Stay At Home Dead

Stay At Home Dad Mysteries #1

by Jeffrey Allen

When Deuce Winters, a stay-at-home dad in sleepy Rose Petal, Texas, discovers a dead body in his mini-van, it quickly throws his quiet life into disarray. It doesn't help that the victim ruined Deuce's high school football career and married his ex-girlfriend. As the number one suspect in the court of public opinion, Deuce is determined to clear his name, with a little help from his wife, Julianne, a high-powered attorney. His search for the killer leads him to a business plan gone awry and a gaggle of jilted lovers.

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

283 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Jeffrey Allen is the alter-ego of national best selling mystery writer Jeff Shelby. He is a recovering stay at home dad who now teaches high school English and coaches basketball. A graduate of the University of California, Irvine, he currently lives with his daughter in the suburbs of Dallas, TX.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine my surprise when I picked up this book for a quick little look and found that I could not put it down. Recently, I have had horrible luck with cozies – thinking that this was just another in a long list of less than entertaining fluff, I kept by expectations low.

Jeffrey Allen (another pen name for Jeff Shelby) surprised me. The humor is over the top funny, the main characters are engaging, and the storyline, though a bit simplistic is very entertaining. In this book, you get to meet the people. Those unique personalities that make up a small town.

After the birth of their daughter, Deuce Winters, a high school teacher and his wife Julianne, a rising attorney, decided that it would be best for Deuce to be the stay at home dad. This took some getting used to and not without a couple of eye rolls from their fellow neighbors in Rose Petal, Texas.

Growing up and remaining in a small town means that everyone knows your business, so when the body of an old high school football rival shows up dead in the back of Deuce’s minivan, the town knows that Deuce must have done it.

There is a bit twisting to find out why the said knife is in the said body, in the said minivan. Deuce does not have time to listen to the gossip, he has to get his daughter to preschool where he is the reigning Room Dad and will not give in to the vicious catty W.O.R.M’s that want him out.

This book had me laughing from start to finish. The relationship between Deuce and his wife is perfect. You can feel the respect that they have for each other and without their humor, neither one of them could get through what this town has thrown at them. Their daughter is precious and Deuce’s parents have their way of keeping everyone in line.

Love these people, love this town.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stay at Home Dead is a riot! Stay-at-home dad, Deuce Winters, finds a dead body in his minivan, who just happens to be the guy who ended his football career two decades ago. Deuce dives in to clear his name with help from his successful lawyer wife, Julienne, and quirky, pint-sized PI, Victor. This is a fun-filled, well-writen debut, and I love the uniqueness of a male protagonist in a cozy mystery. Deuce is such a funny and likeable character, I found myself laughing throughout. Absolutely recommend to cozy readers and anyone looking for a light-hearted, fun, hilarious read!

[Ellie Oberth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first in a new series; a mystery set in a small Texas town. The 'hero' is Deuce Winters, a stay at home dad taking care of his 3 yr old daughter, Carly.

Allen's way with words is beyond funny. The mystery itself was well done and the characters (presented from Deuce's point of view) made me laugh. He handled the descriptions in a clever tongue. I laughed out loud when Deuce rode shotgun in his wife's car.

I highly recommend this cozy!

[Jeri · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perspective of this book was really good that it had a stay at home dad and a strong working wife. Very original in the cozy mystery genre I do believe. Very enjoyable.

[Tari · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so much fun! From what I read about the author, he definitely has experience being a stay at home dad, and you can tell tell in this book that some of the things he talks about might just be from personal experience, or at least real life may have given him a lot of ideas for books...all except for I'm sure, the part about the body in the van. ;)

I love the author's sense of humor. Some of the scenes were so funny, and I really loved his dad, what a hoot! Deuce and Julianne had a great marriage, and I liked them together. Little Carly was hilarious too sometimes. I have the next book and look forward to reading it soon.

[Text Addict · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun: snappy prose, wisemouthed narrator, day-to-day absurdities mixed with routine stuff, plus a murder mystery. That fourth star is totally for the amusement value.

Deuce Winters is a stay-at-home dad in a Texas suburb - and also an ex-football-player married to a high-powered attorney (which is why the stay-at-home dad thing: his teaching and coaching salary was peanuts compared to hers). He's found that he enjoys full-time parenting (and three-year-old Carly is well-written too), but as the book goes on it's clear that he'd also like to do a bit more. Like some part-time coaching, or some part-time detectiving.

But I get ahead of myself. Allen is a pseudonym of Jeff Shelby, so he's not a first-time author, and he knows how to keep tension going in a short book that would end too soon if it just focused on the mystery. So Deuce is not only trying to figure out who put a dead body in his minivan in the grocery-store parking lot, but fending off an attempt by the preschool mothers' association to oust him as "Room Dad" of his daughter's classroom.

There is plenty of humor in that situation, though it's all backed by serious emotion (or at least "attitude") on the various parties' part. Deuce is a nice guy, but he's not about to be run out of a volunteer job just because what's-her-name doesn't like him. And he does tend to mouth off when faced with attitude, or a very short PI caught lurking in his backyard (I have to work a little to buy this character, but he's definitely a vivid one). But he also isn't the slightest bit intimidated by the fact that his wife is not only gorgeous, but probably smarter than him, *and* at least as tough. (And despite her work hours, she does play an important role in the preschool plot.)

Seriously, if you find Carl Hiaasen's adult fiction a bit too intense, there's more than a touch of his gift for credible weirdness in this book, but it's not as dark. (Also you should try Hiaasen's new YA books - weird, but less dark, too.)

I'm looking forward to the next one of these Deuce Winters books, which I gather will be out in September. Heck, I may even shell out money for it instead of waiting for the library to get it!

[Melodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a flat out FUN read! Great characters....how can you not love a dwarf P.I. with a serious attitude? Wasn't sure about a stay at home dad, but Deuce is great! I'll be anxiously awaiting the next one! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 4 out of 5]

As cute as I'd hoped - I'm sure stay at home dads in small towns do take some abuse. It's clever and cute and different - I liked the sarcastic banner between wife and hubby and the little kid is cute. The quirky folks in town make this mystery what it is. I didn't pre guess the culprit although the selection pool was small, and I didn't see how they all connected till it was explained.

Plus there is a cat named Bob. How cool is that?

[Cris · Rating 1 out of 5]

While the basic idea of a homemaker father being drawn into a murder investigation after discovering the body appealed to me, I had a number of problems with this book.

Most of my problems revolved around Allen's character development. Several characters were unbelievably stupid, as in they were simply not credible. (One character that stupid I might be able to buy, but Allen dumped a whole bunch in.) Add that most of them are antagonistic to the main character for no reason other than to give Allen an excuse for the plot, and I just found the whole thing tiresome. (I also didn't find Carly a believable three-year old.)

I also found the plot to weak at best. I must admit I skimmed through the middle section, so there might have been some developments that made the overall plot more believable, but judging from the end, I don't think I did.

The only part I truly enjoyed was the interaction between Julianne and Deuce. They're a cute couple, and I think they had the most believable interactions in the book.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the concept of this series. Its not often you find a male author with a character of a stay at home dad. It was refreshing. While the plot was good, the characters all seemed to have tempers. The dad needs to go to anger managment class, and I felt the wife was verbally abusing to the husband. And Duece's dad even seemed to put his son down a lot. I know that it was supposed to come off as humor, but I didnt feel it that way. Because of that, I'm not sure if I will read the rest of the series.

[Mark Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deuce Winters finds himself a suspect in the death of his high school rival after the man's body is found in his minivan. I enjoyed the characters, especially Deuce and his wife. But I felt the mystery was pretty thin and was annoyed by the author's willful ignoring any sense of time.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[C · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn’t finish. Beyond the main character’s stupidity and everyone else being ignorant a-holes who either hate him or mock him mercilessly…his parents and wife included…on page 97, where I gave up, he talks about the first time he met his wife and how he should’ve noticed her in school despite her being two years younger because she was so hot, and she ‘would’ve been hotter than hot as a toddler’. Absolutely not, Jeffrey Allen is now on my ‘never touching another book by this person’ list.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is what I call a good "bathtub mystery". :) it's an easy read perfect for reading in the bathtub or at the beach. I look forward to reading more when they come out.

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny laugh out loud cozy mystery. I loved this book, on to the next in the series.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stay at Home Dead is a mystery but I would not classify it as a cozy mystery. What intrigued me about Stay at Home Dead is the main character is a male and I have not read a mystery with a male lead before.

Deuce Winters was an interesting character and I did wish for a few more humorous moments. Some of the humor was clearly pushed a bit too much. Being a stay at home dad for his three year old daughter is a dream for Deuce since his wife makes ample money being an attorney. Getting to do pony tails is the hardest part of his day until he find a dead man in his van after a local grocery store trip. Determined to keep his head down becomes impossible for Deuce when it suddenly seems everyone in town is out to get him for every wrong he has committed since senior year of high school. Unsure who to trust and running out of ways to stay out of trouble Deuce comes to the conclusion he will have to solve things himself.

While I liked the change of pace with a male lead I am not sure Stay at home Dead was overall a genre I would read more of. I guess I relate to the humor of things happening to females more. All in all Stay at Home Dead was a fast and easy read.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those mystery that's entertaining but also interesting. The main character is a stay at home dad who has an uncanny knack to discover dead bodies anywhere. Duece Winters (our hero and sleuth) discovers a body in his minivan, when picking up groceries at the local supermarket. It turns out to be the body of his old high school rival, Benny Barnes, with a knife sticking out of his gut. Everyone in the town assumes that Deuce is the killer, because of what happened in high school. Deuce not having better judgment decides to clear his name and find the real killer. The rest of the book is entertaining, and the mystery is interesting and compelling. The characters are well written and stand out in my eyes as "real" or relatable to most you would find in character driven mysteries.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

First time reading this author, I picked up the 2nd book at the same time from a library free shelf.
Deuce is a stay at home dad. He did have a great prospect at football until an injury ruined that. He was a coach and a teacher. But when he and his lawyer wife had a baby, it just made sense for him to stay home. As he is finishing the grocery shopping, he comes back to the car to find a dead body sitting in it...the dead body of the man who caused his football injury. The dead body of the man who married the girl that dumped him because of that injury. In a very small town, Deuce is the #1 suspect in a lot of people's minds. Will he be able to find out who the killer was? Will he have to give up his position as Room Daddy? And who the heck is the dwarf that decides to help Deuce with the case?

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very clever cozy mystery. The main character is a stay at home Dad. He lives in a small town in Texas, he was a high school football star. He went on to be a school teacher and football coach, his wife became a very successful attorney so he decided to stay home to take care of the kid.

One day he finds a dead body in his van a crazy cast of characters appear.

There's the drunken ex-girlfriend

The dead body was the football player who collided with him on the field injuring him when they were playing football.

The wife is the successful attorney

And the midget private investigator... Cannot forget the midget private investigator.

There is the detective for the police department who thinks he's in a 1970s cop show.

As silly as the story can be at times it was a very good mystery with a nice twist at the end.

[Becka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read so many cozy mysteries over the years that I rarely find one anymore that feels unique. Happily, Stay at Home Dead fits the bill. Deuce gave up his teaching/coaching job for the opportunity to care for his toddler daughter while his wife, a successful lawyer, works long hours to financially support the family—an interesting role reversal that I enjoyed. I especially liked the personality that the author created in Carly, Deuce’s 3 year old daughter—her character really comes to life. Add in the fact that there’s a mystery that stays a mystery nearly to the end with plenty of humor sprinkled throughout, and you get a series that I definitely want to continue.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stay at Home Dead is the first book in the Stay at Home Dad Mysteries. I’m used to reading cozy mysteries with a female lead, so it was a nice change of scenery from the cozies I usually read. And not only was the lead a male but a stay at home dad. It was interesting to get a different perspective on the stay at home parent experience. This book included a character new to investigating crime, an entire crop of quirky characters, and a crime solved by the last page. I can’t wait read more about Deuce and the future crimes he inserts himself in.

[Daniell Marsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was told about this book by a friend and it worked well for a challenge I was in so decided to check it out. It was a cute read. I liked that the main character was a stay at home dad. I have lived in a decent size town but also a small town so I could see some of this happening with everyone knowing what the rest of people were up to in town. I liked how the story flowed and the characters. There was humor mixed in the story which I enjoyed. It made for a fast read and I didn't want to stop till I had finished the story.

[Sharon Mondragón · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the humor and the setting for this book, especially the setting. I, too, live in a small Texas town outside of Dallas, a small town on which Dallas is encroaching. The tension between the people who grew up there and the people moving there from the big city and trying to haul it along with with them is accurately evoked, as well as the way it's hard to leave high school behind if you stay in your small town.

[Nicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a great book. I absolutely love the sarcasm and side comments throughout. This is how I would write a book. The characters are fun, entertaining and some hilariously over the top. I found myself literally laughing out loud many times. Good mystery, great story line... I look forward to the next book. (sad to see that there are not many in this series though)

[Maggie Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Dollar General find, and it was a GRAND find! Absolutely will be reading the other books in this series! It was homey, down to earth, full of dad jokes, adult jokes, etc.. It surprised me, because I lean more towards sci-fi or darker mysteries. THIS?! Page 274 (if I'm not mistaken is a LOL moment!) It's just, a nice rare find in this not so nice world right now. :)

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book. It was a cozy mystery of a different kind; we'll call it a chilly mystery. It was one of those type of mysteries that had some male representation. The characters were fleshed out and the banter was hilarious. It was a mystery with a conclusion that I can honestly say I didn't see coming. There is two more to the series and I am looking forward to the next one.

[Jana H Cleveland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun

He's a stay at home dad in a small Texas town with a dead body in the back by the car seat. Go figure. Add in a wife who's an attorney and a PI who's a little person. Throw in a host of colorful characters and you've got a fun who done it!

[Rissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

New author to me so yay, new backlist!

3.5 really, because I like Julianne! :)

Deuce was ok but I definitely didn't like some of his choices! It was refreshing to read about a male protagonist in a "cozy mystery".

Hoping to read the rest of the books in this series!

[Felicia's Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute cozy mystery. Somewhat predictable but a fun read. Will read more from this series.

[Cindy Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining!

[Elaine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hated all the characters, except dad and his cohorts. Never give up on books but couldn’t wait to finish so I could find something else to read