The Only Good Yankee

Jordan Poteet #2

by Jeff Abbott

Mirabeau, Texas, is a dynamite little town -- especially when toolsheds, doghouses, and mailboxes mysteriously begin to explode. So far, the sole victim is local librarian Jordan Poteet, struck by a chunk of his girlfriend's mailbox. Yet Jordy gets an even bigger jolt when his ex-girlfriend, Lorna, arrives from Boston. She's come to scoop up everybody's riverfront property -- and, if possible, Jordy as well.

With pro-development folk and die-hard environmentalists all foaming at the mouth, tempers become downright murderous. And the unfortunate victim is Lorna's handsome colleague, garroted with a piece of barbed wire at the Mirabeau B&B.

Dynamite, lust, murder...what next? Mirabeau braces for the worst and gets it -- while Jordy, his true love Candace, and Police Chief Junebug Moncrief light out after a killer...

Agatha Award-winning author of Do Unto Others.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Cozy Mystery, Crime, Adult, Ebooks

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1995

About the author

Jeff Abbott (born 1963) is a U.S. suspense novelist. He has a degree in History and English from Rice University. He lives in Austin, Texas. His early novels were traditional detective fiction but in recent years he has turned to writing thriller fiction. A theme of his work is the idea of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary danger and fighting to return to their normal lives. His novels are published in several countries and have also been bestsellers in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and France.

Series:
* Whit Mosley
* Jordan Poteet

Reviews

[Satrajit Sanyal · Rating 4 out of 5]

As much as I hated the title of this book (being from a northern state myself) I really enjoyed reading it. Jordy Poteet, inveterate librarian in the mythical small town of Mirabeau, Texas, returns to solve yet another murder.

The book begins with some mysterious explosions, one of which injures Jordy's arm. Shortly after his injury, Jordan is surprised with the appearance of Lorna who was his girlfriend when he lived in Boston. She is presumably in town with a corporation which is attempting to buy some land for an upscale housing development. She is accompanied by her boss who is unceremoniously killed with a length of barbed-wire.

Complications arise when environmentalists oppose the development and Lorna tries to seduce her old boyfriend. Jordy is caught in the middle, between Lorna and new girlfriend Candace, and frankly begins to enjoy all the attention. Things get serious when there's another murder and Jordy works to sort things out. There are a sufficient number of "red herrings" to make this an enjoyable mystery and one which is not easy to figure out. As usual, Abbott creates the perfect Texas small-town background for his well-written book.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my joys is coming across an author who's been around for years with a fairly extensive portfolio that I haven't discovered yet. Abbott is one of these guys for me. I started off enjoying his Sam Capra series two or three years ago. Now I'm reading the Jordon Poteet series in the wrong order. It's a different vibe but engaging all the same. Strong characters, complex relationships, multiple mysteries and evocative rendition of place and time, not to mention a healthy dose of romance. This book solidifies my enjoyment of Jordon Poteet's crazy life and my respect for Abbott's masterful style.

[Carmen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The sequel to DO UNTO OTHERS. Jordan Poteet is back in another mystery! A lot of things are the same: his girlfriend, his living with his mom and sister, his job, certain characters. But there are lots of changes, too. Jordan's 'new' father hires a nurse to help him and Arlene at home. His ex-girlfriend (whom he dated for three years and still has feelings for) shows up unexpectedly, much to Candace's displeasure. Someone is blowing up stuff (mailboxes, doghouses, sheds). A smooth-talking man (Lorna, the ex-girlfriend's) boss shows up and starts trying to buy everyone's land. He is quickly followed by an hippie environmental activist named Nina. The town quickly divides into people who think selling their land (for condos) is a good idea, and those who want to save the river and the view. This abruptly ends when Dave (the land-buyer) is strangled to death with barbed wire. Who did it? Why? Is it connected with the bombings? Will Lorna succeed in winning Jordan back, or will he stay with Candace? Good book.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Like the last one (the first of the series), I found this book neither horrible nor spectacular. I just never warmed up to the protagonist, Jordy Poteet. He just seems really superficial with no real depth - he acts without any real motivations and is fairly judgmental of others with only token (if any) introspection on himself and his own decisions. I also got tired of his 'long suffering hero returned from a good life in the big city making sacrifices to rescue his not-grateful-enough family from his mother's illness.' Please, as if he is the only one caring about his mother.

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE ONLY GOOD YANKEE - VG
Abbott, Jeff - 2nd in series

North and South face off again when a Yankee corporation plans industrial upheaval in sleepy Mirabeau, Texas. Complicating matters are the return of Jordan Poteet's old lover and the murder of her new boss--the company president.

Good humor. I liked this book even better than the first.

[M Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick read with an overly complicated solution to the mystery and a hero who's just a little too whiny to be truly engaging. One of Abbott's early works. I've yet to read any of his other books that stack up to his Sam Capra series, where he seems to have found the magic formula. Recommended only if you are a completist or interested in juvenalia.

[Inspector Penny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would advise authors (not that they would ask me) to leave technology out of their novels as much as possible. Phones, computers, etc., evolve so fast that they make books sound very dated, even when the book was written only 25 years ago.
The books aren't old enough to be "historical fiction," but they're too old to be convincing when the language used for technology is clunky and outdated.
I'm referring to a scene in which the main character and his friend are fiddling with computer discs. The friend doesn't even know how to use computers. I know that many people couldn't use computers in 1995, but it just doesn't translate well to 2022. At least not for me.
I'm not going to continue reading. I just realized that there are only four books in this series, and I hate starting a series that actually ends. That's just my idiosyncrasy, but I feel as if the characters are all dead...or fictionally dead, and it's kind of sad. The first one and this one...they're okay, but not really engaging. The mc is sort of childish.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rated this book 3.5 stars which technically rounds up to a 4. I give the author credit for attempting a complex mystery. I appreciate that he spends time making the protagonist, Jordan Poteet, examine his values in order to decide how to proceed with his life. This woman or that woman...and why?

Abbott read a book once where several crimes were committed, and there was more than one perp (usually only two). But he decides to up the ante and get more complicated than that, and sometimes it was hard to follow the threads all the way to their ends...well, you could follow the threads, but could you keep them straight? It took an effort. So many crimes! So many bad guys! Was anyone not guilty of something? Plus the overlay of Jordan's family life further complicated by his love life. A whole lot going on in this story.

[Virginia Kessen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first book in this series enough to read the second but wasn't carried away with it. I found this one much stronger. In the first place, Jordy likes more people than he did in the first. Secondly, the guilty party(ies) were much harder to spot. Looking forward to reading other books by Jeff Abbott

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reading this with the benefit of 20+ years since this came out and as a result some of the story almost reads as quaint! This does not detract from the story or how the plot unfolds. This is a clear step up from the debut and I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.

[Myku · Rating 2 out of 5]

forced from the get go.lost me right off.

[Carolyn Fagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun mystery series with a librarian as a sleuth!

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still keeping me invested, I appreciate the character development of the series

[Joe Hosler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy fun read

I like the author’s ability to walk a fine line on exposing the mystery. The book is a fun way to spend time.

[Ann Fleming · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second in the Jordan Poteet Mysteries. I enjoyed the first one and this one even more.

[Paul Close · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as the first book, slow, no twists.

[Barbra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite like this series - quite a cozy series really. Set in a small Texan town the characters are great and its got a good sense of humour with it. Jordy Poteet is really likeable.

Back Cover Blurb:
Mirabeau, Texas, is a dynamite little town - especially when toolsheds, doghouses, and mailboxes mysteriously begin to explode. So far, the sole victim is local librarian, Jordan Poteet, struck by a chunk of his girlfriend's mailbox. Yet Jordy gets an even bigger jolt when his ex-girlfriend, Lorna, arrives from Boston. She's come to scoop up everybody's riverfront property - and, if possible, Jordy as well.
With pro-development folk and die-hard environmentalists all foaming at the mouth, tempers become downright murderous. And the unfortunate victim is Lorna's handsome colleague, garroted with a piece of barbed wire at the Mirabeau B&B.
Dynamite, lust, murder....what next? Mirabeau braces for the worst and gets it - while Jordy, his true love Candace, and Police Chief Junebug Moncrief light out after a killer.....

[Charlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains some of my favorite things: a small Texas town, librarians, and humor. Jordan Poteet is the town librarian in the small, fictional town of Mirabeau, Texas. Since returning home from the fast pace in Boston to help care for his mother, Jordan has begun a relationship with Candace but he obviously has commitment problems. The relationship becomes somewhat shaky when Lorna, his former girlfriend, arrives in town as part of a duo bent on purchasing choice land on the river for condominiums. Jordan would have been involved just because he owns part of that land, but everything is complicated by rogue bombings across the town, Lorna's attempts to re-kindle the romance, and finally the murder of Lorna's sales partner in a bombing at the b-and-b where he and Lorna stayed. Jordan takes on the job of amateur detective to try to put all the disparate pieces together and solve the murder.

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

THE ONLY GOOD YANKEE is Jeff Abbott's second in the Jordan Poteet mystery series, set in the small southern town of Mirabeau, Texas. This series is Abbott's first as a writer and his first foray into the mystery genre. I will call it mystery light, as he mixes murder with humor and colorful characters, laying on the southern charm thick as molasses. The characters from his first novel, DO UNTO OTHERS, are all back, along with some new ones, including his ex-girlfriend from his time up north. The plot involves a potential land development deal, which polarizes the townsfolk, and by the time the first murder victim shows up, Jordy (that's Jordan) Poteet finds himself involved in another mystery. Abbott, a native Texan, obviously loves telling of this part of rural Texas life. Don't look for the Real Housewives of Dallas here, but the characters are well thought out, not merely stereotypes. Another quick read, you will keep the pages turning to find out who is the killer.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

#2 in the Jordan Poteet series. Jordan's Boston girlfriend follows him to Mirabeau, TX with avarice on her mind. The unabashedly mean characters of the out-of-towners, depress the feel good, cozy nature of Mirabeau.

Jordan Poteet series - Mirabeau is a dynamite little town -- especially when toolsheds, doghouses, and mailboxes mysteriously begin to explode. So far, the sole victim is local librarian Jordan Poteet, struck by a chunk of mailbox. Jordy gets a bigger jolt when ex-girlfriend, Lorna, arrives. She's come to scoop up riverfront property -- and Jordy as well. With pro-development folk and die-hard environmentalists all foaming at the mouth, tempers become downright murderous. And the unfortunate victim is Lorna's handsome colleague, garroted with a piece of barbed wire at the Mirabeau B&B.

[John]

Mirabeau, Texas, is a dynamite little town -- especially when toolsheds, doghouses, and mailboxes mysteriously begin to explode. So far, the sole victim is local librarian Jordan Poteet, struck by a chunk of his girlfriend's mailbox. Yet Jordy gets an even bigger jolt when his ex-girlfriend, Lorna, arrives from Boston. She's come to scoop up everybody's riverfront property -- and, if possible, Jordy as well.With pro-development folk and die-hard environmentalists all foaming at the mouth, tempers become downright murderous. And the unfortunate victim is Lorna's handsome colleague, garroted with a piece of barbed wire at the Mirabeau B&B.

Dynamite, lust, murder...what next? Mirabeau braces for the worst and gets it -- while Jordy, his true love Candace, and Police Chief Junebug Moncrief light out after a killer...
Agatha Award-winning author of Do Unto Others.

It was good

[David Peters · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mystery was okay but I made a mistake by reading book three prior to this (book 2). The ongoing relationships were a little confused for me.

Otherwise it had everything I want from a cozy: light hearted humor, violence off stage, quirky characters and extended family, just enough twists and double cross to keep you guessing (but I did see the big twist a little too early), and a sense of everything has worked out at the end.

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

The two Jeff Abbott books I found in The Box Under the Stairs were the only ones in decent condition. In fact, they were pristine. Apparently someone knew enough to dispose of the paperbacks wihtout even bothering to read them.

Slightly better than a two-hour Matlock special.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first book by this author that I have read and I suppose I would read another. I liked the setting (a small town in Texas) but the story kind of dragged. I did like that the hero is a straight male librarian who returned home after living in Boston for awhile to help take care of his mom.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

My second "Jordan Poteet" mystery, with some fun witty southern twang chatter. The assortment of small town characters. These are more or less a cozy...written by a dude.:) A light, quick who-dun-it read. 3.5 stars

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this series and decided I couldn't go another minute without finding out what happened to the characters. This is the second in a series of 4 but you need to read these in order.Keeps your attention and you care about the characters as if they were your friends.

[Nancy]

Jordy's former girlfriend appears in the Texas town where Jordy is librarian with her present boyfriend. Mailboxes, doghouses, etc are being blown up and the boyfriend is a developer and is killed. Jordy helps find the murderer.

[Mary (Biblophile) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't like this one as much as the others in the series.

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good mystery of a Texas librarian who dabbles at solving crimes, including murder. Author has a good sense of humor with a good-old-boy outlook. Recommended.

[Allie Wadley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, with entertaining characters.