Marriage Is Murder

Jenny Cain #4

by Nancy Pickard

When Jenny Cain's future husband, policeman Geof Bushfield becomes disillusioned by all the domestic violence occuring in Port Frederick between husbands and wives, it is up to Jenny to help Geof find the answer

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Crime, Cozy, Mystery Thriller

220 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Nancy Pickard is an American crime novelist. She received a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri and began writing at age 35.

She has won five Macavity Awards, four Agatha Awards, an Anthony Award, and a Shamus Award. She is the only author to win all four awards. Her novel The Virgin of Small Plains, published in 2007, won an Agatha Award. She also served on the board of directors of the Mystery Writers of America.

Reviews

[Glen]

While our amateur sleuth and her superco boyfriend have the pre-wedding jitters, there's a storm of domestic murders, with women shooting their husbands. However, none of the wives confess, and the guns are never found, and somebody's never heard of the various tests that can tell when someone has fired a weapon.

Not really for me.

[Alice]

Overall, this was a good story. In the Kindle version, there were so many typos, incorrect use of words (shed for she'd, etc.) and inserted " where they didn't belong that I was losing track of the story with my irritation at the poor editing. I've read other Kindle books by the same author without this problem.

[Robb Landon]

Lacking plot. Mostly descriptions of situations. Would not recommend.

[Christie]

Dull. No mystery to most of the book.

[Jenny]

I read this in one night, partly because I can no longer get to bed at a reasonable hour because of how uncomfortable I'm becoming (I'm less than 4 weeks out from my first baby's due date). Plus it's a quick read, and I think it's a book that was probably better in one go than in reading it piecemeal. Jenny and Geof are scheduled to get married, but the mystery is why abusive husbands are being killed.... it appears in most cases that the battered women are to blame, finally having had enough, but the women claim they are innocent. What is going on? Why are these cases adding up in so short a time period? Does it have anything to do with the new policeman on the force, Willie Henderson?

In a rapid finish, we learn that it's the elderly professor, Henry Ingram, is the one killing these wastes of men. He and his much younger wife Kathy are conducting research into domestic violence, and so from the intake survey they do, he knows about the couples' schedules and what is really happening. He collects guns from all his kills, which is partly how Jenny figures it out. She goes to the Ingrams in the first place, though, because Jenny's sister calls her, saying they have been in touch with her, suspecting her husband is abusing her (she's really just unusually klutzy and has truly broken a rib from tripping). And at the end, Jenny and Geof get married with their family around them. Marriage isn't always murder after all!

[Shawn]

A very fast-paced who done it, fourth in the series which I am reading through this year. Likeable main characters, not perfect or infallible. The setting is in New England in a very small port town......which becomes a "character" too. I'm a sucker for cozy mysteries with a interesting female lead.😉

[Jackie]

Probably about 3 1/2 stars. Read most of this series years ago, but for some reason this one had gotten left out. The reason I started this series was because there was a hint of humor in the first couple I read. There is no humor in this one. It was OK but nothing exceptional & parts of it were very predictable.

[Jennifer]

I thought the plot and overall novel were strong but there were a ton of errors in the manuscript. Did someone not proofread this work? I’d say 20-30 spelling, etc… errors throughout the novel. Very strange and can’t understand why it was published in this state.

[Joan Wendland]

A well thought out murder mystery with a theme of domestic violence. It kept me guessing right up until the end, and the psychology of abusers and the abused was interesting, if depressing.

[Joanne Cheek]

Boring. DNF. Couldn’t get into this at all.

[Clyde]

good mystery

[Elyn]

Wow! You can't put it down!

[Sheila]

This was a tough one to read but very good!

[Christine Lucia Asha]

This one is a serious topic, really sad outcomes and several cases of misinterpretation of relationships. That is all I can say without giving anything away.

[Jean]

I have read this book three times. It was really kind of a downer and a very grim look at a plethora of spouse abusers. Didn't get more than threes stars at any time. Not badly written, just grim.

[Luz C. Johnson]

I'm a sucker for Nancy Pickard's mystery stories. Jenny Cain is exceptional, refreshing and unexpected.

The title itself “Marriage is Murder” was a sarcastic invitation. Read me! Of course, this one is when Jennifer finally ties the knot with Geof, the cop, but a string of murdered married people puts some doubt in the soon to be married couple. This mystery was hard to crack, especially since the author discloses vital information toward the end, but the reader doesn’t feel betrayed, since Jenny releases her findings as she goes along, and she found the info –barely –by the end of the book.

[Lbaker]

I re-read this book by accident - it wasn't until I was half way through that I remembered that I had read it before. Not worth re-reading, but I was half way there, so I finished, although by then I remembered who "dunnit". Did not find it a particularly fair murder - the main clues weren't disclosed until the very end.

[George]

#4 in the Jenny Cain mystery series. Jenny is the CEO of a charitable foundation in fictional small town Port Frederick, Mass. She is about to marry her boyfriend who is a police detective. In the two weeks leading to their marriage, the town is hit with a series domestic violence cases in which absive husbands are being murdered. Jenny is drawn into the cases as her boyfriend investigates.

[Margaret]

Very good. But hard to read. There is a mystery, and the mystery is solved, and has somewhat of a surprise twist, but the main theme was the thorny problem of domestic violence. Lots of violence, lots of involved couples. Not the kind of light cozy I prefer for bedtime reading, but worth reading all the same.

[Kimberly]

Nice little mystery - was a great paperback read at the beach. Easy to pick up and put down. Didn't realize it was so old - would have liked to read the others in the series, but not sure my library will have them. I probably picked this one up at a library sale a few years ago.

[Julie H. Ernstein]

A little darker than the previous three in the series, this one showed that Pickard is a serious mystery writer (pun intended).

[Danielle]

Now that I know this is book #4 in a series, I need to backtrack to read the others. Quick, intriguing mysteries. I pictured Kyra Sedgwick as Jenny Cain as I read this book.

[Kwoomac]

Somewhat unbelievable tale of Jenny Cain, who gets wrapped up in cop boyfriend's cases. Shades of "Murder She Wrote"

[Carol]

It was okay, not a favorite. Mostly about abusive marriages with a twist at the end, that was a surprise.

[Nancy]

This is a nice, easy, fast read...a real relief after the 500 page Gothic tome I just finished!

[Stefanie Jones]

""

[Jennie]

Finished reading a really great book if you like mysteries it is a great book to read.

[Deborah]

Kept me guessing the whole way through, with a surprise twist at the end!

[Laurie]

A good read but a difficult subject matter. I was caught off guard by the ending.

[Kari]

Very easy read. Love the series.