of mysteries but this one caught my eye because it's set in my favorite place in the entire world - Ireland. This book took me back for several pleasurable hours. I enjoyed several laugh-out-loud moments and just adored the main characters. Over-the-top and improbable as some other reviewers have mentioned? Perhaps, but folks this is fiction and I can promise you a great deal of enjoyment is found in this story. I am going to be looking for her first book,ALPINE FOR YOU (love the title!) and will be buying PASTA IMPERFECT as soon as it comes out.