Corpse on the Cob

Just finished reading Sue Ann Jaffarian's latest "Corpse on the Cob". What a fun book! Not only a great mystery but lots of humor as well. Her unique cast of characters make Ms. Jaffarian one of my favorite authors, I just wish she would write faster!

When Odelia was 16, her mother vanished with no warning, no explanation, and no trace. Now, 34 years later, she's learned that her mother is living in Massachusetts. So, with much trepidation, Odelia boards a plane and flies across the country to confront her. Since Odelia didn't call ahead, she has some trouble tracking down her mother. She finally traces her to an autumn fair next to a corn maze. Killing some time, Odelia decides to enter the maze. And that's where she finds her mother kneeling over a corpse. Is her mother a killer? If not, who is she protecting? I was a little worried when I learned this book wouldn't be set in California since I love the supporting characters so much. Several of them were still involved, and the new characters we met in Massachusetts more than made up for the rest. The first half of the book focuses as much on the drama of Odelia and her mother as the mystery. Frankly, I found this just as compelling as the murder. I had a hard time putting the book down until I reached the great climax. This series started strong and just keeps getting better. I can't wait to see where Odelia goes from here.

I LOVE Odelia, the main character in Ms. Jaffarian's series. The characters come alive and it is a hard book to put down! The author just continues to make me want to read more of her books!

This book is a thrill ride of adventure. Sue Ann has once again managed to create another page turner. Although it is exciting and filled with drama, there is still the cynical Odelia humor that I have grown to love. It is definiately a page turner and will have you intrigued all the way up to the end.

Sue Ann Jaffarian is back, with another riveting mystery that takes us into Odelia Gray's family tree and unlocks quite a few wild branches. Odelia goes to meet the mother who took off when she was 16, and discovers she has two stepbrothers...and that her mother's poised over a dead body in a corn maze. Despite warnings from her husband Greg and friend Dev Frye, she winds up getting involved, both to unravel the mystery of how her family life got so fractured and the murder. Her old friend Willie shows up to help her, and his sassy outlaw attitude is quite fun. Small town life is no less crime-ridden than Southern California, with drug deals going down at the local farm stand and affairs and money the lure for all sorts of bad guys. This mystery kept me guessing right until the end, and, as always, Jaffarian presents a cast of characters who are complex, shady, and feisty, as well as adding depth to Odelia and Greg's relationship as she defies him and he risks his life to save her (as well as admitting that he has a bit of a fondness for her adventures). In Corpse on the Cob, in addition to the wackiness of a corn maze, Jaffarian asks if being a corpse magnet is genetic, and makes Odelia's personal life and, well, amateur sleuthing life, collide in a major way. I can't say much more without giving it away except that this was one of the best Odelia Gray mysteries yet, and I can't wait to see which corpse she stumbles over next. Also, Jaffarian makes everyone just a little mysterious so I suspected almost all of the characters.