Scrambled: A Tuesday Night Book Club Mystery

by Jaime Maddox

Imma Bruno, a spunky retired librarian in the Pocono vacation town of Garden and founding member of the Tuesday Night Book Club, gets far more than she anticipated when she begins to investigate the curious question of why her reclusive neighbor was spotted at a Fabergé egg exhibit in New York City, and seems to be avoiding the town ladies.

Avery Hutchins was just a little girl when her father died on 9/11. She loved spending time in the Pocono mountain town with her grandparents and their friends growing up. When she travels to her grandparents’ home, she makes a discovery about her father’s death that will force her to face an impossible choice between doing what is right and finally finding a way to regain a part of herself she had lost.

Genres: LGBT

288 pages, Paperback

Published October 15, 2024

About the author

Jaime Maddox grew up on the banks of the Susquehanna River in Northeastern Pennsylvania. As the baby in a family of many children, she was part adored and part ignored, forcing her to find creative ways to fill her time. Her childhood was idyllic, spent hiking, rafting, biking, climbing, and otherwise skinning knees and knuckles. Reading and writing became passions. Although she left home for a brief stint in the big cities of Philadelphia, PA, and Newark, NJ, as soon as she acquired the required paperwork—a medical degree and residency certificate—she came running back.

She fills her hours with a bustling medical practice, two precocious sons, a disobedient dog, and an extraordinary woman who helps her to keep it all together. In her abundant spare time, she reads, writes, twists her body into punishing yoga poses, and whacks golf balls deep into forests. She detests airplanes, snakes, and people who aren’t nice. Her loves are the foods of the world, Broadway musicals, traveling, sandy beaches, massages and pedicures, and the Philadelphia Phillies. (from the publisher's website)

Reviews

[Carol Hutchinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great mystery!

Imma is curious as to why her neighbour was at a Faberge egg exhibit when he’s usually quite reclusive. When Avery comes to visit her grandparents and gets to talking to Imma and her book club, suspicions are heightened about Imma’s neighbour, and unable to resist a mystery she starts exploring. During the investigations, Avery is met with some shocking revelations that leave her with questions Imma might just help her solve.

This was a slow burn mystery, which I really enjoyed. Jaime took time building up the suspicion and the characters, getting you all invested, before revealing there was any mystery at all. Imma being an older woman, made her curiosity more endearing, especially when she had personal situations with her wife’s health she was also dealing with. She had a spark of life that was refreshing and exciting, and Avery turning up only added fuel that drove her to want to investigate the situation after the exhibit further. What I loved most was the focus on the mystery from all the characters' points of view. It cleverly covered Imma, Avery, their wives and partners, and the suspicious neighbour. It really was most exciting.

For Avery having been through so much emotionally and then revisiting it on this trip to her grandparents’ home, it was clear she was out seeking answers. She knew they related to her father but had believed him dead after the terrible events of 9/11. I was keen to learn as Avery was, what that little voice was nagging at. When it started to become clear how she fitted into this story it was expected and yet still a surprise, which I thought was also really clever.

Really enjoyed the story, and definitely a great read for anyone who likes a bit of a puzzle and suspense surrounding a mystery.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up. Imma is a spunky retired librarian that runs a book club in a small town in the Poconos. The book club decides to take a day trip to New York City to see the new Fabergé egg exhibit. They see their anti-social neighbor Henry while there and mysterious connections slowly begin to unfold.
This was a light and fun cozy mystery to read! Due to the information shared in the first couple of chapters in this book, the reader is omniscient of past events and connections, which does retract an air of mystery to the story. I actually enjoyed this style because it was fun knowing the full story ahead of time while simultaneously being taken by surprise as future events unfold during Imma’s investigation. It is evident the author wrote parts of herself into this book, between the settings of the Poconos and NYC, the multiple LGBTQ relationships, and the careers and hobbies of many of the characters. It was difficult to suspend belief at times as some of the plot points were too convenient (like the perfectly timed meeting and disappearance during 9/11) or had occasional character behaviors that didn’t make sense. I really enjoyed Imma and Jo’s relationship and character development the most and found myself rooting for them throughout. Overall, this was a quick fun read and I enjoyed the story and its resolution. If you are looking for a fun cozy read and are ok with the omniscient narrator, I would recommend this read for you!
Thank you to NetGalley, Jaime Maddox, and Bold Strokes Books for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Aleana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

Imma and her book club friends travel to Fabergé egg exhibit in New York City where they see reclusive neighbor Henry there and wondering why they always thought he and is his wife live a simple life now it’s turn out they maybe wrong. Avery lost her father when she was young she travel back Pocono mountain town where she use to spend time with her grandparents when she find out something shocking about her father but as she learns what to do with this information she find out more about herself and what she lost. This was a cozy mystery I like the characters were older and the dynamic between them.

[ajreadsfiction · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC.

We follow along Imma and her book club gets thrown into a mystery involving Faberge Eggs and we follow them along on their journey while they figure things out.

The book had a good plot, and I enjoyed the multiple POVs we read the story through. There were some fun twists.

However, the writing felt a bit slower and repetitive at times. When reading mystery and thrillers, I prefer a faster pace.

All in all, this was unfortunately a miss for me.

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started out well, setting the scene for a crime where 3 Faberge eggs were stolen during the the unfolding events of 09/11 that seems to be almost perfectly hidden by the aftermath of the terrorist attack. The timeline then jumps to the present day and our MC Imma, an aging ex-librarian who, while dealing with her partner Jo's newly diagnosed dementia, stumbles upon an inconsistency during an exhibition of remaining eggs. Once her interest is piqued, Imma is like a dog with a bone and refuses to give up until it is solved.

Avery, daughter of the family that owned the eggs at the time of their theft, through chance becomes acquainted with Imma and is then dragged into Imma's relentless pursuit. Gradually the story unfolds and the mystery is solved.

I've rated this a 4 star mainly because the story itself is a good one. It has potential to be a great read. I feel some of the characters were redundant and while Imma and Avery were well rounded, there were inconsistencies with others. For example, Avery's father's actions as the mystery unraveled seemed to be out of character with his original portayal at the beginning of the book. The superfluous characters just add confusion and deter from the flow.

I would recommed it, I did enjoy the story, just feel it needs work.

[Kaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m always up for a mystery. But in this case it was all explained to me as it went along. I wanted to read the book that was described in the last sentence of the blurb. Imma Bruno is a retired librarian in the vacation town of Garden in the Poconos. While visiting an exhibit on Faberge eggs she sees a reclusive person from her community and she starts to read up on Faberge eggs. Avery Hutchin’s is a doctor doing her residency as is her wife. Her grandmother has a home in Garden that she visits as a getaway from the city. Her grandfather once owned three Faberge eggs.

I liked having multiple queer pairings, including the older librarian. But I never felt suspense or tensions building. The culprit is clearly identified with multiple chapters from his POV, so nothing was a surprise, except to the characters. The cover is great and I liked the use of 9/11 in the storyline, but it wasn’t much of a mystery. It looks like this may be a set up for a series I’m assuming with Imma as the recurring character. I’d give her another try it happens.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC and I am leaving an honest review.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of positives about this book. It’s an enjoyable mystery with great characters (especially love seeing older women as a main character), clever premise involving deception at 9/11 and Faberge eggs and some moments of real angst. Because it’s far from formulaic lesfic, there are places where the pacing is a bit different. I didn’t mind these but I did think some of the bits with Henry took us out of the flow a little.

The fact that we knew as readers from the beginning what was happening made the unravelling interesting. When will Avery find out the truth? Why is Imma digging so deeply into the strange neighbour? Add in the issue of early dementia and society’s attitude to older people and we have a good story. I am hoping the fact it’s named "A Tuesday Night Book Club Mystery" might mean Ms Maddox is planning more, and I’ll certainly read them.

I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley

[Laura Salas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm. This one doesn't quite do it for me, even though I really like protagonist Imma and her partner, Jo. There's no mystery here for the reader. There's a mystery for Imma, and she does solve it, but the reader knows basically what's happened from the very beginning. The drawn-out sections from Henry's point of view (especially all his dithering back and forth) especially make me disconnect from the book. And there's just not enough suspense to keep me happily reading even though I know who's done what. I feel like this could be shaped into a good mystery, but it's not there yet. Or it's just not my style.

Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Oamiya Haque · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC.

2.5/5 - This mystery had an interesting premise and main characters. Old queer women are not common protagonists and I found Imma to be so adorable and thoughtful. She was just as lively and adventure seeking as the younger characters.

I do think that the pacing was a bit odd; sometimes there were just chunks of texts about a character's inner thoughts or long winded descriptions, followed by a chunk of dialogue. The mystery isn't really posed to us until a third of the way through the book. While solving the case itself seems cool, the actual depiction of how it's done was a bit boring.