The Wrong Stuff: A Jane Wheel Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "Okay, so these are silver plate, and I really don't collect silver plate or silver or anything shiny like that, except maybe hotel silver when..." (more)
Key Phrases: killer stuff, Rick Moore, Claire Oh, Horace Cutler (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Antiques picker Jane Wheel has vowed to reduce the clutter in her home after losing her son's field-trip permission slip. At the same time, she must decide whether to join former police detective Bruce Oh's private detective agency. Events come to a head when Oh's wife, Claire, an antiques dealer, is accused of substituting a fake chest for an extremely rare find. When the buyer is murdered, leaving Claire the prime suspect, Jane agrees to investigate; so she and her longtime friend Tim go off to Campbell and LaSalle, the company where the chest was restored, and Jane finds a second body. The plot has a few holes--it's unrealistic to think that Jane would be able to search and remove evidence from the second victim's cabin and vehicle before the police do--but readers will respond to the likable characters and their amusing interrelationships. The details of antiques picking, dealing, and restoring, as well as clutter removal, offer added dimensions to an enjoyable series. Sue O'Brien
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

Praise For Sharon Fiffer And Her Novels
"Absolutely charming. Added bonus: the amusing admonitions to pack rats that head up each chapter."-Kirkus Reviews

"Sharon Fiffer writes very clever 'stuff.' Think Antiques Roadshow meets I Love Lucy and prepare to enjoy."-Jerrilyn Farmer, author of the bestselling Madeline Bean mysteries

"Fiffer has created an attractive and entertaining detective."-Dallas Morning News

"Sharon Fiffer's first mystery is a must-have...this is a keeper."-Chicago Tribune on Killer Stuff

"Readers whose idea of heaven is picking through boxes of junk at a dusty flea market are certain to love this entertaining first novel starring Chicagoan Jane Wheel...an auspicious debut featuring a popular pastime." -Booklist on Killer Stuff

"Clever...well-developed, entertaining characters...pack rats and fans of lighter mystery fare should be perfectly satisfied." -Publishers Weekly on Dead Guy's Stuff

"A promising springboard for future tales." --Orlando Sentinel on Killer Stuff
-- Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur (August 26, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312989504
• ISBN-13: 978-0312989507
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #576,246 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 3 in The Jane Wheel Mystery Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The work of a fine writer, January 8, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Wrong Stuff (Jane Wheel Mysteries, No. 3) (Hardcover)

A friend of mine in the publishing business, an editor at one of the big houses who knows I'm a great admirer of the well-turned sentence, recommended this series to me last year and it was the nicest thing anyone has done for me in a long time. In THE WRONG STUFF and its two predecessor books Mrs. Fiffer has done to the "picking" subculture what was done to dog shows by Guest and Levy in the movie "Best in Show" (but in a nice way). This third installment, like the previous two, has a cast of compelling characters and a plot that keeps the reader turning the pages and thoroughly engaged with Jane Wheel and Bruce Oh as they puzzle their way to the very satisfying conclusion. And those would be reasons enough to recommend this book to anyone who loves to read.

But they are not the main reason. The main reason you ought not to leave this page before mousing over and adding this book to your shopping cart is, in a word, the writing. It's the kind of writing that can make you laugh out loud. And think hard about your own life, if you're of a certain age. It can make you hurt for characters you know exist only in your imagination and that of those others who have been fortunate enough to stumble across this wonderful series. It is, frankly, the kind of writing that many of the big names at the top of the best seller list wouldn't recognize if it bit them on the leg.

Sharon Fiffer is the best writer nobody ever heard of. Please keep 'em coming, ma'am.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Converted to a Mystery Fan, January 7, 2004

By	Robert Bissell "robertbissell" (Northampton, Ma United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Wrong Stuff (Jane Wheel Mysteries, No. 3) (Hardcover)

Sharon Fiffer has done it. I didn't used to be a mystery fan, but she has converted me. I've read all three books in her Jane Wheel series, 'Dead Guy's Stuff,' 'Killer Stuff,' and now 'The Wrong Stuff.' I can only hope that there will be a fourth volume soon. I read the current release, 'The Wrong Stuff,' in two days (I often spend a couple of weeks getting through a book). It was a terrific mix of mystery, humor, and character development. The main character, Jane Wheel, is molded true to life. She struggles to solve intriguing crimes, maintain her interest in collectable antiques, and devote time to family and friends. She finds it a difficult balance, and that's part of the charm of the books. Jane's mother is a hoot! Her friends, Detective Oh, and Tim, are cleverly drawn characters, and quite believable.
Most readers will readily identify with the entries at the beginning of each chapter, excerpts from an imaginary advice book called 'Overstuffed,' - about ridding clutter from your life. The quotes were so well done that, after I had read the first 200 pages of 'The Wrong Stuff,' I went online - I thought that perhaps 'Overstruffed' actually existed - and, if so, I might order a copy (I think Fiffer could develop a story line around the imaginary author). But we'll have to wait a while for that. In the meantime I hope you enjoy 'The Wrong Stuff' as much as I did.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Stuff Runneth Over, February 8, 2004

By	TundraVision (o/~ from the Land of Sky Blue Waters o/~) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Wrong Stuff (Jane Wheel Mysteries, No. 3) (Hardcover)

Like the Jadite and Bakelite and old linens and handwriting that Jane finds, Sharon Fiffer's "Stuff" series just keeps getting better. When we last left Jane Wheel, Kankakee saloon owners' daughter, former ad exec, Charley's not-so-estranged wife and Nick's momma, now antique "picker," sentimental "junquer," and ameuteur sleuth, she was chillin on the back porch with husband Charley, contemplating what she was going to be when she grew up. Would she reunite the family with Charley? Would she go into the picking/selling antiques/collectibles business with bestfriend since 1st grade Tim? Would she partner with retired Police Detective Oh (he of the great old ties?) Or have it all, to be a PI ("Picker Investigator?")

But can one have too much Stuff? Too many titles and responsibilities? Fiffer has invented organizing maven Belinda St. Germain, author of *Overstuffed An Addicts Guide to Decluttering* who chides and guides disciples into getting rid of their excessive Stuff before it suffocates them. Would but she were real and I could collect her books!

The title, "The Wrong Stuff," has multiple meanings as one meanders through the mystery. Fiffer sells intelligent social commentary along with another fun foray into the cozy colorful world of collectors and collectables, cleverly set up in the two prior "Stuffs."

TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer