Murder Carries a Torch
A Southern Sisters Mystery
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4.3 • 15 Ratings
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- $1.99
Publisher Description
Though unalike as snowflakes, sisters Patricia Anne and Mary Alice share a sympathetic heart for their distraught cousin Luke -- known affectionately in his boyhood as "Pukey Lukey," because of his penchant for getting sick in moving vehicles. Luke is desperate to hunt down Virginia, his wife of forty years, who has run off with a housepainter/snake-handling preacher named "Monk." And the sisters have graciously agreed to accompany their stricken kinsman on his search...in Luke's car, of course.
But, while practical "Mouse" and flamboyant "Sister" are unable to find their runaway cousin-in-law among the asp-loving faithful on Chandler Mountain, they do manage to stumble upon the corpse of a pretty young redhead who was prematurely sent to her eternal reward. And before you can say "anaconda," they are hot on the serpentine trail of a killer who'd like nothing better than to sink a pair of poisonous fangs into two meddling Southern sisters!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sixtyish sisters Patricia Anne and Mary Alice return for more wacky fun and adventure in their seventh mystery in this popular series from Agatha-winner George. Soon after returning home to Birmingham, Ala., from Christmas in Poland, Patricia Anne and Mary Alice agree to help their cousin Luke track down his wife of 40 years, Virginia, who's run off with a house painter-cum-preacher with the Salinger-esque name of Holden Crawford. They start their search at Crawford's Jesus is Our Life and Heaven Hereafter Church, where someone hits Luke over the head and the two sisters find the neatly laid out body of an unknown woman in a pew. While Luke is in the hospital, the renegade preacher turns up in Virginia's car, dead of a snakebite. Patricia Anne and Mary Alice, aided by the local sheriff, unearth plenty of signs of jealousy, blackmail and adultery as they strive to clear Virginia's name and get to the bottom of her disappearance. Hilarious dialogue and small details (pimento cheese sandwiches?!) enrich a plot that's spread thin over past events and secondary players. Some questions are left unresolved, while others--less important to the story--are addressed by a person who appears only in the final chapters. Despite a weak ending, the eccentric characters and southern flavor should endear the book to cozy readers. George has written another genuinely funny mystery, and fans will be glad to see many familiar faces from earlier escapades.
