Murder in the Pachysandra: A Hattie Moon Mystery

by Linda A. Lavid

Murder in the Pachysandra introduces Hattie Moon, an elderly widow, who steps out of her dusty world of cat hair, mixed-up days, and rambling conversations with her dead husband, to solve the murder of her paperboy, Jason Meeks. She, along with her friend Muriel Manning, unravel clues the police have missed. Suddenly, the amateur sleuths find themselves swirling in a deceitful, troubling world of marital infidelity, drugs, the dark web, and a diabolical force that hovers, ready to pounce.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery

238 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 12, 2018

About the author

Linda A. Lavid is a late-blooming writer who got off on the wrong track early--she barely passed English and typing in high school. After subsequent years of wanting to write but not having a clue, she dove in, purchased a computer, and finished her first novel. It took two years and was awful. After more years of false starts and hair-pulling, she segued into writing short stories, learned a ton, and went on to write a lot more stuff. After thirty-five years, she now feels she has the bull by the horns. Her only task is to keep breathing. She's kind of old at this point.

Reviews

[John]

For a Kindle Prime free book, it wasn't too bad, but I wouldn't pay much for it.

Her main gal, Muriel, an overweight diabetic seems to do far more sabotage than control regarding her condition. She does provide comic relief to Hattie's serious nature. Howie, her son, seems quite the Sad Sack. We're told that his job title is Acting Director, but not what he "directs" (unless I missed that)? His main function seemed to be to scold his mother every so often as being reckless. There are also various neighbors, and the cop in charge of the case, who are well-developed characters.

The plot is well enough maintained, although I found myself skimming in places. Since Hattie never leaves her neighborhood, it's tough to see how one can have sequels without the area seeming like a Black Hole of Death? Based on the resolution of this story, I'd be willing to read another to see where things go.

[Wendy]

An Elderly Hattie Moon stumbles onto a possible murder

Hattie may be 80 plus and stuck in a rut, but she is no dotty old woman.
She finds her young paper boy dead. Everyone including the police think the worse of him. But she and her Cray Cray neighbor think otherwise.
Of course the police think she is wrong and her own son is overly concerned over her well being. There are plenty of secrets on this so called quiet street and Hattie is determined to figure it out no matter how hard it is.

[Réal Laplaine]

Murder in the Pachysandra, by Linda A. Lavid, introduces us to Hattie Moon, an elderly woman who lives alone with her cat and has private conversations with her dead husband, and yet, who remains otherwise lucid of mind. So much the case, that one day, when she finds her paperboy's body in her backyard, and police jump to a conclusion about his demise, Hattie's sharp eye and mind take her on another road. She begins to follow the meager clues, and despite repeated warnings from the detective on the case to cease and desist, her hawkish sense refuses to let go. Besides being a wonderful story about Sherlocking the truth, this story is filled with humorous dialogue as Hattie Moon goes on the hunt for the murderer. It's a fun book, and it holds the reader to the very end to find out "who done it".

[Deedra]

audible:This was a really good story with lots of twists and turns.Hattie,a doty old lady plays the doty old lady to get answers to the death of the paper boy.Virginia Ferguson was an excellent narrator.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

[paula sumner]

so enjoyable

I really enjoyed the main sleuths of 80 years of age. Lots of characters to get to know though. Wonder what’s happens to some them later on. An easy read and a good story.

[Lynn E. AronSpeer]

Charming in its detail

Authentic in the amount of spunk revealed in these elderly ladies. The number of characters was barely manageable but I hope she adds to the Hattie Moon series. Loved it!

[Rhonda]

This is a good series. I love Hattie Moon. She is an elderly widow who talks to her dead husband and is surrounded by friends and family. When her paperboy is found dead in her backyard Hattie cannot accept the police version of what happened and sets out to try and find out the truth.

[Celest]

An Exciting Mystery

Linda A. Lavid is a new author for me and I recommend this book . The characters are very interesting and well written. The mystery was impressive, very unique. Can't wait to read the next book in the series.

[Norma]

( Format : Audiobook )
" Dead or alive, she had nothing to fear. "


Review to follow

[Maureen Doyle]

old ladies can’t be underestimated

A smart older woman and her overweight, diabetic friend, catch a diabolical killer. Elder power and disability power work for Hattie and Muriel.

[Faith Shaffer]

A young paperboy dies of what is said to be an overdose. One of his elderly customers doesn't believe this at all. She knows he was a good boy, and thinks he was murdered. She and her best friend start sleuthing around. They find out all kinds of shady dealings going on in their neighborhood. Maybe they should be private investigators?

[Joni]

it was ok

It was not a fast paced book, but it was good. Hattie and 80 something old woman solves the murder mystery of the newspaper boy.