Murder Passes the Buck

As a 70 year old woman I loved an older women who struggles against her children who think she is crazy. Dshe is more than able!

I love this book! Murder Passes the Buck is one of those tongue-in-cheek mysteries that suspend reality enough that you can go along for the ride and just enjoy the wacky characters and their adventures. And these characters are a little wacky. Baker has set this book in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and peopled it with Yoopers (think U.P.'ers and you eventually get to Yoopers). I have to admit that I was predisposed to this book because I do live in Michigan - but I am a Troll, not a Yooper. Trolls live under the Mackinac Bridge in the Lower Peninsula, Yoopers live above. I have met a few Yoopers here and there and they are different. The ones I have met are tremendously resourceful and hardworking and willing to eat any varmint that comes their way - all of which comes from living in a hostile climate, I suspect. Baker has created an entertaining and fun look at life among the Yoopers by keeping it farcical and light-hearted. Our heroine, Gertie Johnson, has decided that her neighbor was murdered in his hunting blind and when her lazy son Blaze, the Sheriff, says it is an accident, she decides to investigate. She tromps all over the frozen North with her grandson Little Donny and her friends Cora Mae and Kitty and, along the way, teaches herself how to drive (sort of), dyes her hair orange (okay, that was an accident), and learns how to use a stun gun (OOPS!). This book is very funny, the mystery is pretty good, and the characters and setting are fantastic. If you like a comedy/adventure mystery, this is right up your alley. Did I guess it? Yes. Will I read more? Just as soon as the next one comes out!

Reviewer: Anne Godden-Segard This is a fun book. I really enjoyed it. Right from the start you know the heroine, Gertie, 60 something, is no run of the mill granny. She has bright orange hair, a dye job gone wrong, and she just can't seem to stay out of trouble. From the minute she suspects that her neighbor, Chester Lampi's death was no accident until the conclusion, she's in it. And we, and her friend Cora Mae, also 60 something in her come hither outfits and an eye for the guys, and self appointed body guard, Kitty, are along for the ride. And this ride includes Gertie teaching herself to drive mid-investigation! She's seen others do it. How hard can it be? Whoops! She soon becomes intimately acquainted with a lot of Upper Michigan ditches. This all horrifies and worries her son Blaze, the local sheriff, who's ruled the death accidental. His mother is causing so much attention with her investigation that she's in danger and he fears for her life and even her sanity! (She named her three children after horses: Heather, Star and Blaze.) What's especially attractive about this book is the age of the heroines - mid 60s. It's a refreshing change to have a book with mature heroines who can have adventures, get the job done and not even have to stop and take a nap! And as for the word fun at the start of each chapter, I was very relieved to discover that I knew each one!

It's a hair-raising ride when Gertie Johnson gets behind the wheel, and readers will enjoy the trip. Unique characters, headed by Gertie, drive the action when her neighbor is found dead with a bullet hole in the head, fired from his own gun. Gertie believes it was murder, but the local Sheriff (her own son) thinks Gertie is out of her mind--and the tries to prove it. Sometimes Gertie's her own worst enemy, but that also drives the humor as she somehow manages to wriggle out of one uncomfortable situation after another. Bring on the next in the series, Deb!

"Adulation" meaning extravagant praise. I thoroughly enjoyed Deb Baker's start to each chapter with the "word for the day" approach, providing it's definition and having the central character, Gertie try to use it. As Gertie works to solve a hunting murder, she flies in the face of all societal norms and makes her son, the sheriff, determined to declare her unfit to take care of herself. Her friends provide the only means of support to help her solve the murder and protect her from her son taking her rights away. Thus, following Gertie through her quirky and outright funny trevails throughout this book is just outright fun. I can't wait for the next book to follow. This story is a clever mystery and moves along so well that I didn't want to put it down.

It may be because I've been there, but I don't think so. Deb Baker's depiction of the UP is spot on, with characters and places drawn with deft phrases thrown in as if by accident. There are characters, not caricatures, in this hunting season mystery, and the plot moves along as quickly as protagonist Gertie does when she gets into trouble with her son the sheriff. Friends and relatives help and hinder in unique ways, but Deb isn't making fun of her cast. She loves them in all their eccentricity, and therefore you will too!