RARE HARDCOVER EDITION
When Zeffie Got a Clue
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle.
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Romance and intrigue in coastal Florida,
By FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews
This review is from: When Zeffie Got a Clue (Christy Castleman Mysteries #3) (Paperback)
Faith fiction fans of the cozy mystery genre who have enjoyed Peggy Darty's "A Cozy Mystery" series will find the third installment, WHEN ZEFFIE GOT A CLUE, chugs along in the same gentle vein as its predecessors.
In the first book, WHEN THE SANDPIPER CALLS, Darty introduced amateur sleuth and author Christy Castleman, a young single woman living a stone's throw from her parents in her Florida panhandle hometown of Summer Breeze, Florida. If you haven't read SANDPIPER and WHEN BOBBIE SANG THE BLUES, stop reading here. You'll enjoy the storyline of ZEFFIE more by reading the series in order. This latest episode has a sweeter-than-sugar beginning. In WHEN BOBBIE SANG THE BLUES, Christy's Aunt Bobby Bodine was opening a new shop, I Saw It First, a "trash-to-treasures" sort of establishment where Bobby bought old items and made them interesting and saleable. As the new story opens, it's almost Christmas. Christy is staffing the shop when Zeffie Adams, a young elementary-aged waif shows up with cheap jewelry box to sell. As Christy gently probes the girl for an explanation, she discovers the box once belonged to Zeffie's deceased mother. Zeffie, who now lives with her grandmother, is selling it to help pay for her grandmother's medical bills. Christy generously pays Zeffie more than the box is worth and makes it her mission to ensure Zeffie is taken under the wing of numerous people in the small town of Summer Breeze. Heartstrings, prepare to be tugged! In a bit of a credibility stretch, Christy discovers a piece of paper under the lining of the jewelry box that holds a clue to a long-ago unsolved murder --- coincidently, the murder of one of Christy's long-ago friends, Kirby Strickland, who had once saved her from drowning. The plotline follows Christy as she tried to solve the murder. Christy also continues her romance with Dan Brockman, her on-again, off-again boyfriend --- and this time, it looks like a proposal might be in the offing. Darty does a good job leaving the identity of the killer in question right up until the closing pages. Is it R.J. Wentworth, the owner of a Florida marina, who married Kirby's girlfriend, Julie Clark, after Kirby died? What about Vince Brown and his wife, Ellen, Kirby's sister, who inherited the business and palatial house after Kirby's death? Another suspect, Wayne Crocker, is a ladies man with conquests up and down the coast and a successful boat broker with past ties to Kirby. Della, a housekeeper who quit soon after the murder and Rueben Foster, an alcoholic painter employed by the victim's family, also leave question marks in Christy's mind. The faith themes are strong. As Christy, a pastor's daughter, gazes on a crystal angel figurine in her bedroom, she prays, "God, please help us bring this murderer to justice." Overdescription can slow things down ("Sunlight bounced off the girl's long blond hair, forming a gauzy halo that lit her face and exaggerated the wisdom and sorrow in her green eyes.") The dialogue can become stiff ("Christy Castleman! It's been ages. I enjoy your books, and I see your grandmother often.") Wordiness also can slow down the pacing: "She would find the person who had killed Kirby. She was onto the killer, and the killer knew it. She knew it too." But readers of the series will be delighted to discover the ongoing relationships developing between the characters in the tropical setting of Summer Breeze. It's nice to see the character of Bobbie making a return appearance as well. Tender-hearted readers will root for a happily-ever-after ending for Zeffie, and Darty doesn't disappoint. Darty knows what her readers want, and she delivers redemption, a neatly-wrapped up conclusion, and plenty of question marks about the identity of the killer as the plot unfolds in WHEN ZEFFIE GOT A CLUE. --- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Cozy Mystery",
By
This review is from: When Zeffie Got a Clue (Christy Castleman Mysteries #3) (Paperback)
This is my first cozy mystery to read by Peggy Darty and I'm sure it won't be my last. The author says "The cozy mystery is, by far, my favorite, because this genre allows the reader to participate in solving the mystery." I did like that about reading this book. I really liked the town in Florida called Summer Breeze. It's a place you definitely want to stay for a while. Zeffie is the most adorable little girl that everyone falls in love with and wants to take home. She meets the main character Christy at her store called "I Saw It First Shop" don't you just love that name? I also like what there store does. Christy explains to Zeffie "What we like to do here is rework something that's lost its purpose and make it pretty again." I think every town needs one of these shops; I think God allows us to be re-worked once we have been lost our purpose as well.
This cozy mystery reminded me of a good Nancy Drew mystery. Zeffie hands Christy a clue that reopens a case from years ago. This case was personal for Christy. The man that was murdered saved her life. With the clue she is determined to track down this killer if that is the last thing she does. You will love this town and the Characters as well. It really makes me want to read the other books in this series. Nora St.Laurent www.psalm516.blogspot.com
4.0 out of 5 stars
...a fun, easy going journey that will keep you guessing to the end.,
This review is from: When Zeffie Got a Clue (Christy Castleman Mysteries #3) (Paperback)
Cozy mysteries are a comfortable fit for Christian fiction. By nature there is no gore, outright violence, or anything else too disturbing. They're light and fun, as we follow casually along until we find the murderer. When Zeffie Got a Clue fits right in with a page turning plot that won't give us nightmares.
Christy is a Christian, her father is a pastor, and her life is safe and predictable in the peaceful town of Summer Breeze, Florida. She's on her second try at romance with Dan, and things are looking up for them. Many of us already know Christy, as she's solved two other mysteries before, but this book stands alone just fine if you're new to Summer Breeze. Now she's trying to warm up a cold case she cares about very much. Kirby was her idol after he saved her from drowning. He was the all-American town hero, and his murder has remained unsolved for years. The book's opening scene, even the first line, hooks the reader right away. A sweet little girl enters Christy's second hand shop. The girl is Zeffie, and she inadvertently opens Kirby's case wide open again with an old jewelry box she holds in her hands. Since Christy happens to be a mystery writer, she can't resist the opportunity to repay Kirby if she can only find his killer. Our heroine is surrounded by an extended family of loving people, all who play a large part in her life, if not in solving this mystery. Perhaps an even bigger mystery here is why every character who is in the vicinity of the age of fifty refers to themselves as if they are elderly, and seem obsessed with talking about their age. Zeffie has a sub plot all her own intertwined with the investigation, as the grandmother she loves and who has raised her is about to die. The only living relative they know of is definitely not going to give Zeffie the love and nurturing she needs, so Christy tries to find Zeffie's unknown father. We've got a budding romance for Christy's aunt and business partner, as well her own deepening relationship with Dan, which could be heading towards marriage. That is, if they can work out their uncertain future. She struggles to get closer to Dan, and she tries to be supportive as the possibility of a new job far away looms. The number of suspects mounts, as do the coincidences, leading Christy and an officer friend closer and closer to the real truth of what happened to Kirby in his family mansion that day. We consider several scenarios, all pretty plausible, while none stands out as the obvious truth. Thankfully, we haven't been tricked by Darty. She doesn't throw in some unrelated clue at the very end and reveal the murderer as someone we never could have guessed. That can be a frustration to the reader in this genre. It's a satisfying ending all the way around, and a fun, easy going journey that will keep you guessing to the end.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
