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Isabel & Alma Trumbo #6
Vi's Ring
For their seventh mystery, Isabel and Alma Trumbo, the retired sister sleuths living in Quiet Anchorage, Virginia, tackle one of their more unusual murder cases to date. Stan Bennett, Alma’s first ex-husband, pays them a visit and reveals his younger sister Violet “Vi” Bennett has been murdered at the local Buttercup Bed and Breakfast. Stan and Vi stayed overnight there on their way to a doll collectors’ convention. It doesn’t take Isabel and Alma very long to identify Stan’s young and beautiful wife Nicole, a tax attorney, and the bed-and-breakfast owner Chloe Glover as the two possible murder suspects. Isabel and Alma call on their young helper Sammi Jo Garner and their elderly gentlemen friends known as the Three Musketeers for their able assistance. Meantime, Sammi Jo continues to deal with her fiancé Reynolds Kyle who just can’t quite commit to marrying her and always has a reason why. Vi’s Ring is a clean read and a traditional whodunit set in a charming small town. Join Isabel and Alma when they set off on solving their latest mystery that is as fun and challenging for them as it is for the reader.
161 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
2 people are currently reading
393 people want to read
About the author
Ed Lynskey
69 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 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 6, 2010
Years ago, a friend and I took trip to visit friends who lived on Mobile Bay in Alabama. The guy ran shrimp boats out of the Gulf for a living. This was my first trip to that part of the world and I had a sense that we had stumbled into a foreign country. This sense only deepened when one night at a party at our friends' house, a young guy who worked on one of the shrimp boats told me about a run-in he'd had with another man and how, if he weren't a practicing Catholic, he would have slit the other man's throat.
As I read (i>Pelham Fell Here,/i>, by Ed Lynskey, I found my thoughts wandering back to that visit to Alabama. Once again, I was transported to a rural scene far removed from my everyday experiences, with characters who probably would not be numbered among my friends. Even so, Frank Johnson, the would-be PI who narrates the story, is a decent man who is trying to deal with his demons as he and his friend Chet go on the run from the law.
Among the characters are unsavory neo-Nazis (Are there ever any savory neo-Nazis?), some of them rising from the ashes of WWII, a couple of bounty hunters who legitimize Johnson's often outside-of-the-law quest to find his cousin's killer, a beautiful single mother who has qualms about tying her fate to Johnson's, a sheriff who for some reason has a grudge against Johnson, and an attorney who manages to win a case without any evidence to help his client.
The plot moves quickly across the rural areas of Virginia with few detours along the way. Occasionally, Lynskey's quirky use of language slowed me down, but once I got into the book I was able to get beyond that.
This book is the third in a series about the PI Frank Johnson. It is a series worth pursuing.
As I read (i>Pelham Fell Here,/i>, by Ed Lynskey, I found my thoughts wandering back to that visit to Alabama. Once again, I was transported to a rural scene far removed from my everyday experiences, with characters who probably would not be numbered among my friends. Even so, Frank Johnson, the would-be PI who narrates the story, is a decent man who is trying to deal with his demons as he and his friend Chet go on the run from the law.
Among the characters are unsavory neo-Nazis (Are there ever any savory neo-Nazis?), some of them rising from the ashes of WWII, a couple of bounty hunters who legitimize Johnson's often outside-of-the-law quest to find his cousin's killer, a beautiful single mother who has qualms about tying her fate to Johnson's, a sheriff who for some reason has a grudge against Johnson, and an attorney who manages to win a case without any evidence to help his client.
The plot moves quickly across the rural areas of Virginia with few detours along the way. Occasionally, Lynskey's quirky use of language slowed me down, but once I got into the book I was able to get beyond that.
This book is the third in a series about the PI Frank Johnson. It is a series worth pursuing.
February 14, 2015
How do you write a review for a novel so unique in style and prose.
I started to read this book ,it was hard ,not used to the Americanisims . But by the time I was about thirty pages in I was starting to understand the main characters, what a super story i was immersed with the main man . Thank you for Introducing him to me .Many thanks.
I recommend this novel and I have no hesitation to award 5 stars
I started to read this book ,it was hard ,not used to the Americanisims . But by the time I was about thirty pages in I was starting to understand the main characters, what a super story i was immersed with the main man . Thank you for Introducing him to me .Many thanks.
I recommend this novel and I have no hesitation to award 5 stars
August 4, 2015
I don't know why I read this Frank Johnson P.I. out of sequence but it doesn't matter. I read The Blue Cheer first and loved the writing and the story and the same goes for this one. The characters were so real that I think I may have seen one of those neo-Nazi's at 7-11. This was a very well-developed story about a small group of neo-Nazi's and their big dream to overtake Washington D.C. and who knows where it would end. Small town sheriffs and their Deputies turn out to be pretty scary too. Ed Lynskey has his own style of writing and it isn't easy to put down.
February 21, 2009
I love fast-paced books with the main character as a good guy who gets himself into trouble, looks at life with a little humor, but takes no garbage from anyone, including neo-Nazis and bad cops (who might also be neo-Nazis). The good guy wins, with a little help from well-meaning friends, but you know he will eventually find himself in trouble again, and you want to find out what he's going to be up to in the future. And it doesn't hurt if he has a pet ferret to show his soft side. This book met all my requirements, and I look forward to reading about Frank Johnson again.
April 29, 2010
Who couldn’t be bowled over by a protagonist who takes a contract out on his ex-wife and then befriends a ferret whom he names Mr. Bojangles? Frank Johnson (main protagonist of the series and more sinned against than sinning) manages to become the target of some very nasty neo-Nazis. Truly awful characters! Let the chase begin.
January 20, 2017
Ed Lynskey never disappoints
When you need a good true cozy book, The Trumbo Sisters are fantastic. All the usual characters are back, plus a few new ones.
Even though I am a "cat lady," I love the beagle Petey Sampson. He is learning how to assist his owners with his super sense of smell.
When you need a good true cozy book, The Trumbo Sisters are fantastic. All the usual characters are back, plus a few new ones.
Even though I am a "cat lady," I love the beagle Petey Sampson. He is learning how to assist his owners with his super sense of smell.
Want to read
October 28, 2008This is my friend Ed Lynskey's book...let us take a peek into his good mind...
December 5, 2008
enjoyable with a quick-witted plot....I like Frank Johnson's pet
ferret named Mr. Bojangles
ferret named Mr. Bojangles
Read
July 13, 2009Bonus points for the shout out to Paul Drake.
August 30, 2013
I need an extra half star. Can I call this redneck noir? Pretty cool.
August 17, 2018
Wow! Frank Johnson goes on the run suspected of being a cop killer. He enlists the help of his friend Chet to try to find out who killed Frank’s cousin. They encounter a crazy bunch of deadly neo nazis among others. A thriller from start to finish.
December 13, 2012
Book 1, in P.I Frank Johnson mystery series
Although this book was written after “The Dirt-Brown Derby” and “The Blue Cheer” it is actually the first in the series. I normally prefer starting with #1 in a series however when researching this author I found different opinions on where to start, very confusing. I solved the problem by contacting the author who graciously suggested I start with “Pelham Fell Here”, the real prequel to the other two books.
The story is actually an introduction to the main character Frank Johnson and his life after leaving the Army as a MP and how he was eventually lured into the crazy trade of private detectives. The peaceful town he knew and grew up in is no longer the way he remembers it and marital issues and life in general has left Frank with a major chip on his shoulders. On another note, excessive drinking and an obsession to get even with his ex-wife for leaving him leads to a growing urge to do something he will regret for the rest of his life.
The simple storyline takes place with Frank finding his cousin Cody, once his business partner shot dead in his gun shop in Western Virginia. Frank’s troubles take another turn for the worse when he learns his name is at the top of the list of prime suspects. In order to prove his innocence Frank goes on the lam and stays one step ahead of the law trying desperately to flush out the real killer before the authorities railroad him for a murder he did not commit. Matters take a turn for the worse when he learns a group of neo-Nazis might be behind everything. What the h… did his cousin get involved in?
At first I was totally disappointed with the choppy writing, the extremely slow pace and lackluster story. Luckily I persisted, things picked up and the story transformed itself into a rich, colourful, suspenseful narrative with many layers. The new found captivating pace held my attention to the very last page.
Although this book was written after “The Dirt-Brown Derby” and “The Blue Cheer” it is actually the first in the series. I normally prefer starting with #1 in a series however when researching this author I found different opinions on where to start, very confusing. I solved the problem by contacting the author who graciously suggested I start with “Pelham Fell Here”, the real prequel to the other two books.
The story is actually an introduction to the main character Frank Johnson and his life after leaving the Army as a MP and how he was eventually lured into the crazy trade of private detectives. The peaceful town he knew and grew up in is no longer the way he remembers it and marital issues and life in general has left Frank with a major chip on his shoulders. On another note, excessive drinking and an obsession to get even with his ex-wife for leaving him leads to a growing urge to do something he will regret for the rest of his life.
The simple storyline takes place with Frank finding his cousin Cody, once his business partner shot dead in his gun shop in Western Virginia. Frank’s troubles take another turn for the worse when he learns his name is at the top of the list of prime suspects. In order to prove his innocence Frank goes on the lam and stays one step ahead of the law trying desperately to flush out the real killer before the authorities railroad him for a murder he did not commit. Matters take a turn for the worse when he learns a group of neo-Nazis might be behind everything. What the h… did his cousin get involved in?
At first I was totally disappointed with the choppy writing, the extremely slow pace and lackluster story. Luckily I persisted, things picked up and the story transformed itself into a rich, colourful, suspenseful narrative with many layers. The new found captivating pace held my attention to the very last page.
September 30, 2009
I gave it 48 pages. I wanted to like this book - in fact, the mystery was setting up nicely - but the stilted language and bad grammar kept pulling me out of the story.
Another annoyance - not the author's fault - is that the description here on Goodreads says this is book 1 - but its really book 3. Sigh. Guess I should have done more homework BEFORE I went to the trouble to interlibrary loan it from Arkansas!!!!
Another annoyance - not the author's fault - is that the description here on Goodreads says this is book 1 - but its really book 3. Sigh. Guess I should have done more homework BEFORE I went to the trouble to interlibrary loan it from Arkansas!!!!
November 11, 2010
I wanted to like this book more for I am interested in this genre of rural noir and for its introduction to ex-MP and part-time gunsmith Frank Johnson and his pet ferret Mr. Bojangles.
A reason I did not like it more was sentences like, "The door, our objective twenty paces away, laughed at us." My fictive dream was broken repeatedly, and I was confounded by eyes that clashed, crescendos that died down, and many other examples of descriptions that did not work for this reader.
A reason I did not like it more was sentences like, "The door, our objective twenty paces away, laughed at us." My fictive dream was broken repeatedly, and I was confounded by eyes that clashed, crescendos that died down, and many other examples of descriptions that did not work for this reader.
March 8, 2012
While I was reading this book, I was going to give it a nice, solid 3 stars, but the finish wraps it up so nicely (for me) that I ratcheted it up to a 4.
In the beginning - well, even half way through - I did not really like the main character. But he grew, and while he stayed the same character, he learned to go beyond the restrictions and handicaps placed upon him by circumstance.
The writing style is deceptively simple, bordering on rough eloquence.
In the beginning - well, even half way through - I did not really like the main character. But he grew, and while he stayed the same character, he learned to go beyond the restrictions and handicaps placed upon him by circumstance.
The writing style is deceptively simple, bordering on rough eloquence.
March 5, 2012
Gunsmith turned amateur private eye Frank Johnson is saddened and angered at the murder of his cousin Cody. As he is at the top of the local Sheriff's list of suspects he is doubly determined to find the guilty party. As he makes his way around the Virginia countryside and through castles, Neo-Nazi covens, etc. he adds a couple of part time bounty hunters as reinforcements. Good yarn.
Ed is one of my Goodreads friends. If you haven't tried him I recommend that you do.
Ed is one of my Goodreads friends. If you haven't tried him I recommend that you do.
April 5, 2013
Ehhhh.... If you like books that over indulge in adjectives, this book is for you. To tell you the truth, it just irritated the crap out of me. The story is predictable and child like simple. I kept expecting a twist or turn at the end of the book, something to rescue it from it's drab tired script, but it never came. Pelham Fell Here was released by the Mundani Press, which ironically is appropriately for this book. Mundane......
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews