Book Review: Hung Out to Die

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

[5 stars]

Hung Out to Die Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Sharon Short
Class/Genre: Mystery Woman Main Character Amateur Sleuth Cozy
Series: Stain-Busting Mystery Series # 4
Avon, Feb 2006, $6.99, 272 pp.

In Paradise, Ohio Josie Toadfern was two when her daddy abandoned her; not long afterward her mother dumped her in an orphanage. Whereas her paternal side led by her grandma said she was dead, her maternal Uncle Horace and Aunt Clara raised her as if she was their offspring. Twenty-two years later, her father’s mother septuagenarian Mamaw Toadfern wants to allegedly see her after all this time when she only lived on the other side of the river from where Josie grew up and now runs Toadfern’s Laundromat while claiming to be the national expert on stain removal.

Thus that is why she is having Thanksgiving with the Toadfern brood when her parents arrive. They want to forget the past offering a deal involving a flea market. However, unforgiving Uncle Fenwick Toadfern rejects the peace offering with the two men threatening to kill one another. Not long afterward someone kills Fenwick trying to make it seem like a suicide, but local officials think hid death is a homicide and hone in on Josie’s daddy as the prime suspect. Josie believes someone else killed her uncle after removing a stain from his favorite shirt.

The first half of the tale is a soap opera family drama that introduces the audience to a horde of Toads and a heroine struggling with a sudden rash of relatives who never recognized her as alive until now including her biological parents. The interrelation dynamics are interesting to follow as the audience gain insight mostly from the baffled heroine who understands stain removal a lot better than blood relatives. The suspense comes in the latter half as fans along with Josie will learn that family is inside the heart, not the blood.

Harriet Klausner

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