joan hess deader homes and gardens

Deader Homes and Gardens: A Claire Malloy Mystery

Description

Claire Malloy discovers that house-hunting can be murder—literally—in the latest entry in Joan Hess's "wildly entertaining series." (Mystery Scene)

Back from her somewhat unusual honeymoon, Claire Malloy must face the harsh reality of life with her new husband, police chief Peter Rosen, and her teenage daughter Caron—three people simply can't fit into her cosy two bedroom apartment. After a week of fruitless looking, she finally finds the perfect
place—a well preserved large house on a large plot of land in an area called Hollow Valley. There are only a few problems. Such as the real estate agent disappeared mid-showing and hasn't been seen since. And the last owner died in circumstances labeled 'accidental' but were actually both 'mysterious' and 'dubious'. The family that owned the estate is now suing the lover of the dead owner over the rights to the property. Oh, and it isn't really for sale. When the previous owner's lover dies practically at her feet, Claire decides to take matters into her own hands. After all, to get the house of her dreams, first she has to find a killer. And all's fair in love, war, and real estate.

Amateur Sleuths
Cozy Mysteries
Mystery
All categories

About the author

Joan Hess (1949–2017) was an award-winning author of several long-running mystery series. Born in Arkansas, she was teaching preschool when she began writing fiction. Known for her lighthearted, witty novels, she created the Claire Malloy Mysteries and the Arly Hanks Mysteries, both set in Arkansas.

Reviews

What people think about Deader Homes and Gardens

2.7

Reader reviews

I hated this book. Usually I will give up on a book that I detest, but for some reason, I kept thinking that it had to get better. It didn't.
I loathed Claire. I loathed every character in this novel, it seemed that not one of them had a redeeming feature.
Claire was quite possibly the most self-centered, egotistical, uncaring, selfish protagonist I have ever come across.
All the sentences were super short. I doubt that a comma was ever needed. The flow was stilted. Just like this paragraph.
I give this book one star and the caution; don't waste your time.
Newlywed, Claire has enough trouble finding the perfect house, but it gets worse when her realtor end up dead. The plot was interesting but its execution did not leave a lot of mystery.
This nicely twisting plott made me laugh out loud. The 'bad guy' was well hidden among all the other characters. Caron and Inez add their own variety of comedy that well reflects dealing with teenaged girls.
Claire Molloy, just married and on the prowl for a new house, finds her Arkansas dream home. Trouble is it isn't for sale. Or maybe it's for sale. Before the issue of whether it's for sale or not can be resolved, her Realtor disappears. That doesn't stop Claire and her daughter Caron from making regular inspection tours of the house and setting up camp there when the purported owner is murdered right before Claire's eyes. A missing person, a murder with lots of suspects– and there's something else suspicious in Hollow Valley, but Claire can't figure out what it is. All the mystery surrounding her gets Claire's amateur sleuth juices flowing. Thank goodness her cop-husband Peter is out of town and otherwise occupied. Deader Homes & Gardens is standard fare in this long-lived series. Zaniness and impossible situations and characters abound. It's a cozy and fantastical getaway for an afternoon.