Synopsis (from
the publisher):
After solving her first big murder case in the small town of Celosia,
North Carolina, Madeline Maclin hopes at last to be taken seriously as
a private investigator. She's opened an office in the home of her best
friend Jerry Fairweather, a man haunted by his past who enjoys running
harmless scams.
Jerry doesn't feel worthy of anyone's love--bad news for
Madeline--although she thinks Jerry's sister Harriet knows more about
the accident that killed their parents than she'll say.
Madeline is hired to find Kirby Willet, an eccentric inventor who left
boxes of his belongings, including one filled with money, at Frannie
Thomas’ house. Meanwhile Voltage Films director, Josh Gaskins, is
in town and thinks Jerry's old house will be perfect for his horror
film, "Curse of the Mantis Man," about Celosia's mythical beast. Is
this monster actually real?
Celosia is also hopping with the Pageantoids, rabid fans from
Madeline's days as a beauty queen, who have come to Celosia to produce
more pageants. And then there's Rick Rialto, one of Jerry's shady con
artist friends.
When Gaskins is murdered, Madeline uncovers several suspects and is
forced to make -- and investigate -- some hard bargains. At least one
of which is with Jerry …
— ◊ —
— ◊ —
A Hard Bargain
A Madeline
Maclin Mystery
Jane
Tesh
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-354-X (159058354X)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-354-8 (9781590583548)
Publication Date: January 2007
List Price: $24.95
— ◊ —
Review: Former
beauty queen Madeline Maclin returns in A Hard Bargain, the second mystery
in this series by Jane Tesh.
One of Madeline's first cases as an independent private investigator is
to locate a man whose belongings were placed in the care of a neighbor
who is now eager to get rid of them. While searching through boxes
belonging to the missing man for clues to his whereabouts, she finds
$10,000 in cash, money no one thinks he could legitimately have earned.
In parallel to her investigation, she's also trying to understand what
really happened on the night her best friend's parents were killed over
20 years ago. There are a couple of other subplots that are peripheral
to the story but help introduce additional characters.
Madeline is a well-drawn and appealing lead for the series and A Hard Bargain is mildly
entertaining as a cozy mystery. There are, however, some fairly obvious
inconsistencies in the plots of each of the main storylines that must
be either overlooked or forgiven in order to enjoy the story. The
missing person's case really isn't much of one (Madeline locates him
with minimal effort), and it's hard to believe that the police
investigating the deaths of her friend's parents decades ago didn't put
forth the very same questions Madeline asks the family today. And for
all practical purposes, Madeline accidentally stumbles onto the
solution of the only real mystery in the book, the murder of the
director of a movie that is being filmed in her community.
A Hard Bargain is
probably not the best choice for that inclement afternoon, but it won't
disappoint either.
Special thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of A Hard Bargain for this review.
Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read A Hard Bargain? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series …
A Case of Investigation
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), February 2006
ISBN-10: 1-59058-219-5 (1590582195)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-219-0 (9781590582190)
A Hard Bargain
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), January 2007
ISBN-10: 1-59058-354-X (159058354X)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-354-8 (9781590583548)
A Little Learning
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), May 2009
ISBN-10: 1-59058-650-6 (1590586506)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-650-1 (9781590586501)
Omnimystery keywords for A Hard Bargain ...
Location(s) referenced: North
Carolina.
