Restored to Death

Judge Jackson Crain #1

by Nancy Bell

Jackson Crain is a widowed county judge who lives with his delightfully idiosyncratic thirteen-year-old daughter. When his deceased wife's sister is bludgeoned to death, and her husband, Ron Hughes, is accused of the crime, the judge decides to assist in the investigation.

Genres: Mystery

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Ryan Monson · Rating 1 out of 5]

There was nothing markedly wrong with this book. There were a few too many characters seemingly randomly introduced at the beginning but that is a small thing. The biggest problems were a few scenes that seemed like they were important but they weren't. These weren't the types of scenes that were just filler, they tended to be sexually charged with rape or prostitution of minors, when they ended up having no connection to the plot they had no place in this book. What made them so out of place is that nothing in the rest of this book about a small town had any graphic details so these completely irrelevant scenes took this book from a Hallmark movie type book to something much darker.

The real problem of this book comes with the ending. This will contain mild spoilers. I listened to the audio book so I thought I was a bit more than halfway through based on where I felt we were with the plot. The main character had done some good detecting and I thought pieces would start falling into place as more information was revealed. I checked the audiobook and discovered I only had about 30 minutes of listening left (or about 10-12 pages). I was forced to conclude one of two things, the first was that there was only one character who could be the killer in order for everything to wrap up but that also meant a lot of info dump and character connection information would be shared in the last 10 pages. The second was that the killer was going to be random and instead of being a detective novel, the ending was going to happen when the detective accidentally came upon the random killer as he was attacking his/her next victim. Well, it was the second one. Random killer. No connection to any of the plot points in the book. No possible way for anyone reading to follow the clues. And the connections we learned about the victims (larger spoiler here) that they were mother and daughter (or the love interest who was secretly the sister to both of the victims (side note in the double parenthetical, because the mother abandoned the daughter who was adopted by the grandparents)); just a giant flaming coincidence of no import whatsoever. This is easily the worst example I have ever read of a book sharing details and clues that only served to misdirect in a completely unjustified way.

[Grace Campbell · Rating 1 out of 5]

Story and characters were interesting but I didn't appreciate the swearing, etc.

[Sonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this book since 2008, I shouldn't have waited so long to read it! Full characters, good story line and great plot twist! I'll be pulling this series off my shelf and putting them next in line to read.

[ChrisGA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this cozy.....I didn't like the Biggie book I read because I found her annoying. However, the main characters in this new series drew me in right away. Recommend highly

[luna · Rating 3 out of 5]

i wish this author had more series. sigh. 3.5 stars

[Marfita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a grueling read. Polished it off in an afternoon.
Jackson's daughter Patty likens the two of them to the main characters in To Kill a Mockingbird and then the author goes nowhere with that. I expected some Nancy Drew-ing from Patty, but she's a more typical teen who finds her father's sexual renaissance embarrassing.
There's definitely something sinister going on in town even before women start getting bludgeoned to death. Fortunately, this is a cozy, so the women are "deserving" - either bitchy or slutty.
The denizens of this small Texas town are impossible gossips, so news travels fast and everyone has an opinion. There is a newcomer in town whose job is to gently renovate small towns like this - and she becomes the object of speculation when Jackson takes an interest in her. But is she all she seems?
I'm listening to an audiobook version from Bell's other series about "Biggie" and have to say that this Judge Crain series is less annoying. It could just be the reader. I might continue with Judge Crain. Maybe.

[Sharon Mensing · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this first in the Jackson Crain series. It introduces the judge and his daughter in a small town. It's a cozy, but Crain has a better backstory for being involved in murder investigations than many cozy characters do. In this one, the interconnectedness of his new girlfriend's family with that of the victims provides some interest. Overall, I liked the book and I'll look for more in the series.

[April Suter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just like the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird, the Judge and his daughter live simply in the town of Post Oak, Texas. His wife has passed away and now meets Mandy, the new girl in town helping to get the downtown revitalized. The town has several murders, including Judge's sister-in-law. The crimes must be solved and it looks like the Judge will have to look for clues.
Too many characters. Maybe if I read others in the series I wouldn't feel that way.
Really no answers to why.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked that it is set in TX. Ending was disappointing.! I like Worldwide as publisher.
June 2021: Oh my! I am on page 128. It’s a reread and I had no idea ! Yikes.
Well I sure don’t remember it .. not a good sign.
Keeping this for the TX description and history.
Can’t really classify this as a cosy mystery.
I wonder if there are more Judge Crain bks ?

[Dany · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first in a cozy mystery series featuring Jackson Crain, judge in a small town in Texas. It was pretty good, it avoided the usual first in series plot pitfalls pretty successfully, and the characters and dialogue were realistic. I wasn't in love with the solution but it made sense. I'll definitely be looking to read more in the series.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sorry if I am posting to the wrong book. The rapes were made to sound as if it was not that bad to be raped. Rape: "violence against women is almost never about sex but domination, about crushing a woman's autonomy with total control driven by hate." I took this from another author who was raped and endured abuse. She put it in words I could never have done.

[Kendall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a great book, but the slow pace of a small town in East Texas a welcome contrast from the hectic pace of most mystery novels. I had the audiobook version, and as an East Texan myself can testify the accents were perfect.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not thrilled with this. There was lots of referred to deviant sex (adult raping child, child prostitute, etc.), that didn't really link to the plot. I found it unnecessary and distasteful.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nancy Bell's mysteries are light and often cozy. I'm adding this a year or two later, and I can't remember one thing about the plot...it's obviously forgettable. I read the audio version.

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting setting in TX and a few good twists.

[Marti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Filling in another series.

I appreciated all the similarities to "To Kill a Mockingbird."

Great southern voices!

Borrowed on Hoopla through JCPL.

Listening length six hr 18 min

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, trip to small-town in east Texas, great characters and good mystery.