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Mama Detective #7
Mama Pursues Murderous Shadows
With Mama on the case, murder meets its match....
A tryst with a deadly twist.
All I'd wanted to do back home in Otis, South Carolina, was whip up a wonderful thirty-fifth anniversary party for my parents. But we'd hardly picked the baker before Mama found herself volunteering her services for the one thing she did nearly as well as cook. And that is sleuthing.
You see, Ruby Spikes was found dead in a motor inn with a gun in her hand, a suicide note, and a certified check receipt to a man no one ever heard of--not even the trio of Otis gossips who are Mama's rock-solid source of information. Neither they nor Mama, despite Ruby's tormented diary, were convinced she went to her reward willingly. But this was a young woman with an outsize bundle of secrets and enemies. And when Mama starts sorting them out, and sudden death makes a return visit, it looks like she'll uncover the truth only by making herself--and me--a killer's next target....
A tryst with a deadly twist.
All I'd wanted to do back home in Otis, South Carolina, was whip up a wonderful thirty-fifth anniversary party for my parents. But we'd hardly picked the baker before Mama found herself volunteering her services for the one thing she did nearly as well as cook. And that is sleuthing.
You see, Ruby Spikes was found dead in a motor inn with a gun in her hand, a suicide note, and a certified check receipt to a man no one ever heard of--not even the trio of Otis gossips who are Mama's rock-solid source of information. Neither they nor Mama, despite Ruby's tormented diary, were convinced she went to her reward willingly. But this was a young woman with an outsize bundle of secrets and enemies. And when Mama starts sorting them out, and sudden death makes a return visit, it looks like she'll uncover the truth only by making herself--and me--a killer's next target....
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 6, 2000
2 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
About the author
Nora DeLoach
10 books27 followersNora Deloach was a mystery writer. Spent much of her career as social worker; worked professionally in Hampton, SC; moved back to Orlando and then to Atlanta, GA; wrote first novel, Silas, 1991 (published 1993); wrote Mama Solves a Murder, first book in Mama series, 1994; four books in series published by Holloway House, 1994-97; signed to Bantam Books, 1997; first Bantam Mama mystery, Mama Stalks the Past, published 1998; four Mama books published by Bantam, 1998-2001.
Awards: Gold Pen Award nominee, Black Writers Alliance, 2001; twice nominated as Georgia Author of the Year.
Awards: Gold Pen Award nominee, Black Writers Alliance, 2001; twice nominated as Georgia Author of the Year.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 13, 2015
More like 3.75. It's a pretty simple mystery set in a small country town. I related to the down-home feel of DeLoach's setting and characters. Ready to read more from this series.
March 16, 2020
Nora Deloach is a crafty mystery writer I discovered in a column high pile of books belonging to my mother. She’s to blame for my love of unconventional sleuths. Grace “Candi” Covington, a social worker, is a mature married woman with three grown children and a passion for cooking. Candi possesses a keen mind with an unflappable disposition in the face of danger. She’s not your typical sleuth, and I love it. Underscoring the sentiment genius can be found in unassuming places and people.
I read the Mama Detective series back in the mid-to-late 90s and early 00s but couldn’t remember a thing about the series. I did recall that the books are mostly standalone, so I chose to revisit the series for March Mystery Madness in my quest to add a lil brown to the mix.
What’s it about: “Mama Pursues Murderous Shadows is the seventh book in the series. All Simone, Mama’s daughter, desires, is to throw her parents an anniversary party. But when Ruby Spikes is found shot in the chest with a certified check made out to a man no one knows in Otis, a small town in South Carolina, the police believe they have an open and shut case of suicide because of a note. However, Mama gets sucked into investigating much to the chagrin of her cautious daughter.
POV- Simone narrates all the books, so we see Mama through her eyes, which further adds mystery because Simone is not privy to all of Mama Candi’s machinations.
Favorite Quote: “I may be afraid of taking a particular step, but I’m not afraid of walking.”
I read the Mama Detective series back in the mid-to-late 90s and early 00s but couldn’t remember a thing about the series. I did recall that the books are mostly standalone, so I chose to revisit the series for March Mystery Madness in my quest to add a lil brown to the mix.
What’s it about: “Mama Pursues Murderous Shadows is the seventh book in the series. All Simone, Mama’s daughter, desires, is to throw her parents an anniversary party. But when Ruby Spikes is found shot in the chest with a certified check made out to a man no one knows in Otis, a small town in South Carolina, the police believe they have an open and shut case of suicide because of a note. However, Mama gets sucked into investigating much to the chagrin of her cautious daughter.
POV- Simone narrates all the books, so we see Mama through her eyes, which further adds mystery because Simone is not privy to all of Mama Candi’s machinations.
Favorite Quote: “I may be afraid of taking a particular step, but I’m not afraid of walking.”
August 9, 2020
A serviceable quick read mystery with some interesting characters.
June 9, 2021
I am not very excited about this novel. The writing style of DeLoach seems elementary and expressions by the characters are somewhat ‘unconversational’. Also, are mothers really that passive?
March 29, 2015
This was an ok read. Mama gets involved in investigating the death because a friend was swindled out of her property tax money and risks losing her land immediately if the taxes aren't paid on time. That's unlikely because a legal process takes years, it wouldn't happen overnight.
The friend wants Mama's help to prove Ruby's death was not a suicide so she can use money from an insurance policy on the victim's life to pay her taxes and salvage her reputation. Not a sympathetic character, she shows no concern for her goddaughter's death.
Did not connect with any of the characters or the portrayal of small town life. All were thinly drawn stereotypes. And the killer was obvious.
The friend wants Mama's help to prove Ruby's death was not a suicide so she can use money from an insurance policy on the victim's life to pay her taxes and salvage her reputation. Not a sympathetic character, she shows no concern for her goddaughter's death.
Did not connect with any of the characters or the portrayal of small town life. All were thinly drawn stereotypes. And the killer was obvious.
July 13, 2015
Cute book. Easy read, with characters that remind me of people I know. I also enjoyed mamma's use of the town gossips as her main crime solving source.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews