J.B. Stanley Reviews (7)
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(2009) The Battered Body
Love is in the air in Quincy’s Gap VA. Jackson Henry, James’s curmudgeonly father, is getting married. James and the other four members of the town’s informal “supper club” – amateur sleuths all -- are in the midst of romantic dilemmas. Even the identical-twin librarians, Francis and Scott Fitzgerald – who remind me of the lovable nerds of television’s The Big Bang Theory -- find themselves in complicated relationships AND on a search for a kidnapped library elf. Murder of one of the wedding guests puts a damper on the festivities and the Christmas season. Never fear -- our intrepid heroes and heroines are on the case and we long-time readers know everything will resolve tidily by the last page. These mysteries are less about crime, and more about how these terrific characters move through their lives and grow stronger with each book. The five Supper Clubbers are wonderfully flawed, all with a good heart and a straightforward approach to life. They treat each other – and everyone in their lives -- with kindness and respect. Think of The Battered Body (or any of the four earlier books) as the best book for a really bad day – an antidote to a world that can sometimes be cruel or cold.
The Supper Club mysteries are among my favorites -- and I’m happy to tell other fans that The Battered Body is the BEST yet. I guarantee you’ll love it! Some of the developments bode well for coming books in the series – and I hope there will be many, many more. (Recipes included.)
By Diana. First published in the Cozy Library May 20, 2009.
(2008) Stiffs and Swine
The five Supper Clubbers are headed to Hogfest in Hudsonville VA to be celebrity judges. Their fame comes from their exploits as amateur detectives in their hometown of Quincy’s Gap. They’ll be judging several events including one phase of the barbeque contest. Obnoxious Jimmy Lang expects to win the lucrative food-company contract that goes to the overall winner. But that is not to be. Jimmy winds up dead and Gillian O’Malley, one of our band of sleuths, winds up in jail when she’s found near the crime scene and police learn she and the victim share a troubled history.Knowing Gillian, a truly gentle soul, could not have killed anyone, her four compatriots – led by librarian James Henry – do what they do best: look for the real killer. As usual, subplots abound. James and his lady love, reporter Murphy Alistair, are paddling in rough waters. The Shenandoah County Library System copes with unruly teens. Mail carrier Bennett Marshall studies to qualify for Jeopardy. At the bed and breakfast where the Supper Clubbers are staying, the owner and her teenage daughter are at odds with each other.
Two good friends put J.B. Stanley’s Supper Club Mysteries at the very top of their favorites lists. It’s easy to see why. These books are pure escapism and the gentlest of fun. Fans know all will turn out well at the end – but Ms. Stanley typically leaves a cliffhanger that have readers chompin’ at the bit for the next book. The writing is straightforward (quaint at times) rather than “literary.” In these mysteries, even the cops are polite and professional – sweethearts rather than the louts they are in many cozy mysteries. Stiffs and Swine is a gem, with recipes.
Two good friends put J.B. Stanley’s Supper Club Mysteries at the very top of their favorites lists. It’s easy to see why. These books are pure escapism and the gentlest of fun. Fans know all will turn out well at the end – but Ms. Stanley typically leaves a cliffhanger that have readers chompin’ at the bit for the next book. The writing is straightforward (quaint at times) rather than “literary.” In these mysteries, even the cops are polite and professional – sweethearts rather than the louts they are in many cozy mysteries. Stiffs and Swine is a gem, with recipes.
(2008) Chili Con Corpses
The arrival of twin blonde bombshells starts everyone in Quincy’s Gap, Virginia talking. Veterinarian Parker Willis was a college roommate of Shenandoah Star Ledger reporter/managing editor Murphy Alistair. Parker is visiting her old friend; her sister Kinsley is teaching at the local high school. Meanwhile the Supper Club members are taking a break from their non-stop dieting to sign up for a Fix n’ Freeze cooking class together. They’re joined by Murphy, Kinsley, Parker and Parker’s fellow veterinarian Colin Crabtree. Murphy is distraught when one of the twins is murdered … and she wants to find out whodunit. It’s only natural that the Supper Club members, led by librarian James Henry, agree to help. That pushes Murphy and James together, which is fine with him, seeing he’s been rebuffed by fellow club member Lucy Hanover. Lucy, a sheriff’s department dispatcher, is spending lots of time with a hunky training partner who, like Lucy, is working hard to qualify as a sheriff’s deputy. Meanwhile, James’s reclusive father Jackson warms up to Fix n’ Freeze chef Camilla Fields, whom James invites to cook Thanksgiving dinner at the Henry home.
This Supper Club Mystery series features straightforward writing and satisfactory plotting – but it’s the characters that make it super-special. The Supper Club members and their friends are good-hearted, grow with each book, and are never static or predictable. Readers will want to cheer them. Chili con Corpses, like the spicy recipes it contains, will warm up a cold winter day.
By Diana. First published in Mystery News, Feb-Mar 2008 issue.
(2007) Fit to Die
"Chilly Willy” Kendrick’s frozen custard shop is opening in Quincy’s Gap, Virginia. The Polar Pagoda is a popular place for indulging in sweet, calorie-laden treats – not exactly the place the diet-conscious Supper Club regulars should be frequenting. Two of the town’s leading ladies and one newcomer are pretty vocal about their opposition to the Polar Pagoda. The president of the historical society hates the building’s architecture; the minister’s wife scorns the slightly salacious t-shirts Willy sells. And Veronica Levitt, who just opened a Witness to Fitness center, believes the Polar Pagoda will offer much too much temptation to her diet-and-exercise clients, which includes the entire Supper Club, the self-proclaimed “Flab Five.”
Meanwhile the Supper Club rallies ‘round one of its own: the sheriff’s Gal Friday and deputy wannabe Lucy Hanover. The department is investigating a fatal fire and Sheriff Huckabee asks for her help. It’s just the opportunity Lucy has been looking for. Particularly eager to join Lucy’s sleuthing team is James “Professor” Henry, Lucy’s would-be beau.
Fit to Die is the second “Supper Club Mystery” by J.B. Stanley. I really liked Carbs & Cadaversand believe Fit to Die is as good, maybe even better. The author gets it just right – a small-town setting, good-hearted characters (mostly), smooth plotting, a light-hearted approach and a resolution that tidily ties up all the loose ends. Fit to Die is a feel-good story that will have readers rooting for the soon-to-be-slender Supper Clubbers.
(2006) A Fatal Appraisal
Molly Appleby, a writer for Collector’s Weekly, is in Richmond, Virginia to cover an antiques-appraisal television show, Hidden Treasures (think Antiques Roadshow), that’s in the area for a week. Shortly after she arrives, Molly meets several of the show’s alliterative appraisers (Frank in furniture, Jessica in jewelry, Borris in books, etc.). Frank also gives her an up-close look at a beautifully crafted 18th Century slant-front desk with several hidden compartments. At the bed-and-breakfast inn where she’s staying, Molly also meets an antiques researcher fromBritain, Garrett Huntington. He’s handsome, sweet and flirtatious enough to keep Molly from pining for Mark Harrison, her co-worker atCollector’s Weekly and would-be beau.
When Frank goes missing, it’s Molly who locates him – dead of an apparent allergy attack. Not satisfied that his was a natural death, Molly uses her powers of perception – and naturally nosy nature – to find evidence he was murdered and hands the perpetrator over to police. But why would anyone want to kill Frank? He was annoying – but then most members of the Hidden Treasures cast have as many personal peccadilloes as he did. And do police have the right man in custody? When a second murder occurs, it becomes apparent to Molly that there’s more to the story.
While telling the tale of contemporary crimes, J.B. Stanley weaves in the history of the slant-front desk – which plays a small role in both Molly’s case and in America’s Revolutionary War.
I read and reviewed J.B. Stanley’s first “collectible mystery,” giving it three quills (out of five). Often it’s the second book that shows whether a series has enough oomph to propel it far into the future. J.B. Stanley outdid herself with A Fatal Appraisal. The first 75 pages or so were reminiscent of the best long-lived series – those of Susan Wittig Albert and Carolyn Hart come immediately to mind. The author used the early chapters to paint vivid portraits of the main characters; then the beautifully paced plot provided readers just enough information to solve it along with Molly. Molly is a great character, as is her mother Clara – who’s worried her daughter, single and approaching age 30, won’t give her grandchildren. This series is a keeper.
(2006) Carbs & Cadavers
James Henry, a 30-something professor of English literature, has left his job and returned home to Quincy’s Gap, Virginia following the death of his mother and the end of his marriage. Jackson Henry, not a model parent under the best of circumstances, seems unable to live on his own and, dutiful son that he is, James wants to pitch in. Not that his father is at all grateful.As it turns out the King Street branch of the Shenandoah County Library has a vacancy for a head librarian and James gets the job. He counts himself fortunate to have the upbeat and energetic Fitzgerald twins, Francis and Scott, on his small staff. Never an outgoing or popular person, James is missing his old life and putting on weight. When he learns about a “Supper Club” being formed as a support group for adults battling weight problems, James signs up as much for friendship as weight loss.
Supper Club member Lucy Hanover works in the sheriff’s department and hopes her weight-loss will allow her to pass a physical to become a deputy herself. When a local loser dies in The Sweet Tooth, a bakery/candy shop, and police immediately settle on a fresh-faced young woman as the number one suspect, the Supper Club steps in. Lucy would like to show up the macho sheriff’s deputy who’s too busy strutting his stuff to truly investigate the murder. James feels drawn to Lucy – although he’s still hurting from having his wife dump him for another man – and wants to help her. In fact, the entire Supper Club wants to help. (Plus it helps distract them from the hunger pangs.)
I liked Carbs & Cadavers from page one. James is a great hero, sweet and likable. Readers will be cheering him and his fellow Supper Clubbers on! Although it has its comic flashes, Carbs & Cadavers also has some bittersweet moments when readers will shake their heads at the casual cruelty people often direct at overweight people. But, overall, Carbs & Cadavers is just plain fun to read – with quirky, small-town characters and enough action to keep readers interested. I also liked the cover art and the chapter headings – both very catchy.
By Diana. First published in the Cozy Library September 25, 2006.
(2006) A Killer Collection
Her job as a writer for Collector’s Weekly takes Molly Appleby to Seagrove NC for a pottery sale (known as a kiln opening). She attends with her mother Clara, who buys, collects and sells antiques. Clara introduces Molly to George-Bradley Staunton IV (G.B. to his friends if he had any). The pottery collector is arrogant and obnoxious – the kind of man who pushes little old ladies out of his way to get what he wants.
Before the sale is over, G.B. is dead, the victim of an apparent accidental overdose of insulin. But Molly observes some of the man’s odd behavior in the moments before he collapses and is convinced his death was no accident. She believes someone at the kiln opening injected him with insulin – but so many people dislike the man, Molly’s suspect list is pretty long.Molly’s editor, excited by the increased circulation Molly’s story ofStaunton’s death means for Collector’s Weekly, assigns her to do a series on Asheboro pottery collectors. That assignment, along with Molly’s association with Lex and Kitty Lewis, an antique seller Clara works for, bring her into contact with many of her suspects.
Although I thought A Killer Collection was an interesting read, I believe the author came within inches of not playing fair with her readers and violated one of the tenets of mystery writing in the final resolution of the main mystery. (To say more would reveal too much.) On the positive side, J.B. Stanley knows her pottery and shares her knowledge with readers without going overboard. I’m betting anyone interested in collecting or pottery or face jugs will enjoy it even more than I did. I’m passing my copy along to a friend who collects pub jugs.
By Diana. First published in the Cozy Library. May 3, 2006
To learn more about J.B. Stanley, click here
