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Piper & Bill Robins #1
The Corpse Wore Gingham
Piper and Bill Robins, a retired married couple, are enjoying their leisure years spent in the tranquil, leafy Washington, D.C. suburb of Beverly Park, Virginia. Bill watches “Pawn Stars” on TV and mows his lawn while Piper shops for clothes and solves crossword puzzles.
One sunny June afternoon, Emily Davenport, who lives in California, telephones Bill and asks if he’ll check on her elderly mother Anna living next door to the Robinses. She hasn’t answered Emily’s repeated attempts to call. After Bill and Piper go over, they discover Anna lies murdered in her bed. The only found clue is her bloodstained gingham bathrobe. Appalled and even more outraged, Piper persuades Bill to become wife-and-husband amateur sleuths, and they set out to find Anna’s killer.
Meantime, Bill’s younger sister Noreen, a retired CPA, joins the Robinses’ investigation. She taps her ex-cop boyfriend Rick Novak and her mysterious, opinionated tuxedo tomcat Snoozy Q for support. While the city homicide detectives run their official investigation, the skillful snoops Piper, Bill, and Noreen train their sights on four murder suspects.
Besides a clean read and fair play modern “whodunit” mystery, The Corpse Wore Gingham offers cozy mystery fans likeable protagonists, good-natured humor, and a lively pace.
One sunny June afternoon, Emily Davenport, who lives in California, telephones Bill and asks if he’ll check on her elderly mother Anna living next door to the Robinses. She hasn’t answered Emily’s repeated attempts to call. After Bill and Piper go over, they discover Anna lies murdered in her bed. The only found clue is her bloodstained gingham bathrobe. Appalled and even more outraged, Piper persuades Bill to become wife-and-husband amateur sleuths, and they set out to find Anna’s killer.
Meantime, Bill’s younger sister Noreen, a retired CPA, joins the Robinses’ investigation. She taps her ex-cop boyfriend Rick Novak and her mysterious, opinionated tuxedo tomcat Snoozy Q for support. While the city homicide detectives run their official investigation, the skillful snoops Piper, Bill, and Noreen train their sights on four murder suspects.
Besides a clean read and fair play modern “whodunit” mystery, The Corpse Wore Gingham offers cozy mystery fans likeable protagonists, good-natured humor, and a lively pace.
- GenresCozy Mystery
223 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 8, 2015
About the author
Ed Lynskey
72 books2,711 followersEd Lynskey is a crime fiction author who writes the P.I. Frank Johnson Mystery Series and the Isabel and Alma Trumbo Cozy Mystery Series. His short fiction has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 18, 2016
Dorothy Gale wore a blue gingham dress in the Wizard of Oz book and film. And this book most definitely does not take place in Kansas. Albeit that the leading animal character is important, not for the solution but to movie the plot along, even if the animal is more of the feline persuasion.
A new cozy series with a happily married couplet hat has known trouble in their paradise duet o the death of their teenage son. It is a miracle they are so comfortable together. He does follow her lead in this new hobby of sleuthing when their neighbor is found murdered by them. Just because they did their neighborly duty they ended up looking for this friendly yet aloof lady.
Piper and her Husband Bill Robins are starting their investigations because as friendly retirees they really need a hobby. Bills sister Noreen gets caught with the same sleuthing virus, and she has the cat in a smoking Snoozy Q, yes indeed related tot he famous similar sounding song. Noreen is dating with a retired cop and he advises them to leave it alone.
The story has no real urgency to go anywhere soon and at the end the solution of the “mystery”proves to be a case of coincidence that never gives a satisfactory answer as to why the neighbor has to die. Which is somewhat of a letdown for me especially in murder mysteries.
The plus side is that the main characters get their time to develop which I am sure will be a boon for the next installment of the series.
While it was a comfortable read I currently prefer Mr & Mrs North and Nick & Nora Charles, but I will most certainly read “Fur the win” the next story to see where the characters are growing.
A new cozy series with a happily married couplet hat has known trouble in their paradise duet o the death of their teenage son. It is a miracle they are so comfortable together. He does follow her lead in this new hobby of sleuthing when their neighbor is found murdered by them. Just because they did their neighborly duty they ended up looking for this friendly yet aloof lady.
Piper and her Husband Bill Robins are starting their investigations because as friendly retirees they really need a hobby. Bills sister Noreen gets caught with the same sleuthing virus, and she has the cat in a smoking Snoozy Q, yes indeed related tot he famous similar sounding song. Noreen is dating with a retired cop and he advises them to leave it alone.
The story has no real urgency to go anywhere soon and at the end the solution of the “mystery”proves to be a case of coincidence that never gives a satisfactory answer as to why the neighbor has to die. Which is somewhat of a letdown for me especially in murder mysteries.
The plus side is that the main characters get their time to develop which I am sure will be a boon for the next installment of the series.
While it was a comfortable read I currently prefer Mr & Mrs North and Nick & Nora Charles, but I will most certainly read “Fur the win” the next story to see where the characters are growing.
July 2, 2015
This was a delightful book to read. The two main characters, Bill and Piper, remind me a lot of my husband and I with all the playful bantering and quips. I think if the occasion came up where we could help with a murder investigation, we could certainly help with my keen observation skills and my husbands deductive skills we could certainly give it a go. Fingers crossed! Ed Lynskey is very talented and can write a fun book like this with a little mystery as well as a top Detective Mystery.
April 19, 2015
I just finished this book and enjoyed it a lot. A great cozy about a retired couple that decides to break up the monotony of their days by solving the mystery of the murder of their elderly neighbor. There was some similarities of the central characters that made me wonder...There is a cat like mine in the story. A male chubby Tuxie whose main goal is food. A cat in the story is always a plus for me. The story also has some funny moments and I laughed out loud.
October 15, 2017
Okay. It seemed rather bitty and unconvincing, although I did like the cat.
January 18, 2015
This was a delightful 'Cozy Mystery' by my Goodreads friend, Ed Lynskey. I like to think that my husband Guy and I could also solve mysteries as Piper and Bill Robins do. When they discover the body of a neighbor, the two of them are intrigued, and follow the clues, along with several others--and a cat. The neighborhood sounds delightful--other than harboring a killer. I would like to go for an ice cream at Frank's.
October 14, 2017
The premises of the plot was a little far fetched and the dialogue was vet stilted and contrived. I'm hoping it is due to being the first book and the second of this series is better
March 9, 2017
I don't ask a lot of my books but if it's a mystery I expect it to be a mystery that makes sense. The characters themselves were a little strange but I didn't mind. Piper and Bill's relationship was nice. It was interesting to see an established couple as sleuths rather than a single woman. Plus there wasn't any typical romance plot - they loved each other but they weren't getting to know each other or that. Noreen was an odd one, especially with the talking cat. I didn't mind it when it was just her, but the whole thing with Rick hearing the cat was just weird.
The plot was a lost cause.
There were a lot of suspects, mainly speculation on their part, no real evidence or interactions with the suspect and the guilty party had no motive. I read 200+ pages to find out who and I found out who but I didn't find out why. I didn't even understand why. There's no reason.
Crime happens. Drugs, passion, jealousy, envy, anger, money are all valid reasons why someone kills someone else. This had nothing. Not even a halfhearted explanation. Yes they caught the person responsible. But no wonder they were confused as to who they caught - they had no idea why it would be - they barely suspected that person. I can handle a halfhearted mystery, one that tells rather than shows. It might not be the best book ever, but I can read a book that tells me what happens. But The Corpse Wore Gingham didn't even have that. I have to give it one star because that's my deal breaker. If there was any explanation for why, I would up it to two. This wasn't a bad read, it was just extremely frustrating to not find out why.
The plot was a lost cause.
There were a lot of suspects, mainly speculation on their part, no real evidence or interactions with the suspect and the guilty party had no motive. I read 200+ pages to find out who and I found out who but I didn't find out why. I didn't even understand why. There's no reason.
Crime happens. Drugs, passion, jealousy, envy, anger, money are all valid reasons why someone kills someone else. This had nothing. Not even a halfhearted explanation. Yes they caught the person responsible. But no wonder they were confused as to who they caught - they had no idea why it would be - they barely suspected that person. I can handle a halfhearted mystery, one that tells rather than shows. It might not be the best book ever, but I can read a book that tells me what happens. But The Corpse Wore Gingham didn't even have that. I have to give it one star because that's my deal breaker. If there was any explanation for why, I would up it to two. This wasn't a bad read, it was just extremely frustrating to not find out why.
March 7, 2016
21. The Corpse Wore Gingham (Piper and Bill Robins No. 1) Ed Lynskey
Bill and Piper Robins are a happily married, retired couple living in a quiet Washington, D.C. suburb. He likes to watch “Pawn Stars,” she likes to shop and work crossword puzzles. One day, at the request of their neighbor’s daughter, they go to check on her mother and find her dead in bed, ant not from natural causes. Piper is morally outraged that something like this happened (and a little bit nosy), so they rope Bill’s sister, Noreen, a retired CPA, and by extension her retired cop boyfriend into tracking down the murderer. Noreen’s cat, Snoozy Q even gets in on the act.
This is a sweet first book in the series. I usually run screaming in the other direction when I see “clean” in the description, because it’s often a synonym for the characters standing around wondering about WWJD. And, I generally prefer a little grit in my reading. This, however, is “clean” in the sense that the violence occurs off-screen, isn’t excessively detailed, there isn’t graphic sex (heck, there isn’t really any sex, other than I get the sense this couple loves and is still attracted to each other after a long marriage), and Piper has a swear jar.
The plot was a little slow for me, but I liked Piper, Bill, Noreen and Snoozy Q enough that I wanted to keep going. The Robins lost their only child many years ago in a tragic accident, and it was intriguing to see the effects this had on their lives in the present time. Their banter rings true for a married couple Noreen is an attractive character – she’s OK on her own, but is at the beginning of what could be a great relationship with the retired cop. And the cat turns out to be more fun than I expected.
This was a fun gym read for me, and I liked it enough at the end that I moved book 2 in the series up the TBR pile. The author has written some other series as well, and I think I will have to check those out soon too.
Bill and Piper Robins are a happily married, retired couple living in a quiet Washington, D.C. suburb. He likes to watch “Pawn Stars,” she likes to shop and work crossword puzzles. One day, at the request of their neighbor’s daughter, they go to check on her mother and find her dead in bed, ant not from natural causes. Piper is morally outraged that something like this happened (and a little bit nosy), so they rope Bill’s sister, Noreen, a retired CPA, and by extension her retired cop boyfriend into tracking down the murderer. Noreen’s cat, Snoozy Q even gets in on the act.
This is a sweet first book in the series. I usually run screaming in the other direction when I see “clean” in the description, because it’s often a synonym for the characters standing around wondering about WWJD. And, I generally prefer a little grit in my reading. This, however, is “clean” in the sense that the violence occurs off-screen, isn’t excessively detailed, there isn’t graphic sex (heck, there isn’t really any sex, other than I get the sense this couple loves and is still attracted to each other after a long marriage), and Piper has a swear jar.
The plot was a little slow for me, but I liked Piper, Bill, Noreen and Snoozy Q enough that I wanted to keep going. The Robins lost their only child many years ago in a tragic accident, and it was intriguing to see the effects this had on their lives in the present time. Their banter rings true for a married couple Noreen is an attractive character – she’s OK on her own, but is at the beginning of what could be a great relationship with the retired cop. And the cat turns out to be more fun than I expected.
This was a fun gym read for me, and I liked it enough at the end that I moved book 2 in the series up the TBR pile. The author has written some other series as well, and I think I will have to check those out soon too.
September 17, 2016
The Corpse Wore Gingham, the first book in The Piper and Bill Robins cozy mystery series, starts out slowly, describing an average morning in the lives of retirees Piper & Bill Robins - cleaning up after breakfast, loading the dishwasher, etc.
Unfortunately, their calm, orderly, and usually mundane existence is disturbed by a call for help from their elderly neighbor's out-of-town daughter, Emily. Asked to check on her mother, Bill - somewhat reluctantly, and Piper - quite resolutely, march over to their neighbor Anna Davenport's home and make a shockingly horrific discovery . . . and then promptly go meet Bill's retired sister, Noreen, for lunch! Ha! Not exactly what I would have done but, then again, I would never become an amateur sleuth, either!
An interesting cozy series featuring a likeable married couple, Bill & Piper, and their equally personable sister/s-i-l, Noreen (ably assisted by Noreen's boyfriend, retired cop, Rick, and her talented & somewhat droll tuxedo tomcat, Snoozy Q).
I am really looking forward to reading the next installment of this series to learn about the further adventures of this humorous and intelligent trio!
Unfortunately, their calm, orderly, and usually mundane existence is disturbed by a call for help from their elderly neighbor's out-of-town daughter, Emily. Asked to check on her mother, Bill - somewhat reluctantly, and Piper - quite resolutely, march over to their neighbor Anna Davenport's home and make a shockingly horrific discovery . . . and then promptly go meet Bill's retired sister, Noreen, for lunch! Ha! Not exactly what I would have done but, then again, I would never become an amateur sleuth, either!
An interesting cozy series featuring a likeable married couple, Bill & Piper, and their equally personable sister/s-i-l, Noreen (ably assisted by Noreen's boyfriend, retired cop, Rick, and her talented & somewhat droll tuxedo tomcat, Snoozy Q).
I am really looking forward to reading the next installment of this series to learn about the further adventures of this humorous and intelligent trio!
April 29, 2015
Characters I would want to visit again.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews