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Susan Cramer Mystery #1
Scrambled
What happens to an unhappy woman who leaves her husband only to discover that she may have just made a terrible mistake? So horrible, her choice threatens to end her very life?
Susan believes that the grass is greener on the other side. Not that her current life is bad, necessarily; it's just boring and lifeless, kind of like the old matted rug on her dining room floor. Susan thinks her marriage has just grown - well, old. Her husband, Bob, has gained tremendous weight and continues to gain, and his health suffers. She must work at a job she hates full-time to provide the little sustenance they have. He, on the other hand, works very little (because of his health) and prefers spending his days watching television or surfing the Internet. Besides, there's her problem of not getting pregnant that can't help but contribute to his unhappiness.
Can Susan continue to live her life at the hotel knowing that she might be killed herself or imprisoned for life? Will she be able to find the real murderer with the help of the eccentric Ms. Martha Boaz?
Susan believes that the grass is greener on the other side. Not that her current life is bad, necessarily; it's just boring and lifeless, kind of like the old matted rug on her dining room floor. Susan thinks her marriage has just grown - well, old. Her husband, Bob, has gained tremendous weight and continues to gain, and his health suffers. She must work at a job she hates full-time to provide the little sustenance they have. He, on the other hand, works very little (because of his health) and prefers spending his days watching television or surfing the Internet. Besides, there's her problem of not getting pregnant that can't help but contribute to his unhappiness.
Can Susan continue to live her life at the hotel knowing that she might be killed herself or imprisoned for life? Will she be able to find the real murderer with the help of the eccentric Ms. Martha Boaz?
- GenresMystery
236 pages, Paperback
First published August 22, 2012
About the author
Kathryn Elizabeth Jones
25 books24 followersWhen I was young I thought I had to sound like a great writer to be one. It was all so overwhelming; now I know I only need to sound like myself. My ideas come from two primary sources. My work might spark from the enlightening words of a friend, teacher or writing prompt. At other times, I am sitting in a very still space and the words I should write come to me like a powerful and glowing wind.
My favorite tool is the pen. Though computer keys get the words down quicker and easier, I like to put pen to paper, smell the ink, see the words as they are developed and renewed by new phrases or thoughts.
I enjoy traveling to wherever the character takes me. This often means even I am surprised and warmed at the outcome. In the end, when my writing is done, I like to watch the eyes of the reader whenever I can. Their reflective expression gives me the greatest glimpse into what my writing has become.
Before I was one, I loved to read books-or at least, pretend to. I couldn't walk yet but I would crawl to the bottom shelf for what I wanted. My Grandma says my books were placed near the floor for that very reason, and my mother speaks of me pulling my favorite book from the shelf and crawling back to the couch with the book safely in tow.
I would sit on the couch and pretend to read, speaking the language of some foreign diplomat-or perhaps, the tongue of angels, my mother wasn't quite sure which, and when I was done, I would crawl back to the shelf for another story.
When I am not writing I'm reading. I am an avid reader of the scriptures and books of spiritual merit. I have been married 30 years and enjoy teaching and working with youth and children-including my own three girls,three grand-daughters and grandson.
A published writer since 1987, I have published various newspaper and magazine articles for teens and adults.
My favorite tool is the pen. Though computer keys get the words down quicker and easier, I like to put pen to paper, smell the ink, see the words as they are developed and renewed by new phrases or thoughts.
I enjoy traveling to wherever the character takes me. This often means even I am surprised and warmed at the outcome. In the end, when my writing is done, I like to watch the eyes of the reader whenever I can. Their reflective expression gives me the greatest glimpse into what my writing has become.
Before I was one, I loved to read books-or at least, pretend to. I couldn't walk yet but I would crawl to the bottom shelf for what I wanted. My Grandma says my books were placed near the floor for that very reason, and my mother speaks of me pulling my favorite book from the shelf and crawling back to the couch with the book safely in tow.
I would sit on the couch and pretend to read, speaking the language of some foreign diplomat-or perhaps, the tongue of angels, my mother wasn't quite sure which, and when I was done, I would crawl back to the shelf for another story.
When I am not writing I'm reading. I am an avid reader of the scriptures and books of spiritual merit. I have been married 30 years and enjoy teaching and working with youth and children-including my own three girls,three grand-daughters and grandson.
A published writer since 1987, I have published various newspaper and magazine articles for teens and adults.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 2, 2012
This review was originally posted on Melissa's Midnight Musings on November 16, 2012.
A few months ago Kathryn stopped by my blog to talk about What Your Reading Genre Says About You. I learned quite a bit about my own reading preferences from her post. Recently I read her book, Scrambled. Here are my thoughts on it.
I have to start out by saying that I don't read cozy mysteries all that often. I actually can't remember the last time I read one before this one. Maybe it's because I don't read them all that often, but this one didn't exactly blow me away.
The book starts out by having us learn that Susan is unhappy at home, with an inattentive husband who really likes to eat junk food. One day she just up and leaves her job and her husband and starts a new life.
I was actually frustrated from the start because I didn't really know why she was leaving. Yes she was unhappy with her life and her husband, but we don't really get to see much of their interaction together to get a real feel for the environment and her dislike for him because the book starts out immediately with her leaving.
I was also a little frustrated because it didn't really make sense that she could just up and start over with no resources. She tried to change her identity too, by giving herself a new name, but that doesn't work completely because she slips up when talking to one of the tenants of the hotel where she lives and cleans rooms.
There's a death in the story and Jenny/Susan seems hesitant as to whether or not it's murder. Not a bad thing to question, but it seemed like she was unsure of herself a lot and the questioning the underlying story itself which made me question the story as a whole. Susan/Jenny is a nice enough character. Likeable, a decent person, a little too gullible maybe. But, she flip flops a lot. She can't decide whether she still loves her husband, and when she finds that someone else likes her (won't say who to prevent spoilers) she goes back and forth with him too. He's willing to be patient but she sees him as a nuisance or someone who's only a friend. She doesn't really tell him so until a lot later in the book though. I suppose I was just hoping to see her grow stronger as a character throughout. She does, to a point, but I think I was hoping for more. The strongest, most decisive action she takes is leaving her husband.
The eggs.
Oh my goodness, the eggs. At first the mentions of Susan/Jenny eating eggs when stressed or sad was a cute touch. Then it turned into a bit of an obsession. She is constantly eating eggs. Or making omelets. Or egg casserole. There are exactly three instances where Susan/Jenny doesn't eat eggs. One when she's making a frozen dinner of a chicken leg, one where she's eating a steak and having a raspberry vanilla soda, and one where she's eating "something that looks like a burrito." The rest of the time it's all about the eggs. I almost wish I had counted the scenes where there are eggs so I could compare the numbers. I understand that there's a deeper metaphor behind them, but I think that the mentions could have been pared down to a handful and it would have been fine.
At the same time, I do like that there is a recipe included at the back of the book. And at the end, Susan was hopeful and eager to start making her own baked goods. Add food details and you've got my interest, what can I say?
The mystery of the book does keep you on your toes at points, but at other times it can just be too confusing. I think that some of Susan/Jenny's debating about if there were a murder contributed to that confusion. I do have to say that although I thought I had it all figured out close to the beginning of the story, I didn't know for sure who did it until the end.
There are really good details about all the characters, so it's very easy to see them in your mind as you read. And these are quite the mixed up bunch of characters if I ever saw one. I definitely wanted to know more about these characters.
In terms of dialogue and formatting and pace, the story is a quick read. It's paced really nicely and there are only one or two sections where it drags slightly. I have to say that I found the dialogue to be a bit stiff in places, with phrases like "the murderer of my son" and things like that. Also, in the last chapter or so of the book there are several words and phrases spread over a section of pages that are italicized. As I was reading initially I thought these were for emphasis, but as I continued to read it seemed to me just to be a formatting issue, so that was a tiny bit distracting.
Overall, this was an okay story, it just wasn't for me. I'd definitely recommend that readers who are more familiar with cozy mysteries give it a try though.
*I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.*
A few months ago Kathryn stopped by my blog to talk about What Your Reading Genre Says About You. I learned quite a bit about my own reading preferences from her post. Recently I read her book, Scrambled. Here are my thoughts on it.
I have to start out by saying that I don't read cozy mysteries all that often. I actually can't remember the last time I read one before this one. Maybe it's because I don't read them all that often, but this one didn't exactly blow me away.
The book starts out by having us learn that Susan is unhappy at home, with an inattentive husband who really likes to eat junk food. One day she just up and leaves her job and her husband and starts a new life.
I was actually frustrated from the start because I didn't really know why she was leaving. Yes she was unhappy with her life and her husband, but we don't really get to see much of their interaction together to get a real feel for the environment and her dislike for him because the book starts out immediately with her leaving.
I was also a little frustrated because it didn't really make sense that she could just up and start over with no resources. She tried to change her identity too, by giving herself a new name, but that doesn't work completely because she slips up when talking to one of the tenants of the hotel where she lives and cleans rooms.
There's a death in the story and Jenny/Susan seems hesitant as to whether or not it's murder. Not a bad thing to question, but it seemed like she was unsure of herself a lot and the questioning the underlying story itself which made me question the story as a whole. Susan/Jenny is a nice enough character. Likeable, a decent person, a little too gullible maybe. But, she flip flops a lot. She can't decide whether she still loves her husband, and when she finds that someone else likes her (won't say who to prevent spoilers) she goes back and forth with him too. He's willing to be patient but she sees him as a nuisance or someone who's only a friend. She doesn't really tell him so until a lot later in the book though. I suppose I was just hoping to see her grow stronger as a character throughout. She does, to a point, but I think I was hoping for more. The strongest, most decisive action she takes is leaving her husband.
The eggs.
Oh my goodness, the eggs. At first the mentions of Susan/Jenny eating eggs when stressed or sad was a cute touch. Then it turned into a bit of an obsession. She is constantly eating eggs. Or making omelets. Or egg casserole. There are exactly three instances where Susan/Jenny doesn't eat eggs. One when she's making a frozen dinner of a chicken leg, one where she's eating a steak and having a raspberry vanilla soda, and one where she's eating "something that looks like a burrito." The rest of the time it's all about the eggs. I almost wish I had counted the scenes where there are eggs so I could compare the numbers. I understand that there's a deeper metaphor behind them, but I think that the mentions could have been pared down to a handful and it would have been fine.
At the same time, I do like that there is a recipe included at the back of the book. And at the end, Susan was hopeful and eager to start making her own baked goods. Add food details and you've got my interest, what can I say?
The mystery of the book does keep you on your toes at points, but at other times it can just be too confusing. I think that some of Susan/Jenny's debating about if there were a murder contributed to that confusion. I do have to say that although I thought I had it all figured out close to the beginning of the story, I didn't know for sure who did it until the end.
There are really good details about all the characters, so it's very easy to see them in your mind as you read. And these are quite the mixed up bunch of characters if I ever saw one. I definitely wanted to know more about these characters.
In terms of dialogue and formatting and pace, the story is a quick read. It's paced really nicely and there are only one or two sections where it drags slightly. I have to say that I found the dialogue to be a bit stiff in places, with phrases like "the murderer of my son" and things like that. Also, in the last chapter or so of the book there are several words and phrases spread over a section of pages that are italicized. As I was reading initially I thought these were for emphasis, but as I continued to read it seemed to me just to be a formatting issue, so that was a tiny bit distracting.
Overall, this was an okay story, it just wasn't for me. I'd definitely recommend that readers who are more familiar with cozy mysteries give it a try though.
*I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.*
October 6, 2012
So one day Susan just leaves her job and her husband, gets on a bus, and begins a new life as Jenny. She easily gets a job cleaning hotel rooms at a cheap, but once glamorous, hotel. The tenants are strange, but it allows her to keep a low profile and begin to put some money away until she really begin her new life.
There is the man across the hall who seems to have developed a crush on her; the salesman who never seems to make any sales and leaves his room immaculate; the slob who lives down the hall whose room always has a bad odor, and the manager, who lives in a plush attic room that gives Susan the creeps. The owner of the hotel doesn't live there, but seems to show up and walk the halls all the time.
When one of the tenants is found dead in the basement, the owner cons Susan into helping him move the body so that it won't be connected to the hotel. Susan starts to receive threatening notes afterwards and realizes that someone is trying to pin the murder on her. She decides that her only options are returning to her husband (NO) or trying to figure out who the murderer is herself.
With that, the author starts you down a road with many twists and some surprises as Susan stumbles across more dead bodies, people who aren't whom they seem, and life presenting her with choices she didn't know she had. I liked Susan and for some reason pictured her as Kristin Wiig and couldn't get that image out of my head!
This was a debut book for Kathryn Jones and the first in the Susan Sleuth Mystery Series. If you like cozy mysteries, then you should give this one a shot!
There is the man across the hall who seems to have developed a crush on her; the salesman who never seems to make any sales and leaves his room immaculate; the slob who lives down the hall whose room always has a bad odor, and the manager, who lives in a plush attic room that gives Susan the creeps. The owner of the hotel doesn't live there, but seems to show up and walk the halls all the time.
When one of the tenants is found dead in the basement, the owner cons Susan into helping him move the body so that it won't be connected to the hotel. Susan starts to receive threatening notes afterwards and realizes that someone is trying to pin the murder on her. She decides that her only options are returning to her husband (NO) or trying to figure out who the murderer is herself.
With that, the author starts you down a road with many twists and some surprises as Susan stumbles across more dead bodies, people who aren't whom they seem, and life presenting her with choices she didn't know she had. I liked Susan and for some reason pictured her as Kristin Wiig and couldn't get that image out of my head!
This was a debut book for Kathryn Jones and the first in the Susan Sleuth Mystery Series. If you like cozy mysteries, then you should give this one a shot!
February 9, 2016
This page seems to be devoted to everything Kathryn Elizabeth Jones has written. This review is on her book "Scrambled: A Susan Cramer Mystery."
Susan Cramer was unhappy. Her husband was a fat slob who only worked part time, never quit eating junk food, and expected her to be his servant. However, he wasn’t abusive. She just was tired of living with him. So, instead of divorcing him, she runs away, changes her name, and gets a job as a cleaning woman in a sleazy hotel. Everyone in the hotel seems to know her secret and hold it over her so she won’t go to the police. Because she doesn’t want her husband to find her (Why?), she helps the manager dump a body in the park, meets strangers at 2 a.m. in the cemetery, shares all of her secrets with a person she really doesn't know, hides threatening notes she gets instead of taking them to the police, and can’t quit the job even though she knows there are people living in the hotel who want her dead.
The book was okay, but I had a hard time understanding why Susan just didn’t divorce her husband and why she was so afraid he would find her. I also had a hard time trying to figure out why she was so willing to confide in a stranger with a shady past who keeps turning on her, but Susan keeps trusting her. And then there is the geek who is in love with her. At first, she is really rude to him, but then he becomes her best friend and his geekiness seems to have disappeared.
And what's with the eggs? Susan seems to have an obsession with eggs, and every chapter talks about eggs. At first, it was kind of cute, but I got really tired of it after awhile.
So I would probably give the book a 2.5 rating and probably won't read any more of Jones' novels.
Susan Cramer was unhappy. Her husband was a fat slob who only worked part time, never quit eating junk food, and expected her to be his servant. However, he wasn’t abusive. She just was tired of living with him. So, instead of divorcing him, she runs away, changes her name, and gets a job as a cleaning woman in a sleazy hotel. Everyone in the hotel seems to know her secret and hold it over her so she won’t go to the police. Because she doesn’t want her husband to find her (Why?), she helps the manager dump a body in the park, meets strangers at 2 a.m. in the cemetery, shares all of her secrets with a person she really doesn't know, hides threatening notes she gets instead of taking them to the police, and can’t quit the job even though she knows there are people living in the hotel who want her dead.
The book was okay, but I had a hard time understanding why Susan just didn’t divorce her husband and why she was so afraid he would find her. I also had a hard time trying to figure out why she was so willing to confide in a stranger with a shady past who keeps turning on her, but Susan keeps trusting her. And then there is the geek who is in love with her. At first, she is really rude to him, but then he becomes her best friend and his geekiness seems to have disappeared.
And what's with the eggs? Susan seems to have an obsession with eggs, and every chapter talks about eggs. At first, it was kind of cute, but I got really tired of it after awhile.
So I would probably give the book a 2.5 rating and probably won't read any more of Jones' novels.
September 27, 2012
Susan left home, she just walked off her job one day and never went home. Moving to a larger city and taking a job, using an alias, she is trying to start over. However as she works hard, saving her money to go on somewhere she has dreamed of going, life takes a unexpected turn. A neighbor in the hotel/apt. building she lives in and works at, turns up dead and the owner forces her to help him take the body away. He wants to hide the crime and keep it disconnected from the hotel. However when threatening notes start showing up, Susan knows she is in deep and it looks very suspicious for her. Can she solve this murder before she too, ends up dead?
What I liked about this book? This was a quirky, funny story, with a plot that has more twists and turns than a rollercoaster. The author did a great job of keeping her story straight and solving the mystery. Her need to eat eggs when she was stressed was a fun character quirk in the story also.
What I didn't like about this book? Editing, editing, editing. If your going the Indie route the best thing an author can do is hire an editor! I think this next thing is a publishing issue, but the book was presented in a very disjointed manner, the spacing was off, and the pages were a bit different.
Overall rating for this book is 3 stars. 248 pages $12.98, available in paperback and e-book form.
This book was provided for review purposes only, no payment was received for this review.
What I liked about this book? This was a quirky, funny story, with a plot that has more twists and turns than a rollercoaster. The author did a great job of keeping her story straight and solving the mystery. Her need to eat eggs when she was stressed was a fun character quirk in the story also.
What I didn't like about this book? Editing, editing, editing. If your going the Indie route the best thing an author can do is hire an editor! I think this next thing is a publishing issue, but the book was presented in a very disjointed manner, the spacing was off, and the pages were a bit different.
Overall rating for this book is 3 stars. 248 pages $12.98, available in paperback and e-book form.
This book was provided for review purposes only, no payment was received for this review.
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September 15, 2012Scrambled was a good title for the book as scrambled eggs kept reoccurring in the book, and the author even includes a recipe at the end as a bonus tidbit for readers. I think it’s fun when authors do that.
In Scrambled, Susan decides to escape her unhappy life and controlling husband and moves away and changes her name. After taking a job as a cleaning lady at a hotel, Susan makes a new friend, but things soon become strange and scrambled once Susan encounters a dead body in the hotel. Susan decides to find out who might have committed the murder, but in the process, ends up putting her own life in danger. The story takes an interesting series of twists and turns, and just when the reader thinks they know what happens, more surprises are around the next corner.
Please note that I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my review. However, I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.
In Scrambled, Susan decides to escape her unhappy life and controlling husband and moves away and changes her name. After taking a job as a cleaning lady at a hotel, Susan makes a new friend, but things soon become strange and scrambled once Susan encounters a dead body in the hotel. Susan decides to find out who might have committed the murder, but in the process, ends up putting her own life in danger. The story takes an interesting series of twists and turns, and just when the reader thinks they know what happens, more surprises are around the next corner.
Please note that I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my review. However, I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.
October 3, 2012
Susan Cramer, a woman on the run from her husband, takes a job as a housekeeper in a rundown hotel to make some money to pay for her new life. She finds friends that she isn’t ready to trust and a dead body in the boiler room. Her determination to succeed in her new life is admirable even if she doesn’t always make the ethical choice. This is about a woman getting to know herself again.
In this novel, Kathryn Elizabeth Jones brings to life complex characters in a mystery where you can never be sure who to trust. The twists and turns are fantastic. Susan is not your normal amateur sleuth but many readers will relate to her. The author has a unique voice all her own. I’m looking forward to the next one in the series. A very enjoyable read.
In this novel, Kathryn Elizabeth Jones brings to life complex characters in a mystery where you can never be sure who to trust. The twists and turns are fantastic. Susan is not your normal amateur sleuth but many readers will relate to her. The author has a unique voice all her own. I’m looking forward to the next one in the series. A very enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews