Three Can Keep a Secret: A Stella Crown Mystery

Being a Mennonite woman, a sometime motorcyclist and well acquainted with farm life, I found the book fun to read and quite accurate on all three items. The events happened a little too fast and furious for my taste, but the book is not boring. Wonder how the author is received in her own area? If you are looking for a quick escape from boredom, read this book.

Stella Crown is trying to keep her head above water, which is difficult in the farming business today. She needs a new farmhand, since her long-time friend and former hand has died. She needs a new heifer barn after her old one burned down. And she is waiting for her beloved Harley Davidson bike to be rebuilt after a nasty crash. The new farmhand is a Mennonite widow, Lucy Lapp. Lucy comes with baggage: a young daughter, former in-laws who are looking to make trouble, and some religious issues. But she is a hard worker and knows what she's doing, so Stella is glad to have her. Not so happy about the graffiti which shows up on the barn one night. Lucy turns out to have more backbone than one might expect, given her life. It's a treat to watch her deal with her husband's family. One of the friends working on her bike, Lenny, is behaving strangely. He doesn't want to talk about it, and generally seems miserable. Does it have something to do with his past, of which Stella knows very little? Or the young, scruffy, and rude couple who shows up at the bike shop one day? Stella is also trying to sort out where her heart lies. Abe, her old sweetie, is doing her books and making attempts to resume their old relationship. This is a little difficult, since in TILL THE COWS COME HOME, he brought home another woman. She's gone, but her memory lingers. Stella had a low-grade romance with another man, who turned out to be not at all what he said he was, and they did not part amicably. But Stella stills has a yen, and isn't sure what to do about her memories and Abe. Stella slogs on, putting out one small fire after another. This takes a physical and emotional toll on her. Then there's the tornado, which really messes up her life. Her extended family comes through for her, as they have before and will again. Stella's public persona as a tough, Harley riding, assertive woman is believable, as is her not-so-public kind-hearted nature and willingness to give people a second chance. She's a strong woman doing a tough job. Clemens has done a very good job on her second book. Stella grows as a person, as do some of the continuing characters. While the reader knows that Stella's life won't ever be easy, it's clear that this is the life she wants, the life she needs. The endless work which is part of farming is also part of THREE CAN KEEP A SECRET, which lends verisimilitude to Stella's life without bogging the reader down in superfluous details. It's just Clemen's showing us what Stella and her help do on a daily basis. THREE CAN KEEP A SECRET is a good mystery, with great characters and an interesting setting. What more can a person want? I look forward to the next book in the series; if Clemens keeps writing like this, it will be a definite pleasure to follow this series.

The second installment of the Stella Crown series is wonderful. My bloodshot eyes attest to the fact that it can't be put down; maybe I shouldn't have read it at bedtime. Only Judy Clemens can pull off a single Mennonite woman who milks cows by day and rides Harleys by night. And the tattoos. Wow. What a bold move. Way to go Judy! Give us more!!!

This was a fun quick read with very likeable characters. Clemen's Stella Crown, her farm and her friends, Harley driving and not, engage you fully from the first pages to the last. The plot develops quickly but with some very unexpected turns.

Stella Crown owns and runs a dairy farm in Pennsylvania, but her life is anything bit smooth. She still recovers from injuries sustained over a month ago and grieves the death of a man who was like a father to her. Needing rest to foster her recuperation, Stella hires Mennonite widow Lucy Lapp who is accompanied by her eight year old daughter Tess. Almost from the moment that Lucy arrives on the scene, Stella has doubts about the wisdom of hiring the woman. She has received anonymous warning calls that her employee is a murderess, hostile in-laws demand custody of Tess, graffiti where Lucy lives implying the woman is a tramp, and a social worker who has a report that claims Tess is not receiving proper care. However, as Stella gets to know Lucy, she wonders if someone has mounted a successful smear campaign to destroy the woman. Stella also worries about her biker friend Lenny, who was beaten so severely he was hospitalized. He refuses to confide in her, which makes stubborn Stella try to help him even while she wonders why he rejects going to the police. The protagonist is an interesting complex character who is impressed with biker culture while running her own dairy farm. These seemingly incompatible items somehow seem apropos with Stella. The mysteries surrounding the death of Lucy's husband and Lenny's refusal to fight against the malevolent bikers keep readers at a high alert trying to figure out both mysteries. Judy Clemens is a gifted mystery writer who is not going to remain a secret with novels like this one. Harriet Klausner