Death in the Cards

Stain-Busting Mystery #3

by Sharon Short

Laundromat owner and stain removal expert Josie Toadfern knows her tiny twon's dirty clothes and most of its dirty little secrets. But an upcoming "Psychic Fair" is bringing a brand-new mess to Paradises, Ohio. The arrival of all manner of mystics and soothsayers has raised the dangerous ire of a local evangelist and his minions, as well as the more conservative citizens of Paradise—so it doesn't take a crystal ball to predict that murder will ultimately foul the fair. But Josie couldn't foresee that she'd be the one to stubmle upon the body, or that her impeccable stain-sense would embroil her in the nasty homicidal happenings. And suddenly her attempt to psych out a killer has Josie's own future looking very grim indeed.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery

275 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 2005

About the author

Sharon Short is the author of sixteen published books.

Her newest, Trouble Island, is historical suspense and will be published by Minotaur Books on December 3, 2024.

As Jess Montgomery, she writes the historical Kinship Mysteries set in the 1920s and inspired by Ohio’s true first female sheriff.

Sharon is a contributing editor to Writer’s Digest, for which she writes the column, “Level Up Your Writing (Life)” and teaches for Writer’s Digest University.

She is also a three-time recipient of the Individual Excellence Award in Literary Arts from Ohio Arts Council and has been a John E. Nance Writer in Residence at Thurber House (Columbus, Ohio).

When not writing, Sharon enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, swimming, and occasionally hiking.

Reviews

[Monica Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy to continue in this series. I laughed at Cherry's romantic misadventure and felt for Josie's family worry. The religious tension caused by a psychic fair in town stirs up trouble. Is it more than Josie Toadfern can handle?

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another good cozy by Sharon Short. This is the third book in her Stainbuster mystery series. Not only do you get a good mystery but you also get cleaning tips. I like the protagonist, Josie, who is just an all around nice person. She has a good heart and takes care of her cousin, Guy, who is autistic. The setting is a little town in south central Ohio, kind of a redneck kind of place. A very comfortable setting for this series.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read any of the other mysteries in this series, but I certainly enjoyed this one. Josie is normal and average and lives in a small town where everybody knows everybody. The psychic convention sounded like a hoot and very small. I didn't have a clue at all as to who the murderer was - could have been one of many!

[Syrdarya · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a little while to get into this book, but I liked it a lot. The town of Paradise is hosting a psychic fair, a controversial event but one that could bring a lot of revenue to the small town. Josie has a strange encounter with the most famous of the psychics, Ginny Proffitt, and when later Josie finds a dead body, her curiosity spurs her on to figure out who murdered the victim.

The characters are split between being stereotypical, over-the-top one-dimensional people, such as Josie's friend Cherry, who is a man magnet, or Karen Smith, the overprotective mother and manager of one of the psychics, and well-written, sensitive portrayals of people I could imagine meeting in real life, such as Josie's Aunt Clara and Uncle Horace, or Hugh, who is illiterate and secretly learning to read so that he can read his family's letters.

Once I really got into the mystery, it was a quick read. The parts where Josie was worried about her boyfriend, Owen, seemed a bit superfluous to the story and slowed it down a bit.

I must also add that the tip for hydrogen peroxide for old blood stains works very well!

[Diane Schultz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The devil is in the details

When a psychics fair comes to Paradise Ohio, a fictional town situated next to a real historic and ancient burial or holy grounds called Serpent's Mound in rural Ohio, strange doings occur. It's like the moon has turned blood red and rained locusts on our favorite superhero of the clean clothes, Josie Toadfern. Is she going to solve this by doing some dream interpretation of her own? I find this storyline compelling reading and it made me want to go see this Serpent Mound and look for a grill nearby -or a Chinese buffet - in the closest town and wonder, just wonder, if this is the town Paradise is based on. This kept me wanting tu see what Josie would learn next. Lots of twists. I had my own suspicions and I was wrong. I did have trouble keeping some of the family relationships and names straight. But I got clearer about that as the story went on. My favorite so far. Highly recommend to cozy murder mystery readers.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This author is from my home state, Ohio. It was interesting that it included fortune tellers, and health healers. It was an easy read that went quickly.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Death in the Cards was clearly not as good a story as the last Short novel I read, Hung Out to Die. This could be because this novel was written before the latter story, and Josie Toadfern has grown as a character. This I'll buy, but it doesn't account for the dreadfully slow pace of the plot or the other annoying characters. Josie is a total prude, Cherry the stereotypical slut, Owen is a selfish ego-maniac, Karen a frustrating helicopter mom, and I won't even get started on 'righteous' Dru and Missy Purcell. Ginny expects too much of Josie to hand her the handkerchief and overalls and have her solve the entire mystery. The story pacing was just off- it didn't pick up until about two thirds of the way in, and by then I had mostly lost interest. It was like the author didn't even know who the killer was until the last ten pages, and had the killer monologue for several minutes to tie up every loose end in the story. It was a little ridiculous. I won't be reading the first in the Toadfern series- I'll just continue on from where Hung Out to Die leaves off.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy reading cozy mystery novels as they're fun to read and because I am unable to resist an engaging mystery novel!

I recently finished reading a cozy mystery novel by Sharon Short entitled Death in the Cards, which is the 3rd installment of Sharon Short's "Stain Busting" mystery series featuring laundress/stain expert Josie Toadfern. Josie Toadfern's natural curiosity makes her an ideal amateur sleuth within her hometown of Paradise, Ohio.

Death in the Cards is the 1st novel I've read that Sharon Short has written. I enjoyed the new age/psychic fair theme in this novel. I also enjoyed the quirky characters and abundant "red herrings" thrown in to keep me guessing as to whodunnit! To read an excerpt of Death in the Cards, visit the author's website!

P.S. I must also add that my favorite quote from Death in the Cards is as follows:

"That there is a devil, there is no doubt. But is he trying to get in... or trying to get out?"

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the things I enjoyed most about this novel is that it takes place in a fictional town near where I really live, so it has the flavor of home to it. Josie has to solve the murder of a psychic that is in town for the psychic fair that has people up in arms. Nice little mystery.

[Chi Dubinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Josie Toadfern, who runs a Laundromat in small town Paradise, Ohio, finds murder and mystery when a psychic fair comes to town. One of the psychics predicts danger, and when Josie stumbles over a body, conservative town residents confront the New Agers.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot T

[Pat Smith]

Another fun read! Will have to find the rest of the series!