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Review – When Zeffie Got A Clue

January 8, 2011 By
When Zeffie Got A Clue, don’t you just love the title? I did and that’s what made me pick up book three of Peggy Darty’s Cozy Mystery series, where we find mystery writer Christy Castleman at work along side her somewhat eccentric aunt, Bobbi Bodine in the I Saw It First Junk Shop. As the story opens, eight-year-old Zeffie Adams brings into the shop an old jewelry box she received from her mother. Zeffie is hoping to receive enough money from the sale of the box to help pay for her grandmother’s many medical bills.

Taken by the young child’s vulnerability, Christy generously pays Zeffie for the box and begins work on refurbishing it for resale. When Christy removes the worn lining, she finds an appraisal for jewels belonging to Annabel Strickland, the mother of Kirby Strickland who was shot to death years ago in an unsolved case that was labeled a burglary gone wrong. Believing Kirby’s killer stole this box, Christy sets out to locate the person who gave the box to Zeffie’s mother with the hope that this trail will eventually lead to the killer.

When things get interesting and dangerous, and even when Christy’s boyfriend, encourages her to back off for her own safety, Christy, because of her fondness for Kirby who saved her from drowning once, moves forward in search of the killer. The mystery moves along at an even pace, with enough interest to keep you reading until the book leads to a very satisfying conclusion.

This entertaining mystery has many elements of a good cozy-a smallish town, people who know one another, some quirky characters, and an amateur sleuth tracking down a killer. Also in cozy style, the mystery unfolds slowly so you have time to savor the characters in the book while appreciating the strong leading character, Christy. Darty displays Christy’s fine personal qualities through the relationships with the other characters, most notably with Zeffie when her grandmother passes on and the elderly retired housekeeper now alone and lonely at the nursing home. So pick up When Zeffie Got A Clue and find the time to sit down and leisurely drift with the balmy ocean winds into Summer Breeze, Florida, and join in solving a solid cozy mystery.

When Zeffie Got a Clue (Christy Castleman Mysteries #3)
When Zeffie Got a Clue (Christy Castleman Mysteries #3)
by Peggy Darty
List Price: $18.99
Sale Price: $0.01
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Review – When Zeffie Got A Clue
Reviewed by Susan Sleeman
Find the time to sit down and leisurely drift with the balmy ocean winds into Summer Breeze, Florida, and join in solving a solid cozy mystery.
When Zeffie Got A Clue, don’t you just love the title? I did and that’s what made me pick up book three of Peggy Darty’s Cozy Mystery series, where we find mystery writer Christy Castleman at work along side her somewhat eccentric aunt, Bobbi Bodine in the I Saw It First Junk Shop. As the story opens, eight-year-old Zeffie Adams brings into the shop an old jewelry box she received from her mother. Zeffie is hoping to receive enough money from the sale of the box to help pay for her grandmother’s many medical bills.

Taken by the young child’s vulnerability, Christy generously pays Zeffie for the box and begins work on refurbishing it for resale. When Christy removes the worn lining, she finds an appraisal for jewels belonging to Annabel Strickland, the mother of Kirby Strickland who was shot to death years ago in an unsolved case that was labeled a burglary gone wrong. Believing Kirby’s killer stole this box, Christy sets out to locate the person who gave the box to Zeffie’s mother with the hope that this trail will eventually lead to the killer.

When things get interesting and dangerous, and even when Christy’s boyfriend, encourages her to back off for her own safety, Christy, because of her fondness for Kirby who saved her from drowning once, moves forward in search of the killer. The mystery moves along at an even pace, with enough interest to keep you reading until the book leads to a very satisfying conclusion.

This entertaining mystery has many elements of a good cozy-a smallish town, people who know one another, some quirky characters, and an amateur sleuth tracking down a killer. Also in cozy style, the mystery unfolds slowly so you have time to savor the characters in the book while appreciating the strong leading character, Christy. Darty displays Christy’s fine personal qualities through the relationships with the other characters, most notably with Zeffie when her grandmother passes on and the elderly retired housekeeper now alone and lonely at the nursing home. So pick up When Zeffie Got A Clue and find the time to sit down and leisurely drift with the balmy ocean winds into Summer Breeze, Florida, and join in solving a solid cozy mystery.
Reviewer Info

Susan Sleeman


Susan Sleeman SUSAN SLEEMAN grew up in a small Wisconsin town where she spent her summers reading Nancy Drew and developing a love of mystery and suspense books. Today, she channels this enthusiasm into hosting the popular internet website TheSuspenseZone.com and writing romantic suspense and mystery novels.

Much to her husband’s chagrin, Susan loves to look at everyday situations and turn them into murder and mayhem scenarios for future novels. If you’ve met Susan, she has probably figured out a plausible way to kill you and get away with it. Don’t worry, she’d never follow through on it.

Her GARDEN GATE MYSTERY series featuring landscape designer Paige Turner, debuted in October 2010 with NIPPED IN THE BUD in Barbour Books Hometown Mysteries line. The second book, READ BETWEEN THE TINES released in e-book format in the Spyglass Lane Mystery series in February of 2012.

Her first romantic suspense novel, featuring the Morgan Brothers, released with Ryan’s story in HIGH-STAKES INHERITANCE , Russ’s story in BEHIND THE BADGE and the Reid’s story in THE CHRISTMAS WITNESS.

This year Susan’s latest series about five adopted siblings who leave law enforcement to form a private investigations firm called the Justice Agency will debut with DOUBLE EXPOSURE in June and in November, DEAD WRONG will release.

Susan currently lives in Florida, but has had the pleasure of living in nine states. Her husband is a church music director and they have two beautiful daughters, a very special son-in-law and an adorable grandson. In her spare time, you can find her traveling to Oregon to visit her children and grandson, reading, gardening or working on TheSuspenseZone.com. To learn more about Susan, please visit her website, or follow on Twitter and Facebook.
 
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