Hung Out to Die

Stain-Busting Mystery #4

by Sharon Short

There's no fun in dysfunctional

Small-town laundress Josie Toadfern has her own fair share of dirty laundry—namely the Toadfern clan! Ostracized from the family unit ever since her parents dumped eight-year-old Josie in a local orphanage, the stain-busting dynamo's stunned to find herself invited to crabby old family matriarch "Mamaw" Toadfern's Thanksgiving celebration—and too curious to refuse.

But an even bigger shock is waiting for her there: Josie's long lost mom and pop, blandly unapologetic and full of new—probably illegal—get-rich-quick schemes. And when a dead body is tossed into the already explosive chaos of bitter feelings, intra-family feuding, and incinerated turkey meat, Josie finds herself in the most uncomfortable position of having to prove her disreputable dad innocent of murder. But cleaning up messes is Josie's business. And sometimes blood is thicker than cranberry sauce—and a much more difficult stain to eliminate.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery

272 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 6, 2006

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

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't actually realize that this book was the fourth in the series until about halfway through reading it- which is a great sign. I've been starting to dip my feet into the whole themed-mystery genre, and, like everything else, some authors are just better than others. Even though Sharon Short isn't as polished as say, Sue Grafton (Short sometimes uses repetitive speech and occasionally uses too many pronouns, so the reader is confused as to who's doing what) her story flowed along quickly and easily enough that I was certainly interested to keep reading. The murderer wasn't obvious, which is also key. The only thing that really bothered me here was that despite the fact that Josie's parents had essentially abandoned her as a child, she was eager to meet them and even have a relationship with them. Had that been me that was invited to that Turkey day dinner, iwouldn't have been able to say no fast enough- and had I been upstairs when my parents arrived unexpectedly, I would have hopped out the window and taken off. I was also astonished that Josie lived in the orphanage NEXT DOOR to her paternal grandmother. What kind of cruel person lets their own grandchild go to an orphanage? Despite these nagging bits, the rest was pretty good, and I do plan on visiting Toadfern's Laundromat in the future.

[JoAnne McMaster (Any Good Book) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book because it takes place at Thanksgiving (I read holiday books around the holidays), and was pleasantly surprised to find it a good mystery. I didn't suspect the killer at all until nearly the end of the book, when Josie figured it out, which is how a good mystery should be. Highly recommended.

[AngryGreyCat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a new series for me and I will definitely read more. I enjoyed the characters and the mystery was good.

[Diane Schultz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprised in Paradise

Although this is book 4 of the series, the author has managed to keep the storyline fresh with the main characters life having logical leaps (though she's either a better person than I or naive in one regard, i think this is a perfectly acceptable character trait and not an author bending reality to make a storyline work. That's something that is difficult to do when murders keep happening around the same main character and in a small town. I wish I'd discovered these back when they were written. They're so much fun, and I love the line about family: “A real family is of the heart. And friends are the family the heart chooses.”I'm looking forward to the next one, as I didn't quite figure this one out beforehand either. Lots of humor sprinkled in. I forget someone's it's set in Ohio with their Appalachian roots in the folks who live in this region. Very curious to see what the next mystery brings.

[Alex H · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's quite plain at the beginning but comes funnier and scarier to the end (detective novel by the way).
I know it is of the series and maybe the relationship might be described closely in previous book but it is still somehow shallow to me, the connection between characters, except for Josie and her cousin. And I am not the fan of how she name her books in this series, all "die" and "death", I mean...

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finding out the parents that left you when you were 8 are alive and back in town is a shock to Josie, who was fine with the life she had. Mamaw, who had shunned Josie from the rest of the family, invited her to the family Thanksgiving knowing her parents would be there. To top everything off her Uncle is murdered and her father is accused of the crime.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s been awhile since I’ve read a book in this series but it was fun jumping back in. I like Josie and it was fun having her whole family involved. The mystery was good and kept me guessing. I’m also in Team Caleb!

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story about a disfunctual family and a small town.

[Louisa Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an okay novel. Josie Toadfern is still pippin’ along in her little town of

[Mascanlon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow along the way I have missed the Josie Toadfern. Josie owns a laundry in a small town. She was adopted by her Aunt and Uncle as a small child and in this book her parents appear out of no where for a reunion. Not everyone in the family is glad to see them. Fights ensue including one resulting in lots of food stains (where Josie's expertise in removal shines.)A death results next and the long lost Dad is accused of murder. So a reluctant Josie known for her curiosity is dragged in to invetigate. All in all a solid read with quirkey characters, interesting plot and good tips on stains.

[Jennifer Robb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is what I'd call a chick lit book--good for a time when you don't want to have to think too much. Though as a bonus, you can probably pick up some good stain fighting tips.

This book explores the family history of the main character, Josie.

[Lain · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't get past the third page. Maybe if I started with the first book in the series... But my opinion on cozies is that you should be able to enter anywhere in the series and get swept up.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Sharon Short's Hung Out to Die, the 4th instalment in the Toadfern/Stain-Busting Cozy Mystery series, this cozy caper would have you enthralled and at the edge of your seat. It's Thanksgiving at Mamaw Toadfern's home in Paradise, Ohio, when Josie talked to her grandmother about her family, and learned how she was adopted by her Aunt Clara and her Uncle Horace, when her parents skipped town. During this family holiday vacation, she gets an unexpected surprise from her loving parents, twenty years later. And they have a surprise for her. She had learned a lot of family secrets and heated arguments at dinner, when old animosity had reared its ugly head. But during a walk with her friend Rachel Burkette, they discovered that someone had killed her Uncle Fenwick and had left him to die on a clothesline. With her father in jail as a suspect, it was up to Josie to learn new truths about the past and try to bond with her mother, while she would figure out who would really do such a cruel thing. And when she had gotten closer to suspecting a culprit, it had put her and her parents in danger as she later saved their lives in the end.