Strangled Prose

Claire Malloy #1

by Joan Hess

She would have killed for a bestseller—but someone beat her to it...

Professor of Passion, the smutty new romance from Mildred Twiller—a.k.a. Azalea Twilight—isn't the kind of book Claire Mallow likes to hock at her bookstore, but Claire agrees to host a book party for her friend's trashy tale. As torrid as the novel is, it's nothing compared to the evening. After the party, poor Mildred is found dead in her home—stranged with a tightly knotted silk scarf. Now it's up to Claire to find Mildred's killer, and it won't be easy—the two-bit author had offended nearly every faculty member she worked with at nearby Faber College. But who could have hated Mildred with such smoldering passion?

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

183 pages

First published December 28, 1985

About the author

Joan Hess was the author of both the Claire Malloy and the Maggody mystery series. Hess was a winner of the American Mystery Award, a member of Sisters in Crime, and a former president of the American Crime Writers League. She lived in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Joan Hess also wrote a mystery series under the pseudonym of Joan Hadley.

Series contributed to:
. Crosswinds
. The Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories
. Malice Domestic
. Deadly Allies
. Sisters in Crime

Reviews

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading Claire Malloy's debut outing as an amateur sleuth. She runs a bookshops in a university town. Who doesn't like a bookshop or a university town? Sadly, they're not as many bookshops now where I live. Claire is a fiery, good-hearted soul. The dialogue was snappy and humorous. The murder mystery had an interesting premise. A great rainy Sunday read.

[Kimberly [Come Hither Books] · Rating 2 out of 5]

The mystery itself was okay, with a decent number of plausible motives and opportunities to keep things interesting. I read this book primarily because the narrator was a bookseller and I expected to relate, but the narrator's resentful hostility towards customers, authors, and readers of genres other than her own made me thoroughly dislike the main character. This was a cozy mystery capitalizing on the infighting and personal dramas of an academic setting, whose narrator constantly complained about the cheap thrills and torrid drama of a romance doing exactly the same thing. Though the plot itself was okay, the narrator's harsh criticisms of the book within the book highlighted the similarities, and made it hard to enjoy the escapism of what might otherwise have been a satisfying quick read.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In some of my spare time over the last few days I've been cleaning and going through my bookshelves, and I was honestly shocked to see how many books I had that I forgot about. This was one of them. I had started reading this soon after I first got it almost a year ago but I soon lost interest. However, I have like five books in this series on my shelves and I need the space so I read it to see if I hated it all the way through. Luckily, I didnt. In fact, I really enjoyed this book!

The main character, Claire, had an extremely hilarious, dry sense of humor that I loved and the potential love interest did also. I also loved the way the author portrayed Claire's daughter, even if she was a bit on the whiny side.

The setting was simply realistic. To me, realistic is one of the highest compliments that can be put on a setting because in many books the setting falls flat, or is too perfect. However, though the setting wasn't featured, the town did seem quaint and very realistically portrayed. The mystery was onkay, however it was extremely transparent. I saw the killer long before the reveal, and I'm surprised Claire didn't.

Overall a very good book. I may or may not make this one of my 'series projects' (longer series I enjoy enough to read all the way through). I've already started the second one, which was also sitting on my shelf for longer than this one had. Recommend!

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only reason this book is getting 3 stars is because the mystery was good. So why only 3? It's because the central character, Claire Malloy, is so thoroughly unlikeable. She is belligerent, caustic and too sarcastic for words. I also don't think much of her as a mother, friend or companion. I thought I had discovered a wonderful new cozy mystery series but I won't be reading any more books in this series. I suggest you don't waste your time or money either.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read all these books and I love them dearly but I have not added them as it takes too much time sadly the author died last year :(

[Dianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you don't mind a verbose author (in my opinion she could\should have cut at least 50 pages of snark, innuendo, and sarcasm) then this seems to be the author for you.

If you like the Arly Hanks series don't expect this one to be similar. It is so far into a different realm as to be nearly unrecognizable as the same author. Perhaps that was Ms. Hess's intention. Perhaps she thought that she should write something 'highbrow' to offset the fun that is Arly Hanks.

The plot had holes big enough that you could drive a truck through some of them, the characters were not fleshed out very well (although perhaps they flesh out better later in the series), the backstory comes at very odd times. Such as the author talks about Ms. Malloy's late husband at a time in the book that left me wondering if I had missed a book and that this one wasn't the first in the series. Claire's daughter is obnoxious (not all 14-year-old girls are obnoxious) in a very trite way.

The relationship that is most likely going to develop (actually by reading the synopsis of some of the later books I know it does) is with the cop that is investigating the murder and Claire specifically. And maybe I'm not a cop, but boy, unless things really are that different in small college towns in the South this "investigating" was far from realistic. Yes, I know that this is fiction so an author can pretty much write about things in whatever manner they want---but it sure helps the authors credibility to stay within the realm of realism.

Perhaps the series gets better as it goes along and maybe the snark and sarcasm will grow on you -I'm not going to give it a chance.

Besides I really dislike authors that put down people who like certain book genres that the author doesn't produce -- it sort of reminds me of a child who makes fun of another child because the second one can do something well that the first child can't.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picking up the first book in a nineteen book series is not something I do lightly, but this particular book in this particular series had a protagonist I was curious to meet.

Claire Malloy was the proprietor of a bookstore in a small American college town, a widow with a teenage daughter, and a woman who readers seemed to either love or hate. I think I’m coming down on the side of love. I found her to be brash and outspoken, I appreciated that she was strong and capable, and I loved her dark wit. I wouldn’t want to meet her in real life, but she was excellent company on the printed page.

Hosting the launch of an erotic romance was not something Claire would usually do – and ‘The Professor of Passion’ was definitely not the kind of book she would have on her shelves – but she agreed because the woman who stood behind the pseudonym ‘Azalea Twilight’ was her friend and neighbour Mildred Twiller. And because Mildred was the type of lady who would not take no for an answer.

The launch party was one to remember. There were protestors outside. A reading from the book revealed that it was a very thinly veiled roman a clef. And later that day the author was found strangled with her own silk scarf.

There were plenty of suspects. A good number of people recognised themselves in the text, and had secrets come tumbling out that they had hoped to keep hidden.

There were lots of reasons for Claire to get involved. Her business was affected; her friends were affected, her daughter was taking rather too much interest in what was going on; she was getting on rather well with the detective in charge; and she was the kind of woman who had to do things, had to find out for herself.

I appreciated that; there weren’t any of the contrivances that some books use to pull a protagonist who isn’t a professional detective in the story,

And I appreciated the way that Joan Hess handled the drama. She brought different characters to the fore, she showed another side to Claire through revelations in the book, and she twisted her tale very well.

There were some nice nods to classic detective fiction – but you shouldn’t read this book before you read ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ – Claire considers a theory that gives the ending away.

I have some reservations. The tone was a little uneven, some of the characterisations were less than subtle, and the finale was disappointing.

But those are all things that I hope will settle down as the series progresses. I see a good deal of potential here. And some interesting ideas in the next few books in the series.

This was a short book, a quick easy read, and a lovely diversion between more serious books.

[Anissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just okay but mostly because it felt terribly dated. Because of that it took me much longer than I usually would have to finish it. It's a cozy mystery so the dated thing is not something that ruined it for me but I admit I found it distracting at times. The mystery itself was well done and I found the main character sleuth to be plucky with enough quirks to keep things interesting. I felt the same way about other characters that I suppose will be featured throughout the series. I'll probably skip to books later in the series to those at least in the 2000s because I didn't so much enjoy the 80s stuff. It was still worth picking up at the library.

[Kaitlyn Dunnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a reread of an older book by an author I enjoy. It holds up well, although the references to pay phones and the like do date it. Claire's personality will probably grate on some readers, but personally I enjoy a sleuth who speaks her mind. I don't know that I'll reread the entire series, but I have fond memories of the last couple of books and will probably read them again, especially the last. Sadly, Joan Hess is no longer with us, but she's left a distinctive legacy with the Claire Malloy series and her other mystery series featuring Arly Hanks.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed every page of it. Claire Malloy is a wonderful, witty protagonist.

[Damaskcat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it. Claire Molloy runs a book shop in a college town and agrees reluctantly to allow a local celebrity romance author, Azalea Twilight to host a book signing party at the store even though she doesn't usually sell romances. A feminist from the college gate crashes the party and starts reading passages aloud from the book which appear to libel well known people in the community. Claire herself is affected because the book reveals something disreputable about her own late husband that she thought no one knew. Claire has a few murderous thoughts about Azalea but someone else has actually murdered the author - strangled with her own silk scarf.

Claire soon finds herself a suspect in the murder enquiry along with several of her friends and have the college staff. Can she find out who really did it before she finds herself charged with the murder? I enjoyed this entertaining cozy mystery. It has interesting characters and plenty of humour as well as puzzling mystery to solve. I liked the way Claire's spiky relationship with the officer investigating the case was dealt with too.

While this wasn't quite a five star read I did enjoy it and I have already downloaded the next book in the series to read.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were points in the book that I disliked the book and most of the time, the characters were majorly annoying. The motive of the guilty party made no sense but for reasons I can't explain, I wanted to keep reading it. Something about the plot kept me reading.

[Tab · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually grade 1st-in-series books on a curve, which is why I gave this book 3 stars. I plan on maybe reading the next book in the series.

What killed me about this book was how damn combative Claire was towards the head officer. I mean down right rude. I know there is some suspension of belief when reading cozy mysteries, but man! I kept thinking "if I ever smart-off to a cop like that, I would be in the back of the squad car."

Although the head officer was dimwitted, anyway. He let a prime suspect (Claire) do whatever she wanted.

Hopefully, the next books in the series will run smoother now that all of the main characters and settings have been introduced.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always liked Hess's Maggody series better, but I enjoy the goofy bookstore owner series too. This is the first in the series and Hess's first novel as well. A pretty good start all around.

ETA: The offhand homophobia about the closeted lesbian prof was a disappointment, I have to say. At least Hess didn't make the character a 100% stereotype, but I would have expected Claire Malloy, based on her character development, to be a little more of an ally or at least a little less accepting of community bigotry.

[Anjula · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's a difference between snarky and bitchy and the main character is definitely the latter. She looks down on everyone, treats her daughter as an unpleasant afterthought (and then seems mystified that her daughter is unpleasant), and is the least solicitous bookstore owner in history. I wish one character in this book had been redeeming, but no such luck. The other characters weren't fleshed out enough to get me to read more of this series.

I should give the story an extra star, but I don't want to influence anyone to spend time with Claire.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad for a first novel. The story was good and I liked the interaction between Claire and Lieutenant Rosen.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book #: 5
Title: Strangled Prose
Author: Joan Hess
Format: Hardcover, 183 pages, ILL
Pub Date: Published November 15th 1998 by St. Martin's
(first published December 28th 1985)
Started: 2/4/21 Ended: 2/5/21
Awards: none
Categories:
A book where the main character works at your current or dream job (Used Bookstore Owner) (PpSgr 7); A book that has fewer than 1,000 reviews on Amazon or Goodreads (PpSgr 36); A short book (<210 pages) by a new-to-you author (GdRds 26); A mystery or thriller (GdRds 42); BOOKS! Cover or Title (BkHdr 2); Author with MORE Than FIVE books (BkHdr 19); Read In WINTER (BkHdr 24); First in a Series (Dag); A Book you can read in a day (Dag);
A-Z Title: S for Strangled A-Z Author: H for Hess
Rating: ** two out of five stars

Claire runs The Book Depot, a bookstore in a former RR depot in a college town. She specializes in second hand college texts and classical literature. However, the faculty wife of one the English professors pressures her into doing a book signing receptionparty for her newest soft-core romance, "Professor of Passion"! A few advance copies get out and the reception becomes a free for all. The book is a thinly veiled look at real affairs in the college with easily recognizable pseudonyms for real people. Shortly afterward, the author is found dead, and there's no end of suspects, including Claire herself because the book accuses her late husband of being with a mistress when he died!

Despite the fact that I love cozy mysteries, I didn't care for this at all. The characters are cardboard, the killer comes out of left field because there were no clues, and the police detective should be fired! You don't bring a witness/potential suspect to a crime scene, you don't tell them unpublished details of a case in process, and you don't help yourself to the dead person's scotch! Especially while on duty! The author has several attempts at clever writing, but IMNSHO, simply doesn't have the knack. I'm not going to bother with the rest of the series.

[K.C. Gardner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Farber, Arkansas, is not unlike other small midwestern college towns. But Farber’s claim to fame is being the home of romance writer Azalea Twilight. When Mildred Twiller (Twilight) asks Claire Malloy, owner of The Book Depot, to have a book signing at her bookstore Malloy is less than thrilled. Scorching romances are not part of The Book Depot’s inventory. Still, Mildred has been good to her since Mr. Malloy passed away eight years ago. There is even a feminist group planning to picket the event! Hess’s tongue in cheek mystery story is well paced and full of eccentric and likeable characters. The middle-aged widow turned amateur detective is not tiresome, although the character type has been depicted for years. This is truly a fun read. The pace is steady with characterization driving the theme; the book may seem slow to those who like nonstop action. Hess leads the reader to contemplate the likelihood of each suspect in turn. Then she adds tidbits to keep the reader until the end. With the small town atmosphere and seemingly familiar characters the reader is put at ease. Witty dialog narrated in first person charms, balancing the murder of a character that seems like the lady down the street. This is a series that will have staying power—if Hess can keep from picking off the entire population of the small town!

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Operating a small bookstore in a renovated train depot, Claire Malloy, a 38-year-old widow of a college English professor, supports herself and her teenage daughter. The Book Depot is a small literary cache, adjacent to Faber college, where Claire’s husband worked until his fatal car crash punctuated his life.
When a Harlequin writer, who also happens to be a friend, requests a book release & signing party at Claire’s shop, the train of tragedy is set in motion and steam rolls through the tiny burg, throwing its passengers out with total disregard and vengeance.
The novel is “fictionally” set at the nearby college and uses the nearer by professors as its characters, loosely (in more ways than one.) Barely hidden character names are exposed for their past indiscretions and when the faculty is gathered for the book release, the revelation is made and that train picks up speed.
The whodunnit does leave one guessing almost to the end, the budding romance of animosity tends to be mostly believable, but the perpetual snark of Claire and her protege daughter get to be a tad overwrote.
But hey, it’s set in a bookstore, so the series I shall read.

[Olga Godim]

DNF
What I dislike about most mysteries I try to read nowadays is the plot twist when the hero/heroine are suspected of murder and must investigate to lift the unjust accusation. That's what happened in this book, and as soon as it happened, I stopped reading. Pity. I had such hopes for this book. It is written very well, the author's humor and wit sparkle, and I liked its protagonist, Claire, a lot. She is snarky and irreverent. She loves books: reading them and selling them. She is a bookseller. And her opinion of men coincides with mine:

"I tried men once. It was not an untenable arrangement, but when Carlton terminated the relationship in a car wreck, I vowed not to find a replacement. Prose filled the gap admirably."

What is not to like. Besides, when Claire started mocking the mandatory sex scenes in romance novels, I agreed wholeheartedly. I couldn't stop smiling. I'm so sorry she was the main suspect in a murder investigation, but I couldn't read about it.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading a lot of recently published "cozy mysteries" and finding them wanting. It all seems so unbelievable. An amateur sleuth goes around asking people questions and they talk to her - why?, they don't even know her. And nothing about their lives seems realistic. Claire Malloy is something else again. I was shocked when I started reading this book. Claire not only had thoughts about people trying to impose on her or making suggestive comments, but she actually says them out loud!! She is annoyed by many people and says so. When something infuriates her she "flounces" out of a reception being held at her book store. And when she tries to go around asking questions of people they don't tell her anything!!! I found it all refreshing. This is the first book in the series and I'll have to read more to see if she stays this touchy in the following books. But it is great to have someone who doesn't make nice all the time. I like Claire very much!

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Claire Malloy reluctantly agrees to host a reception her friend's new book, she is mainly dismayed because she doesn't generally sell steamy romances at her bookstore, the Book Depot. But when the reception is interrupted by a local women's group, and selections are read aloud that bear an unsettling resemblance to some in attendance, and even to a part of Claire's past, she is both surprised and annoyed.

When she later receives a call from the friend's house, saying she has been murdered, and then the police think she is a suspect, things start to get really sticky. When she starts looking into things herself, she finds that the book wasn't the only place where there were some secrets. And there were a lot of people in the town who could have been involved - but hopefully not her teenage daughter!

This was a quick and entertaining read.

[Reading Fury · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is first in the Claire Malloy series. I had read all of the Arly Hanks series by Joan Hess, so I was quite pleased to learn about this series. Strangled Prose has a clever, twisty plot, lots of low key humor, and characters that keep you engaged. The lead, Claire, has the same dryish sense of humor mixed with some earthiness that Arly has.

SPOILER ALERT:
Claire seems to love playing cat and mouse with Detective Rosen, deliberately withholding valuable information from him. She finds herself in danger through her own pig-headedness, much like Arly Hanks' mother, Ruby Bee. It would have been something to see Arly meet Claire in an investigation. My money would have been on Arly, who has a more practical side to her than Claire.

It was a good enough effort to make me buy the second in the series.

[Lillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars I've seen Joan Hess compared to Charlotte McLeod a few times so I had to check this series out. It is a quirky mystery with some comedic banter thrown in but I didn't find it as colorful or witty as Macleod. I found the main character's idea of parenting a teen girl a bit perplexing; just a minor annoyance and it didn't take away from the story much. It is a cut above most mysteries of this time period. The murderer wasn't obvious and the plot wasn't boring. The characters and dialogue didn't irritate me. I will try the next in the series to see if the characters are fleshed out a bit more.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frankly, I was a bit underwhelmed by this book. Perhaps my expectations were too high because of Hess's work on the Painted Queen, but the structure of this book was entirely predictable. The characters were common prototypes, and the set up was trite. I'm used to reading mystery novels that are of a type, but this one fell short in implementation.

I suspect that Joan Hess gets better as she goes; certainly she has managed to publish a lot of books and win awards, so I assume she does. I'm not actually particularly enticed to find out, though. Maybe I'll come around in a few months.

[Deb Outland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this first novel in the Claire Malloy series very interest. Hess is a talented writer, skillfully revealing the characters by their own words, actions, and the thoughts of Claire.

I also love the wry humor of this book. Claire’s somewhat unreliable view of her daughter and others in th story, you don’t even realize just how much it says aboth Claire as well as the people she interacts with.

I’m definitely adding the next of this series close to the top of my list! What a fun read!

[judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

SOO GOOD!! i ate this up. i picked it up thinking it would just help me pass time because the cover looked good after someone returned it and … whatever they say about not judging a book by its cover is not always true, because this is just as good (if not better!) than i thought it was going to be. i loved it! sometimes a book should just be fun and thats exactly what this is. i think i missed how cozy books felt — stephanie and derek stood no chance against me (a fellow librarian, thank you claire, i’m obsessed with you but not enough to read a 20 book series!)

[Julie C-F · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a bit tame for me, in terms of the meddling and participation of the townspeople. I was looking for a confidante who will listen, suggest and probably drive the unlikely sleuth to where the action is. She loves to drink, it would have been cuter if she just likes cupcakes or chocolate chip cookies.

[Mark Isaak · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character, Claire Malloy, is acerbic and rude enough to turn some people off, but it makes for entertaining dialog. The mystery itself was original, creative, and more-or-less believable. It entangles enough people to give a good story, but it's not the sort that lays out enough clues for the solution before the final reveal.

[Benedict Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf

Didn't make it through the first chapter. After the slur, the endless kvetching about romance novels, the feckless youth of today, I got to the wickedness of feminists and realized neither the plot or sassy prose was going to get better so I just gave up.

It was the mid 80s, I understand that, but I was suffering.