Foreign Body: A Tory Bauer Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Ample-bodied, salty-tongued waitress Tory Bauer is no longer taking orders from anyone -- now that she has become co-owner of the only café in tiny Delphi, South Dakota. And since corpses on the premises are bad for business, Tory is understandably peeved when a young Swedish member of a traveling international choral group keels over in one of the booths, leaving a suicide note behind claiming a sexual predator, the Reverend Clay Deibert, drove her to it. Now Tory knows Clay is the straightest of straight arrows -- he's also Tory's cousin by marriage -- and she suspects slutty Meg, the only Canadian in the chorus, is responsible for this mess in some way or another. But when a dead body winds up stuffed into Clay's closet, Tory realizes that clearing the reverend might be tougher than finding a sarong in Saskatchewan. Like the Mounties, however, Tory's determined to get her man (or woman) -- unless the murdering he (or she) gets Tory first.

About the Author

Kathleen Taylor is the author of six mysteries featuring smalltown waitress Tory Bauer. Kathleen was a contributing editor for several crafts magazines and, when not writing, enjoys working on crafts. She has lived all her adult life in South Dakota, with her husband.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon Books; 1st edition (July 31, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380812053
• ISBN-13: 978-0380812059
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #164,150 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A genuine tour de force!, September 3, 2001

By A Customer

OK, I admit that I was already a Kathleen Taylor fan. Had I not been, FOREIGN BODY would have made me one.
This is a tour de force for Ms. Taylor. Her descriptive skills are at their best as Tory Bauer, her protagonist, doesn't even go outside her own café in Delphi, South Dakota to get involved with another mess. The question is: Is it a suicide or is it murder? Tory and her best friend wannabe-lover, wealthy-librarian Neil Pascoe, try to sort the pieces of a puzzle involving the local Luthern minister, a visiting teen-age choir, and a local scalawag.
As Ms. Taylor fits the pieces together, she builds her characters so completely that, when one finishes the book, he feels as though he is actually acquainted with the town and it's cleverly drawn citizenry.
The Tory Bauer series was already one of the best in the contemporary mystery genre. FOREIGN BODY only builds Ms. Taylor's reputation as a master storyteller and skilled writer.
When is Kathleen Taylor going to get her much-deserved Edgar Allen Poe Award?

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Death and Dining in South Dakota, August 16, 2001

By A Customer

Kathleen Taylor has done it again! This 6th Tory Bauer mystery is her best yet. I read it entirely in one sitting and am anxiously waiting for a seventh in the series.

One title in the series, "Sex and Salmonella," is still out of print. For new readers to the series, you'll want to read this one, too. Start whining to the publishers for a re-issue!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Very Good Story, But Errors Were A Distraction, August 29, 2001

By	N. Sausser "pucksau" (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Tory Bauer, waitress, part owner of a small cafe in Delphi, South Dakota and reluctant crime solver has fallen into another sticky situation. A young girl has attempted suicide in the Delphi Café and Tory is off in search of answers. I found a few problems with this, the sixth and most recent of the Tory Bauer Mysteries. I have always enjoyed Tory's introspective breaks in previous novels. They are often humorous and surprisingly insightful. But I think Ms. Taylor went a little overboard with this particular gambit in the first part of the story. It seemed to take too long to get to the meat of the tale. By the time Tory sits down with her friend, Neil Pascoe (they are a perfect match!), to discuss recent events, the story begins to move along at a more satisfying pace. There were several writing errors throughout the book. A few examples: In one sentence, the word make was used in place of the word may. "...lost on the our vast grid...". "...that it would to be up to me...". There were so many of these small errors it was a distraction. The print on several pages was faint and washed out looking. For people with normal vision, this probably doesn't pose a problem, but my eyesight is less than good and I had some difficulty with it. The story is a very good one and I enjoyed catching up with the folks in Delphi. It is a Not To Be Missed addition to this excellent series. I'm sorry to be so critical here, but I am hoping that word will get back to the publisher that Taylor's books deserve better editing and more attention paid to the actual printing process.