Murder in the Forecast

Josie Pigeon has landed a dream remodeling job. A millionaire has bought the Point House, the largest house on the island, and plans on remodeling it as a summer home for himself and his daughters. Josie and yet another new crew of carpenters have only just started to work on the building when a hurricane hits. Just before she is forcibly evacuated from the island, she sees the body of the owner, Mr. Hudson, dead in the living room. Unfortunately, the house is completely wiped out by the storm. Josie and her friends and crew, while rebuilding the island, have to solve the murder.While I wish that the construction crew would retain at least one steady member, at least Betty returns to help Josie. The locals are as eccentric as ever and the mystery is entertaining. I can't wait to read the next one.

Josie Pigeon can`t believe her bad luck. The biggest contract her construction company has ever landed, remodeling the Point House, the grandest house on the island, is in jeopardy when the national weather service begins predicting a hurricane. And while everyone else on the island scurries to weather proof his or her property, Josie is in denial, she refuses to believe that Hurricane Agatha will actually hit. She keeps telling everyone that the weather people are always wrong, that they make these predictions several times a year and are always wrong. But when people begin calling her company for help in boarding up windows and doors, she finally gives in to the hysteria and begins to get ready, although she refuses to go into hurricane panic like many people are doing.But when the authorities order the island evacuated, Josie is reluctant to just up and leave. She goes out to check on The Point House; soon to be renamed The Hudson House for its new owner and finds said owner strangled in the living room. And when local police Chief Rodney shows up, checking for stragglers who haven't evacuated yet, Josie has to think fast. Chief Rodney isn't too fond of Josie, having tangled with her on previous murder cases and the last thing Josie wants is to have to try to explain finding the body of her employer. Josie assures the chief that she was just leaving and ends up rescuing him when his police cruiser gets stuck in high water. Josie and the Chief go to an emergency shelter on the mainland, where Josie has the unpleasant task of trying to avoid Hudson's daughters, spoiled, unpleasant rich girls, who keep demanding Josie tell them where their father is.Imagine Josie's surprise when, after returning to the island, to find not only the body of Cornell Hudson gone, but also the entire house with it, washed out to sea in the hurricane. Now Josie has a serious problem, she has to try to solve a murder that she can't tell anyone about. As Hudson's spoiled daughters slowly come to the realization that their father is missing, Josie is left wondering not only who killed him and why, but what he was doing on the island in the first place. She figures if she can discover why Hudson, who owns one of the largest contracting firms in New York hired her to remodel his house, it will lead her to the why and who of his death.In this latest Josie Pigeon mystery, Wolzien once again brings out her arsenal of her quick wit, small town humor and ability to create mayhem in a most delightful manner to create a story that will leave you laughing and wanting more.

Unlike action-intense soap operas, if a mystery series (especially a cozy one) is to have any 'legs' at all, I think we probably need to care more about the people involved in the chase than about the various capers that they choose to pursue. By me, Valerie Wolzien's cozies have 'legs' because she has a simply marvelous flair for exactly this kind of get-the-reader-involved characterization. I have become extremely fond of her series heroine, spunky building contractor and single parent, Josie Pigeon. She reminds me of Mr. Micawber both in her optimistic approach to life in general (and running her business in particular) and in her fierce loyalty to her friends and family. MURDER IN THE FORECAST puts both to the test.When the novel begins, there are no storm clouds on Josie's horizon. Her love affair with Sam Richardson is going smoothly; son Tyler is happily involved with his computer camp; her newly-wed friend and former employee, Betty Jacobs, is down for a visit bringing the happy news that she and John will soon become parents, and Josie's recruited a whole new crew of (mostly) likeable ladies to help her tackle one of Island Contracting's most ambitious projects to date: the complete renovation of Point House...a summer cottage in the grand, turn-of-the-century tradition...which should keep her busy and solvent for the entire summer. Best of all, its new owner, wealthy New Yorker Cornell Hudson, wants the job done right with no corners cut and no expense spared. Happily looking to the future, with typical Islander, hurricane-zone mentality, Josie pooh-poohs the radio's present warnings about a possible strike from Hurricane Agatha until the winds and waters suddenly start rising. During the process of belatedly battening down her hatches, she makes a flying visit to Point House only to find Hudson's dead body in its living room and her old nemesis, Police Chief Rodney, banging on the front door threatening to arrest her for trespassing if she doesn't leave now! Then Agatha hits. When her fury subsides, the Island has been devastated and Point House...body and all...has been washed away. (One of the strengths of this delightful novel is the extremely graphic way in which Ms. Wolzien handles the human realities of coping with and surviving both a hurricane and its aftermath.) Unfortunately, RIP Cornell Hudson is not an option since three other furies in the form of Hudson's daughters (on-island during the storm) now want to know where their father is. Josie has an answer for that one (which self-preservation and Rodney force her to keep to herself), but once his body is washed up on the beach, with the usual help from Sam and company, she is then free to sift through the minutae of the Hudson's highly dysfunctional family situation until she gathers enough evidence to first lead her to the reason behind his death and, ultimately, to its solution. MURDER IN THE FORECAST is the fifth Josie Pigeon novel, but it stands-alone beaut

At the moment Josie is content and has her world in order, living on one of the barrier islands in Florida. She owns her own construction business and is involved in a deep meaningful relationship with her significant other. All that changes when Hurricane Agatha is supposed to directly hit the island. Before evacuating, Josie goes to get something from the house she is remodeling but finds the owner dead with something of hers wrapped around his neck Since the police chief of the island dislikes her, Josie does not report the murder. When everyone returns home after the hurricane passes, Josie finds the house and the body are gone. The victim's three daughters arrive on the island insisting something happened to their father. One of Josie's friends had illegal dealings with him back in New York and hated the man. Her boyfriend's mother, also on the island, was dating the man. There are so many suspects and so few clues that even for an expert amateur sleuth like Josie Pigeon, this is a difficult case to solve. Valerie Wolzein writes some of the best amateur sleuth mysteries in the genre today. MURDER IN THE FORECAST displays a dry sense of humor (even during the hurricane), a colorful and atmospheric scenery, and best of all a believable plot. The author turns Hurricane Agatha into the main adversary of the tale. The heroine is an independent feminist who likes her work as a construction worker and makes the audience believe that she genuinely enjoys it. This novel and the other books in the series are must reading for mystery lovers. Harriet KLausne