Customer Reviews

When Did We Lose Harriet? (Thoroughly Southern Mysteries, No. 1)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Patricia Sprinkle's Sheila Travis mysteries have given me pleasurable reading ... and rereading. I always hope for one more, expecting to spend a few hours with people I like, learning some lore of southern states I have yet to visit, chuckling at a deft touch of humor, and seeing a good mystery unfold. As a veteran of the challenges of book selection for congregational libraries, I was delighted to hear that Patricia Sprinkle had created a new mystery series heroine whose first adventure would be published by Zondervan. I've read WHEN DID WE LOSE HARRIET twice in the last few weeks, and it's all there again. MacLaren Yarbrough, at sixty-plus, in Montgomery to help bully her younger brother into the crucial heart surgery he needs, takes his shift at the teen center, and rapidly becomes involved in determining the fate of 15-year-old Harriet, missing now for six weeks. Strangely, no one else seems to care. Whether it is deep concern or innate nosiness, MacLaren precipitates events that need all her insight, pluckiness, salty wit, and tenacious faith to understand. I found the people, the humor, the sense of place, and a good mystery, as I expected. Plus, Patricia Sprinkle is superb at showing that MacLaren's faith is realistic, down-to-earth, integrally part of her character, as much as her big-sister attitude to brother Jake or her inability to let a riddle go unsolved, all revealed without fanfare throughout the story. HARRIET is a very good read for any mystery fan, and a gem for a church fiction collection. I look forward to the next title (this year hopefully).

This is my first book in a new series featuring amateur sleuth MacLaren Yarbrough, a feisty woman on the sunny side of sixty. She and her husband Joe Riddley Yarbrough, a Georgia magistrate, are small town Georgians--a departure from my last series featuring cosmopolitan Sheila Travis and her redoubtable Aunt Mary Beaufort. In this first MacLaren book, when MacLaren finds an envelope full of money in an inner city teen center, she plans to return it to the owner and concentrate on her brother Jake, who's just had a heart attack. Mac discovers she not only cannot find Harriet, the money's owner, she can't find anybody who remembers the last time they SAW Harriet. Can a teen disappear without a trace? Was it by her choice--or someone else's? Set in Montgomery, Alabama, this story ranges from the inner city to the exclusive suburbs as MacLaren tries to find out when we lost Harriet, and how. The book is light, funny, sometimes cozy and sometimes scary as it explores what makes families do what they do to one another. In the sequel, BUT WHY SHOOT THE MAGISTRATE?--to be released by Zondervan in Sept. '97--MacLaren faces every amateur sleuth's nightmare when the person she loves best suffers the consequences of her own sleuthing. I'm giving WHEN DID WE LOSE HARRIET? an 8 rating because southern mothers teach their daughters not to brag, but I hope you'll really like the book and this new sleuth.

I bought this book a couple of years ago. I didn't know who Patricia Sprinkle was at the time. I loved the book, and I loved the way each character is brought to life by Ms. Sprinkle. They all seem so real, like someone you've met, or known before. I also like the way that she put a list of each character's name, and the role that they each play in the story in the front of the novel. That was very convenient. I didn't have to wonder who was who, and who did what. It would be great if all writers would do that in their books.

In my continuing quest to find authors to satisfy my craving for mysteries, I'm delighted to have found Patricia Sprinkle. The characters are sparkling, the plot twisting, and the flavor of the South fully realized. Enjoy!

Interesting read--well written. Keeps you engaged and wanting to know the outcome, and you like the characters along the way.

Having read all of Patricia's mysteries, I found to my surprise, that I really liked this new character best. Perhaps that's because I can relate to her age and the time in her life. I am waiting with excitement for the next installment. Go Patty!

MacLaren Yarbrough is a delightful character in this well written series that I have just recently discovered. In fact, this series has become my number one favorite because of the quality of the writing.

When Did We Lose Harriet? is a book whose title intrigued me from the beginning. I was excited to choose this book for a fun review. Suspense is great fun for me, and I do like cozy mysteries.

A teenager named Harriet has been missing for weeks, but no one seems to care. Though she lives with her aunt and uncle, they have not even reported her missing. The teen center where she hangs out seems to be thankful she is gone.

When MacLaren (also known as Mac, Clara, and mistakenly called Laura) visits Montgomery, Alabama, she finds something that needs to be returned to Harriet. This begins her long and thorough search for Harriet.

No one misses Harriet. No one seems to really care that she is missing. It's sad really, but author Patricia Sprinkle fabricates a realistic tale of why this lonely girl is not missed. Repeatedly while reading, I was just so moved and saddened at how realistic this story of an unloved girl who went missing.

One thing I really liked about the book was the cross-racial relationship that developed between MacLaren and Josheba. They became very close...and yet neither had had a black/white good friend before-just acquaintances. I thought their relationship was written about with tact and honesty.

I wish I could only say good things about this book, but the n-word was used. Just once, but still. Other than that, When Did We Lose Harriet? was a fabulous book, and if you like a bit of mystery, I highly recommend it! I can't wait to read more of Patricia Sprinkle and MacLaren Yearbough Mysteries. (Four stars for the unneeded N word.)

Thank you, Zondervan, for providing the book for review purposes.

This series is a must for light detective buffs. It has small town charm mixed with parenting of grown children. It's great.

When Did We Lose Harriet? by Patricia Sprinkle is the first book in the Thoroughly Southern series and it is delightful. MacLaren Yarbrough is called to Montgomery, Alabama when her brother has a heart attack. As if she hasn't enough on her mind right now, she's asked to fill in for her brother who usually volunteers at a local teen center on Tuesdays. While there she discovers an envelope stuffed with money hidden inside a library book. Through some clever checking around, she soon finds that the money belongs to Harriet Lawson, a fifteen-year-old local girl. In her efforts to return the money, she realizes that no one knows where Harriet is and really can't remember when they last saw her, and no one seems very concerned about that. Well, except for MacLaren who can't imagine why no one knows or seems to care where a fifteen-year-old might be.

Ms. Sprinkle has created a marvelous character in MacLaren Yarbrough, a Southern woman on the sunny side of sixty. The author has also supplied a list of characters in the front of the book which is very helpful if the reader is like I am and sometimes requires a refresher of just who someone is in the story. The writing is excellent. Ms. Sprinkle paints lovely word pictures, making it easy to see the places she describing. She has also added some fine Southern humor to the story. I would give this book 4-1/2 stars if that were possible. I look forward to reading the rest of the books in this series.