Fried by Jury

Rating:
Summary: Why so many words?
Review: Have enjoyed many of Bishops books, this one is not among them.If there is a story to be found here, it could have been said in 10 pages perhaps. It rambles, it never lands on anything that would make one care to finish the book though.

Rating:
Summary: A disappointment
Review: I've read most of the Hemlock Falls mysteries and have enjoyed them. But this one has a disjointed plot. There are loose ends that go nowhere; serious questions are unanswered; and the mystery is solved only with 2 revelations out of left field at the end. It looks as if the author (and her editors) fell down on this one.

It's a good thing that most of the others are much better.

Rating:
Summary: Will deep fat fried chicken come to Hemlock Falls?
Review: Reviewed by Dawn Dowdle - [e-mail]
6/8/03

Fried By Jury
By Claudia Bishop
ISBN: 0425189945
5/03
232 pages

Hemlock Falls, New York, sounds like a town I'd like to visit. I'd definitely enjoy a visit at the Inn at Hemlock Falls run by sisters Meg and Quill. I think that's why I enjoy this mystery series so much. It's set in a place I could see myself visiting.

Meg is the chef at the Inn and Quill is the manager. In this book the town's mayor, Elmer Henry, tries to convince Meg to judge the Fry Away Home contest being held in town. Meg emphatically refuses. She is appalled to be asked to judge a deep fat frying contest. Harry Holcomb of Holcomb's Wholesome Fried Chicken wants celebrity chef Banion O'Haggerty to judge the contest. Unfortunately O'Haggerty wants more money than Holcomb is offering. Elmer will have to come up with the difference. He'd rather Meg do it -- he wouldn't have to pay anything. Holcomb is opening the town's first Holcomb's Wholesome Fried Chicken. O'Haggerty arrives and decides to stay at the Inn. Meg hates O'Haggerty. Then Holcomb's most hated rival, Colonel Cluck, is setting up shop here, too, and decides to stay at the Inn as well.

O'Haggerty is found dead. Meg and her fiance, Andy (and the town doctor), are suspects. Meg and Quill jump into action to help solve the murder. Sheriff Myles Hales, who Quill sees on a regular basis, is not happy when Meg and Quill try to help. He even calls in an old friend he once worked with, Jordan Bellemarin, to run the investigation as he was too connected.

The setting in this book really assists this story. Having everyone staying under one roof helps in the investigation and "snooping." The characters are very well developed and life-like. The plot always has plenty of twists and turns. I definitely couldn't figure this one out ahead. I also like that Quill, who does most of the detecting, is smart. I don't like books where you can't figure out why they can't see what's right in front of them. I never feel that way in this series.

I highly recommend you read this book. It is the greatest in a long line of great books in this series.

Rating:
Summary: Where's the mystery?
Review: This book, while not entirely offenmsive, could have been cut in half. The end of the novel seems to quickly put together missing pieces in a haphasard way. There is also very little "detecting" done...Quill and Meg seem to just bumble along without getting anywhere. In fact, only a clue purposefully sent to Quill helps solve the myster. Perhaps other books in the series are better....

Rating:
Summary: Typical Hemlock Falls Mystery
Review: This is a typical entry in this series. I have come to enjoy reading this series more for the events in the lives of Meg & Quill et al than for the mystery itself.

In this story a master chef, hired to judge a fried food contest in Hemlock Falls, is found dead, and, as usual, there are suspects galore to sort through. And, as usual, at least one of the sisters' acquaintances is a possible suspect meaning that they must involve themselves in the mystery to save them.

I rated this one 3 stars as opposed to 4 as I figured the mystery out midway through the book; otherwise, it would have been 4 stars as it was enjoyable as most of the books in this series have been for me.

Rating:
Summary: Typical Hemlock Falls Mystery
Review: This is a typical entry in this series. I have come to enjoy reading this series more for the events in the lives of Meg & Quill et al than for the mystery itself.

In this story a master chef, hired to judge a fried food contest in Hemlock Falls, is found dead, and, as usual, there are suspects galore to sort through. And, as usual, at least one of the sisters' acquaintances is a possible suspect meaning that they must involve themselves in the mystery to save them.

I rated this one 3 stars as opposed to 4 as I figured the mystery out midway through the book; otherwise, it would have been 4 stars as it was enjoyable as most of the books in this series have been for me.

Rating:
Summary: Good addition to the series
Review: Yes, the ending is highly improbable, and stretches the boundary of reason. But oh what fun getting there! This is a great addition to the series, and shows a new side to Meg not present in the other books. A nice fun read.