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Grub-And-Stakers #5
The Grub-And-Stakers House a Haunt
Zilla Trott is pouring her cat some chamomile tea when the drifter appears in her kitchen. He is grubby and crude—not at all the kind of person you’d usually find in the pleasant town of Lobelia Falls—but something about him intrigues the aging widow. Perhaps it’s his rugged good looks, or the way he seems to come from another time and place. Or perhaps it’s the fact that he’s been dead for nearly a century.
When Lobelia Falls was in its rough-and-tumble frontier infancy, Hiram Jellyby was the best mule driver the town had ever seen, until an argument over a hidden cache of gold left him bleeding to death in a back alley. He returns in spectral form to secure a proper burial, and finds that in modern-day Lobelia Falls, no one knows more about turning the soil than Zilla Trott’s gardening buddies—all members of Dittany Monk’s fearless Grub-and-Stake Gardening and Roving Club.
When Lobelia Falls was in its rough-and-tumble frontier infancy, Hiram Jellyby was the best mule driver the town had ever seen, until an argument over a hidden cache of gold left him bleeding to death in a back alley. He returns in spectral form to secure a proper burial, and finds that in modern-day Lobelia Falls, no one knows more about turning the soil than Zilla Trott’s gardening buddies—all members of Dittany Monk’s fearless Grub-and-Stake Gardening and Roving Club.
190 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1993
42 people are currently reading
220 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 30, 2024
I love this series and while I'm a bit sad that I've finished up the last book in it, I do have the joy of delving into her other series to go so life it good. Lobelia Falls, Ontario is filled with some truly delightful characters and never, ever seems to be a boring place to visit.
June 4, 2021
Way too much profanity but an interesting story full of quaint and kooky Lobelia Falls residents! Except for Dittany who appears to be your typical young and beautiful leading lady. The twins were a distraction and unnecessary to the story.
November 29, 2016
Charlotte Macleod (writing as Alisa Craig, the name she used for her Canadian cozies) here deploys all her usual trademarks: eccentric characters with even more eccentric names (Arethusa Monk, the reigning queen of roguish Regency romance, to give just one example) small towns or large households populated by large numbers of characters going about their amiable eccentric ways when crime hits. In 'House a Haunt', the action is triggered by a muleskinner’s ghost materializing in Zilla Trott’s kitchen, talking of a treasure he’d buried just before he met his untimely end. This sets everyone off on a quest for the missing money, which turns up all kinds of other things in the process.
Although this book came out in the nineties, it exists in an almost surreal world of quaint, small-town, mostly WASP Canada where everyone is charmingly idyosincratic, even the criminals. Craig also appeals to a better educated audience than writers do lately.
Although this book came out in the nineties, it exists in an almost surreal world of quaint, small-town, mostly WASP Canada where everyone is charmingly idyosincratic, even the criminals. Craig also appeals to a better educated audience than writers do lately.
February 15, 2018
When a ghost comes visiting Zella Trout and wanting her to find his bones she thinks she has gone round the twist. But when he tells her about the box of gold that brought about his death she enlists the aid of her neighbours to find the gold and use it for the communities benefit. If they can find the bones as well and lay them decently to rest, so much the better. But when they find a box of modern day paper money the adventure begins.
May 6, 2022
2022 bk 123. In the last of the Grub and Stakers things are ectoplasmic when a haunt, haunts the ladies of the community. Efforts to track his bones lead to past crimes and current misdeeds. An excellent end to the series. Molasses cookies are back as Charlotte's/Alisa's choice, although I like little snacks of cheese n' crackers or other party snacks since there is a lalapalooza of a wingding in this book.
May 18, 2018
This is probably the craziest and most unrealistic of the five book series but I enjoyed it the most. It is more a ghost story than a mystery. It features the usual eccentric characters and wild plot you expect from Alisa Craig/Charlotte MacLeod. Sometimes I need something to simply entertain and make me laugh. This one does that in a big way.
December 30, 2019
Early Bird Book Deal | This one was ridiculous and fun until it got to the (obvious) killer going on at great length in the end.
And that ends the series. Next to find out if the Madoc series is screwball like this one, or silly like Bittersohn.
And that ends the series. Next to find out if the Madoc series is screwball like this one, or silly like Bittersohn.
April 20, 2025
This is not her best book, but still entertaining. I do wish she had a list of characters in the front since it has been a while since I read the previous in the series, and it helps to know the background.
September 13, 2019
Love the writing, the characters and the story. This was so, so funny and the vocabulary added to the enjoyment. Thank you for the outstanding entertainment.
May 30, 2020
Good silly fun, if you're up for it, considering that at least two people get killed. Maybe a little sillier than absolutely necessary.
March 20, 2021
The delightful Ms. MacLeod outdoes herself.
June 26, 2021
Delightfully campy.
February 20, 2024
Nice clean cozy mystery! Good characters.
November 11, 2025
Love Charlotte MacLeod. She writes the most wonderful off-the-wall mysteries. This is written as Alisas Craig.
The Grub-and-Stakers Gardening and Roving Club in Lobelia Falls, Ontario, is busy with town problems. There is a peeping tom running around. Hedrick Snarf, the innkeeper has takent to wearing purple silk socks, another resident has had her great-grandmother's purple silk stockings swiped. Then Zilla Trout is having tea with her cat, Nemea, when a ghost appears -- the hundred years dead Hiram Jellyby. He is demanding his bones be found and properly buried. He had been murdered for a treasure in gold that he had found and hidden. So, Zilla and a few others try to figure out where his body is as well as his treasure. In digging for the trunk of gold, they find a trunk of modern cash - apparently from a bank robbery 8 years ago where the banker had been taken hostage and killed. The police take charge of that, especially since one of the searchers is a deputy. The second time they try to find the trunk, they find a box of fine china that had been stolen from Arethusa's great-grandmother's while she was on her honeymoon. They are still looking for the gold - and Hiram's bones. Dittany is married to Arethusa's nephew. They are both authors, preferring the typewriter to the computer. Osbert writes westerns and Arethusa writes romantic novels about dukes and earls.
And, so it goes from there. These are lighthearted, funny and wonderful books.
The Grub-and-Stakers Gardening and Roving Club in Lobelia Falls, Ontario, is busy with town problems. There is a peeping tom running around. Hedrick Snarf, the innkeeper has takent to wearing purple silk socks, another resident has had her great-grandmother's purple silk stockings swiped. Then Zilla Trout is having tea with her cat, Nemea, when a ghost appears -- the hundred years dead Hiram Jellyby. He is demanding his bones be found and properly buried. He had been murdered for a treasure in gold that he had found and hidden. So, Zilla and a few others try to figure out where his body is as well as his treasure. In digging for the trunk of gold, they find a trunk of modern cash - apparently from a bank robbery 8 years ago where the banker had been taken hostage and killed. The police take charge of that, especially since one of the searchers is a deputy. The second time they try to find the trunk, they find a box of fine china that had been stolen from Arethusa's great-grandmother's while she was on her honeymoon. They are still looking for the gold - and Hiram's bones. Dittany is married to Arethusa's nephew. They are both authors, preferring the typewriter to the computer. Osbert writes westerns and Arethusa writes romantic novels about dukes and earls.
And, so it goes from there. These are lighthearted, funny and wonderful books.
July 26, 2016
#5 in The Grub and Stakers series.
Zilla Trott is pouring her cat some chamomile tea when the drifter appears in her kitchen. He is grubby and crude--not at all the kind of person you'd usually find in the pleasant town of Lobelia Falls--but something about him intrigues the aging widow. Perhaps it's his rugged good looks, or the way he seems to come from another time and place. Or perhaps it's the fact that he's been dead for nearly a century. When Lobelia Falls was in its rough-and-tumble frontier infancy, Hiram Jellyby was the best mule driver the town had ever seen, until an argument over a hidden cache of gold left him bleeding to death in a back alley. He returns in spectral form to secure a proper burial, and finds that in modern-day Lobelia Falls, no one knows more about turning the soil than Zilla Trott's gardening buddies--all members of Dittany Monk's fearless Grub-and-Stake Gardening and Roving Club.
Zilla Trott is pouring her cat some chamomile tea when the drifter appears in her kitchen. He is grubby and crude--not at all the kind of person you'd usually find in the pleasant town of Lobelia Falls--but something about him intrigues the aging widow. Perhaps it's his rugged good looks, or the way he seems to come from another time and place. Or perhaps it's the fact that he's been dead for nearly a century. When Lobelia Falls was in its rough-and-tumble frontier infancy, Hiram Jellyby was the best mule driver the town had ever seen, until an argument over a hidden cache of gold left him bleeding to death in a back alley. He returns in spectral form to secure a proper burial, and finds that in modern-day Lobelia Falls, no one knows more about turning the soil than Zilla Trott's gardening buddies--all members of Dittany Monk's fearless Grub-and-Stake Gardening and Roving Club.
September 4, 2022
Although I don't usually like a writer delving into the realms of impossibility, I have gotten so used to Ms. MacLeod's zany approach to writing that I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am sorry it is the last in the series (as well as the last of my re-reads of Ms. MacLeod). She has a great grasp of vocabulary, which I have enjoyed in each of her books, this one being no exception. Dittany and Osbert have good rapport and a fun repartee with each other. The goings-on at Enchanted Mountain are wonderful additions to the lore of Lobelia Falls.
March 3, 2017
When the ghost of a mule-driver appears in Zilla Trott's kitchen, the garden club is off on another adventure. Hiram Jellaby wants them to find his bones and bury them properly; as incentive, he mentions that he's also found a trunk full of gold in the area. When Osbert Monk digs where the ghost indicated, he finds a neatly packaged box of stolen cash.
April 4, 2010
The last of the Grub-and-Stakers is a fun romp, but feels a bit as if MacLeod/Craig is coasting. A rousing end to the series, still.
October 5, 2014
They don't write books like this anymore. Witty dialogue and great plot, with strong characters.
July 23, 2020
This series is one of my favorites (I have them in paperback and now on my Kindle). They are so humorous. The mystery is good but it is the crazy characters that I love.
March 9, 2013
Not my favorite of the series
December 11, 2014
I like MacLeod's books based in Boston better than the Grub and Stakers books.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews