Did You Declare the Corpse? (Thoroughly Southern Mysteries, No. 8)

The book is one in a series of fantastic stories by Patricia Sprinkle. I highly recommend this series and all other books by this wonderful author.

Except for the first two books, I have read all of Patricia Sprinkle's Thoroughly Southern Mystery series to date and have loved each one. The stories envelop the reader in the cozy comfort of visiting with old friends, without ever letting them overstay their welcome. Each book reveals something new about returning favorites and introduces enough new friends, family members, and villains to keep things fresh and interesting. The mysteries are clever, intriguing, complex. The setting is rich in the regional flavors, customs, and manners of the small-town South, but never at the expense of other cultures or groups of people. This series never disappoints. I hope Signet will one day offer BUT WHY SHOOT THE MAGISTRATE? and WHEN DID WE LOSE HARRIET? in the same style as the rest of the series so my collection may be complete.

Patricia Sprinkle makes a southerner feel at home. From the nicknames for loved ones to the use of southern idioms, Sprinkle lets you know that she is at home in the south. Her characters are the characters of small town America, alive and practically walking off the page to sit with you and enjoy a southern mystery. Being (well) over the age of fifty, I appreciate an older woman who is not seen as senile, incapable or over the hill. MacLaren Yarbrough is a delight. Her marriage that has lasted for years, her children who are not perfect, her grandchildren she loves, a town full of people that know each other and can live with that knowledge, all make this series fun to read. Hopefully, MacLaren will continue to solve mysteries for many more years.

Patricia Sprinkle give us all the clues, and if you pay attention, there are no surprises. Her characters are multi-dimensional--having flaws and a conscience. Mac and Joe Riddley are like people I have met while in the south. Some of the one-time characters are a bit dramatic, but this is their chance to shine. The underlying theme of home and family, coupled with respect and love, give the characters more depth and dimension than Christie gave hers. I enjoy all her novels. Sometimes I'm with her all the way (like in this one), and sometimes I am surprised.

Georgia Magistrate MacLaren Yarbrough is visiting the Scottish Highlands for two weeks but her companion is not her beloved husband Joe Riddley but her friend Laura MacDonald. Joe thinks it is safe to take a fishing vacation with his son and two grandsons because Mac won't have any mysteries to solve or trip over dead bodies. Little does he knows that his worst fears will be realized when a heartless killer tries to murder Mac. The mystery begins when Mac overhears a person on their tour arguing with the brother-in-law of the laird of Auchnager about a business deal. Before that incident that argumentative individual acted like he was another tourist on a holiday jaunt. While visiting a local church one of the tourists is found lying in a coffin inside the holy facility, the victim of murder.. Mac immediately assumes the laird's brother-in-law did the deed until that poor soul winds up in a second coffin. Without meaning to, Mac observes her fellow tourists and asks questions to try to bring the culprits to justice though she ends up feeling sorry for them even though they killed somebody. Patricia Sprinkle's latest Thoroughly Southern mystery, although placed in the Scottish Highlands, is still a down home, at times hilarious cozy. This is a mystery Agatha Christie would be proud to claim as her own. The intricate plotting and the eccentric cast of characters are just two of the reasons that DID YOU DELIVER THE CORPSE? is a one sitting reading experience. The heroine is eminently likeable and her homespun wisdom instantly endears her to the audience who will want this grandmotherly person to adopt them. Harriet Klausner