Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Bayport Public Library | MYSTERY HEN | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake) | MYSTERY HEN | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Zigzagging the country in a mini-Winnie means endless adventure-and Maxie McNabb is always up for something new. So she and her dog, Stretch, head for the heat of New Mexico, where Maxie plans to learn how to weave. But everything changes for the sleepy town when a local woman attempts suicide. A casualty of her husband's mid-life crisis, she was replaced by a newer, sexier model. And to top it off, a sleazy conman has set his sights on her. Maxie may be on vacation, but she's determined to help the poor thing. With her nose for trouble, she'll leave no mesa unturned until she brings two dogs to justice-neither of whom is Stretch.
Author Notes
Sue Henry is a former college administrator. She writes the Jessie Arnold Mystery series and the Maxie and Stretch Mystery series. Murder on the Iditarod Trail won the Mystery Readers International Macavity Award for Best First Novel in 1992 and the Anthony Award. It was made into a TV movie starring Kate Jackson and Corbin Bernsen three years later.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In Henry's agreeable second outing for Maxie McNabb (after 2004's The Serpent's Trail), the 63-year-old Alaskan with the insatiable curiosity continues to explore the lower 48 in her "Minnie Winnie," accompanied only by her feisty mini-dachshund, Stretch. Her travels take her to Taos, N.Mex., where she meets an old friend from Alaska, makes new friends among the weavers of Taos and gets acquainted with a woman who may or may not have attempted suicide, Shirley Morgan. When Shirley disappears, Maxie finds herself in danger and flees Taos. The resilient and resourceful Maxie soon returns to Taos to face the danger and deal with a deadly and unsuspected killer. Maxie's cherished independence and her willingness to seek out new experiences alone and single should resonate with fans of cozy and atmospheric mysteries, though so far this series lacks the lovingly detailed descriptions of the environment that characterize Henry's Jessie Arnold books (Murder at Five Finger Light, etc.). (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Jessica Fletcher and Miss Marple aren't the only seniors who solve mysteries these days. Now, there's sexagenarian Maxie McNabb, an ordinary gal who travels around the country in a motor home accompanied by her dachshund, Stretch, meeting different people and seeing the sites. Taos, Maxie's current stop, affords her the opportunity to visit a local weaving shop, which, in a roundabout way, results in her opening her home to troubled Shirley Morgan. Then Shirley disappears without a word, and Maxie finds herself in possession of something Shirley left behind--. Unfortunately, somebody wants what Shirley left, and Maxie has no idea what it is. Maxie's sleuthing is more idle curiosity that actual investigation, but the laid-back approach has its own charms, and Henry give readers a grand slice of America's southwestern landscape (a far cry from the Alaskan setting of her Jessie Arnold series). Maxie is a pleasant heroine who not only acts her age but also loves her life and rises to the occasion when the occasion finally arises. --Stephanie Zvirin Copyright 2006 Booklist
Kirkus Review
When Maxie McNabb (The Serpents Trail, 2004) turns the steering wheel of her Winnebago toward a weaving store in artsy Taos, N.M., she buys some yarn and a loom and steps into a tangled web. Making friends with the store's owner, Pat Dozier, Maxie and her dachshund Stretch are drawn into a difficult friendship with Shirley Morgan, a middle-aged recent divorcee. Shirley seemed to be doing pretty well, taking weaving classes, and even, rumor has it, dating a new man. Then her landlord, eccentric and elderly Ann Barnes, finds her nearly dead, suffocated by carbon monoxide fumes in her car. Shirley recovers and insists that she did not try to commit suicide and, when Stretch hops in Shirley's lap, Maxie decides to take her home from the hospital to her Winnebago. The next time Maxie sees Shirley, however, she is dead in her bathtub, with her wrists cut. Well, Maxie has her doubts about the apparent suicide, particularly when her Winnebago is trashed by someone looking for something that Shirley might have left--something so valuable that Stretch is kidnapped and held for random. Maxie saves Stretch, but, in a move bone-headed even for the lightest of cozies, nearly gets herself killed. A plot with holes too big even for crochet, and prose that seems better suited for a travel guide; Henry misses the potential for entertainment in Maxie's bright character. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Henry's second outing featuring 63-year-old Maxie McNabb (following The Serpent's Trail) will disappoint all but the most stalwart fans. Maxie, a likable character, hails from Alaska but travels the Lower 48 in her "Minnie Winnie" with her dog Stretch. Incredulously, after just meeting Shirley Morgan, a recent divorcée, at Weavers Southwest, a yarn shop in Taos, NM, savvy senior Maxie invites Shirley to stay with her. She's drawn into a mystery surrounding Shirley's suicide attempt and her eventual disappearance and murder. Suspects searching for something Shirley left behind trash the Minnie Winnie and kidnap Stretch. Another death by drowning in a vat of dye adds to the mystery. Lee Adams's performance personifies McNabb but can't save this tedious tale. Not recommended.--Sandy Glover, Camas P.L., WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
