Mama Does Time
A
Mace Bauer Mystery
Deborah Sharp
Midnight Ink (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-7387-1329-5 (0738713295)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7387-1329-8 (9780738713298)
Publication Date: October 2008
List Price: $13.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Meet Mama: a true Southern woman with impeccable
manners, sherbet-colored pantsuits, and four prior husbands, able to
serve sweet tea and sidestep alligator attacks with equal aplomb.
Mama's antics -- especially her penchant for finding trouble -- drive
her daughters Mace, Maddie, and Marty to distraction.
One night, while settling in to look for ex-beaus on COPS, Mace gets a
frantic call from her mother. This time, the trouble is real: Mama
found a body in the trunk of her turquoise convertible and the police
think she's the killer. It doesn't help that the handsome detective
assigned to the case seems determined to prove Mama's guilt or that the
cowboy who broke Mace's heart shows up at the local Booze ‘n'
Breeze in the midst of the investigation. Before their mama lands in
prison -- just like an embarrassing lyric from a country-western song
-- Mace and her sisters must find the real culprit.
Review:
Deborah Sharp introduces Mason "Mace" Bauer, daughter to Rosalee
Deveraux a.k.a. Mama, a multi-married, sherbet-colored pantsuit
wearing, beauty parlor aromatherapist, in Mama Does Time, a
delightful mystery set in Florida.
It’s September in Himmarshee, a town so small it is virtually
unheard of outside the county and even if a random visitor managed to
find it they couldn't pronounce it. 62-year-old Mama's been taken to
the jail by the new detective in town, Carlos Martinez from Miami, for
questioning in the death of a man whose body was found in the trunk of
her vintage Cadillac convertible. The victim, Jim Alpert, was the owner
of the local Booze and Breeze drive-thru, and
fiancé of Mama’s new bingo buddy Emma Jean
Valentine. Every one in Himmarshee knows Mama would never ever hurt any
one, so the thought of her killing someone is ludicrous. Except for
Detective Martinez who clearly thinks otherwise.
Although Himmarshee is certainly no tourist center, like most Florida
towns it does have an animal park. Mace, Mama's middle daughter who
loves the outdoors and the animals, is the caretaker of the park. Mace
finds Detective Martinez’s handling of the murder of Jim
Alpert outrageous and decides to begin a search on her own for the
murderer. Martinez warns her to back off and to let the professionals
handle the case, but she knows her mother is innocent and wants her out
of jail. For her efforts Mace is run off the road in her Jeep, she and
her mother receive threatening notes, and her house is broken into.
Each time Martinez warns her to back off. But Mace knows at least three
persons who had a good motive for wanting to see Alpert dead, and she's
pretty sure she's next on the list.
Much of the appeal of Mama
Does Time is in the relationship Mama has with her
daughters. This close-knit family of women argue with the best of them,
but are fiercely protective of each other. The writing is sharp and the
characters quick-witted. The situations Mama and her daughters find
themselves in provide much of the humor which has an authentic Southern
charm to it. That the plot seems to be secondary to everything else
doesn't lessen the interest in the story.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Mama Does Time and to Midnight Ink for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Have you read Mama Does Time? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series ...
Mama Does Time
Midnight Ink (Hardcover), October 2008
ISBN-10: 0-7387-1329-5 (0738713295)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7387-1329-8 (9780738713298)
Mama Rides
Shotgun
Midnight Ink (Hardcover), July 2009
ISBN-10: 0-7387-1330-9 (0738713309)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7387-1330-4 (9780738713304)
Omnimystery keywords for Mama Does Time ...
Location(s) referenced: Florida.
