Book Review: Three Dirty Women and the Bitter Brew

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Three Dirty Women and the Bitter Brew     Amazon US TPB Amazon Canada TPB
Julie Wray Herman
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character   Amateur Sleuth   Police Procedural
Silver Dagger, May 2001, $13.95, 185 pp.

Two of the three owners of Three Dirty Women Landscaping attend the Southern Small Landscaping Conference in Savannah. While Amilou Whittier stayed home in Pine Grove due to being on probation for murdering her husband, Janey Bascom and Korine McFaile look forward to the events.

Because Janey's husband accompanied her, Korine rooms with Dodie Hallorman, selected for her by committee member Sharon Winslow. From the start Dodie acts ugly towards Korine and even rips the latter in public. Although she looked forward to not rooming with Dodie, Korine would not want any harm to befall the disagreeable woman. Still, someone kills Dodie with Korine being the prime suspect of local Detective Sudley, not just because of the conference confrontations, but because they were business rivals.

The second "Dirty Women" novel, THREE DIRTY WOMEN AND THE BITTER BREW, is an entertaining tale that will please fans of amateur sleuth-police procedural stories. The plot is fun, as the audience understands a lot about Janey and Korine and their relationships with family members. Though Amilou takes a back seat, readers will see glimpses of her personality too. The support cast augments the tale by propelling the action forward and through their interaction with Korine. As with her fabulous THREE DIRTY WOMEN AND THE GARDEN OF DEATH, Julie Wray Herman writes a wry entertaining mystery.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner