Biggie and the Meddlesome Mailman

According to the blurb on the cover, this is a series of "sidesplitting adventures." Well, my sides are still intact, but the book was lots of fun. As is the case in most so-called "cozy" mysteries, the plot is not the most important aspect of the book. There is murder, to be sure, but the pursuit of the killer is hit and miss. Mrs. Biggie is a most unusual Sherlock, assisted by her young Watson, but she gets it done. Atmosphere is the more important thing here, a quiet little town in east Texas in the recent summer. The author takes us there, lets the reader see it, walk the streets, feel it, smell it, taste it. One can scarcely ask for more. Job's Crossing is as real as anything. Just as well done are the characters, 12-year old J.R., the narrator, his diminutive grandmother, Biggie, the rest of the household, the senator, and the townsfolk. They live and breathe. Nancy Bell has a marvelous ear for the local vocabulary, including the inflection and nuance. The reader can just dang near hear the people talking. The grammar isn't perfect, but it makes perfect sense in creating believable characters, people who can't stay on the same line of reasoning for two sentences. Put all this together and we have a novel that is great fun to read.

This is my first Nancy Bell book, but it won't be my last. Growing up in a small town in east Texas, I recognized some of the names (Mount Vernon - Scroggins Road) and I could just close my eyes as see Biggie, her grandson J.R., their maid and voodoo priestess Willie Mae and her husband Rosebud as they went about their daily lives. Toss in a dead mailman, a very sunburned state senator and a group of renegades ready to declare independence (again) for the sovereign state of Texas and you have a whopping good tale.The story is told through 13 year old J.R.'s eyes and his observation skills are keen and usually right on. Other than a couple of violent moments, this would be a great book to read out loud with your children. Nancy Bell has taken her east Texas memories and put them down on paper for everyone to enjoy. I can't believe the series isn't more popular. Enjoy!

I am still not sure exactly WHY I am reading these books. No stranger to the time warp of East Texas, these books capture some of that essence but are really just "too" homespun sometimes. Grandmother Biggie (about as big as a minute) is raising grandson J.R. with the help of Willa May (cook/voodoo priestess) and her husband Rosebud (handyman and teller of tall tales). In this installment, the noisy mailman sticks his nose into danger on a number of counts and before the story ends another character will bite the dust too. Corrupt politicians, a mystery pitcher, hate driven militia (roughly based on the Republic of Texas), and someone who is certainly something quite different from what it seems. The story travels all over the place with plenty of stops for down home eating, detecting, and some tension building. Light, frothy and silly; homespun and harried.

Job's Crossing, Texas is a small town where everyone knows one another and secrets are hard to keep. However, most residents prefer that their neighbors mind their own business. Letter carrier Luther Abernathy prefers gossip. He goes out of his way to attain information on people and disseminates his findings to anyone he meets. However, Luther must have found one secret that its owner wanted kept buried because he is found dead by Biggie Weatherford and her grandson J.R. in what appears to be a car accident. However, Biggie and J.R. know that Luther was murdered because the killing blow to his head came from behind not in front as it would have in a vehicle crash. Biggie has a lot on her plate and has no time to investigate Luther's death. Still, whichever item she works on, somehow she and J.R. keep ending up in the middle of a murder investigation. BIGGIE AND THE MEDDLESOME MAILMAN is a wonderful entry in a warm series. The who-done-it is obvious, but retains a cozy charm to it thanks in part due to the strong showing of the secondary players coming off the bench to propel the tale forward. Biggie and the narrating J.R. are a fabulous amateur sleuth duo whose milieu seems to always be a homicide investigation no matter how hard they try otherwise. Nancy Bell provides her audience with a comical look at small town Texas that retains the freshness of the previous three entries. Harriet Klausner