Grime and Punishment

Jane is the main character and Shelley is her next-door neighbor and best friend. They have children, do all the mother-children things such as driving carpools, have warm cozy houses - all these things make the book cozy. And all that food also makes the book cozy! Meanwhile, the maid is murdered. Jane and Shelley are determined to find out who did it and why they did it. This is the first book of this series. If you like cozy books that are the homey/family/children/good-food type, then you will love this series.

I was browsing at my local bookstore when I came upon Jill Churchill's books. Having never heard of her before but interested in mysteries, I picked up this book and now plan to read every one in the series!"Grime and Punishment" is written with a very comical touch. Jane Jeffry is a widowed mother of three who lives in suburban Chicago (as do I, and enjoyed the familiar nuances of the area that she brought up). Between neighborhood potluck suppers, juggling her kids' schedules and trying to get over the death of her husband, Jane now adds "crime solver" to her ever-growing list of personal demands. She is determined to figure out who killed the neighborhood cleaning lady, even if it means alienating (or even suspecting!) those she knows, including her best friend! And trying to play detective gets her in hot water with the real (and single and hunky) detective working the case!I found myself laughing out loud while reading this, and it was hard to put down. I can't wait to read all of the Jane Jeffry series!

The first in a series, we find Jane Jeffry, single mom with hardly a single moment to spare. She is irresistibly drawn into the investigation of the murder of the neighborhood cleaning lady and even more (eagerly) drawn into a relationship with the hunky investigative Detective VanDyne! Her neighbor and best friend Shelley attempts to keep Jane from involving herself in both aspects, and also not believing that Jane herself could be the murderer... or is she? Excellent!

In this first entry in the Jane Jeffry "cozy" mystery series, suburban widow and mother of three is busy shuffling kids to and from school and practice, and joining lots of committees..... When her cleaning lady is found strangled to death by the vacuum cord at her friend Shelley's house, she sets her mind to solving the murder....What follows is an hysterical and enjoyable read...........great characters including those secondary ones...........superb interaction with her children, two of whom are teenagers.....a hint of a future relationship with Detective Mel VanDyne... This is a cute series.......sheer entertainment from a very talented author!

This first in the series of Jane Jeffry mysteries is an introduction to this delightful character and is a perfect beginning. Jane never ceases to amaze me how she can be a mother of three children, two of them teens, work on countless committees and still keep a carpool schedule in her head and run it smoothly! This first in the series is a must of collectors of the Jane Jeffry mysteries. It is a great whodunit and whydidthey delight that is delightfully funny with non-stop, page-turning interest. Don't be surprised if the person you think did the murder turns out not to be; and the "friend" turns out not to be