Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
159th out of 660 books
—
636 voters
A Tisket, A Tasket, A Fancy Stolen Casket (A Callie Parrish Mystery #1)
by
Fran Rizer
Bubbles meets Six Feet Under in the new Calamine Parrish mystery series.
Mortuary cosmetologist Calamine Parrish stares death in the face every day. But when she finds a hypodermic needle in the neck of an "accidental" drowning victim, and the victim's fancy casket is stolen, Callie finds herself in over her head-and in the way of a killer.
Mortuary cosmetologist Calamine Parrish stares death in the face every day. But when she finds a hypodermic needle in the neck of an "accidental" drowning victim, and the victim's fancy casket is stolen, Callie finds herself in over her head-and in the way of a killer.
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
September 25th 2007
by Berkley
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
797)
In this book we are introduced to the Parrish family, including main character Callie. She is a mortuary cosmetologist as well as an avid mystery reader and as she discovers as the books moves along- a part time investigator. Before long she's thrown into the line of danger as a killer thinks she knows too much. She's going to have to get those detective training wheels off in a hurry and figure out who the killer is before she winds up a victim.
The lead character Callie is not extremely likeabl...more
The lead character Callie is not extremely likeabl...more
*****5 star rating*****
This was by far one of my favorite cozy mystery's to date.
With a name like Calamine Lotion Parrish, (Callie, hey... her dad is just an older version of Larry the Cable Guy) Whats not to love about a southern bell who works as a cosmetologist in a mortuary with twin owners? Her best fiend Jane, (who is blind) is histerical on her "shopping sprees" and Callie keeps finding herself in trouble after finding a hyperdermic needle in her most current corpses' neck.
After she is a...more
This was by far one of my favorite cozy mystery's to date.
With a name like Calamine Lotion Parrish, (Callie, hey... her dad is just an older version of Larry the Cable Guy) Whats not to love about a southern bell who works as a cosmetologist in a mortuary with twin owners? Her best fiend Jane, (who is blind) is histerical on her "shopping sprees" and Callie keeps finding herself in trouble after finding a hyperdermic needle in her most current corpses' neck.
After she is a...more
This was especially funny murder mystery to me, due to the fact of my having worked for a funeral parlor in my early twenties. I was in accounting but also had many funny and poignant tales to tell.
This book had me laughing out loud, reading passages out loud and just generally following each twist and turn as they came. I found I was not guessing the 'who done it,' as I was enjoying the ride in the Mustang too much.
The characters were amusing and well put together. I have lived near Beaufort, S...more
This book had me laughing out loud, reading passages out loud and just generally following each twist and turn as they came. I found I was not guessing the 'who done it,' as I was enjoying the ride in the Mustang too much.
The characters were amusing and well put together. I have lived near Beaufort, S...more
I really loved this book! I liked that the main character works in the funeral business because it's a bit quirkier than usual. I love that her best friend is blind, wonderfully flawed, and holds an unusual job as well. I enjoyed the mystery and most of the resolution. There were a lot of references to other books, or shout-outs if you will, and I liked that. There was very little that I didn't like about the book. It was a little bit quirky, a lot of fun, and even a little informative at times....more
The first in the Callie Parrish series, this was a great cozy mystery. It was fast-paced from the first page. Callie is a true southern gal, who loves to shop at Victoria's Secret and eat at Bojangles. She works as a mortuary cosmetologist and enjoys her job a lot. One of the bodies that comes into the funeral home causes a whole lot of trouble though, which leads to a stolen casket, two fighting wives, and Callie finds herself on the receiving end of threatening phone calls and even gets knocke...more
So didn't realize but this was book 3 in series (haven't read books 1 and 2) and there is a 4th. Well, having read this one.... i will be going back to read the first two and then get book 4. A "light" mystery but really quite interesting and enjoyable read. Callie, the main character works in a funeral home which is unique from other books i have read and she is a fun spitfire i can relate to abit LOL.
And there is even abit of romance mixed in with the requisite idiot dates too.
Recommend - i wo...more
And there is even abit of romance mixed in with the requisite idiot dates too.
Recommend - i wo...more
If you are looking for a new BFF or a mate with a twisted sense of humor and can take a punch, then maybe Callie Parrish is your gal. She works in a mortuary as a cosmetologist and seems to have trouble follow her everywhere she goes. Murder and mayhem abound in this enjoyable tale involving a girl, her puppy and her bra.
Rizer's plot twists are worth overlooking the slightly overdone southern euphemisms. I am curious to see how this series progresses and characters develop.
All in all, this book...more
Rizer's plot twists are worth overlooking the slightly overdone southern euphemisms. I am curious to see how this series progresses and characters develop.
All in all, this book...more
It wasn't one of the most intesting cozies I've read but it wasn't to bad. I felt the guilty one was kinda obvious. I didn't come away feeling like I had a handle on the mc's personality since certain aspects of it went against others. It had its moments that were a little humorous and others where the mcs reactions were extreme esp when it came to Jane. I honestly don't see how they can be bestfriends, since it looked like calamine never likes anything jane does except cook, so yeah pretty lame...more
Mar 15, 2010
Suzanne
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
M is for Mystery group
Recommended to Suzanne by:
March Circle of Friends read
Shelves:
cozy-mysteries
This was an engaging, fun cozy read. I really liked Callie Parrish and the twin funeral directors Odell and Otis. You have to love a funeral cosmetologist who loves to read mysteries and watches Six Feet Under! Daddy and The Boys were great supporting characters. I wasn't so keen on Callie's friend Jane, but maybe I'll warm up to her in later books.
Nice plotting. I couldn't figure out who done it until later in the book, but there were clues throughout, that I only saw in retrospect. The "filler...more
Nice plotting. I couldn't figure out who done it until later in the book, but there were clues throughout, that I only saw in retrospect. The "filler...more
When traveling, I always enjoy looking at the 'Regional' books. Fran Rizer is from South Carolina and I discovered this book on a recent trip. The title caught my eye. LOL. A fun, fast read to relax with on a snowy Northern winter day. Imaginative, colorful characters that keep the reader engaged. There are elements that are rather corny, but they just contribute to the charm of this series.
Overall it was OK. Decent characters, OK mystery structure. Had a bit of trouble trying to idnetify with protagonists reaction/relationship to/with her bff. The protagonist's continuous "puh-leeeze" got old fast and kept distracting me from the story, causing me to roll my eyes and stifle my gag reflex. Other than that, it wasn't bad... Not great, but definitely not horrible either.
This was quite an interesting read. I sort of guessed who the perp was but I had no idea why. The only reason I suspected this person was because of the odd insertion into the story. It somewhat made sense, but not really. At first, I thought it was just for drama's sake.
In any case, this was a decent first book of another cozy series. I will be on the lookout for further installments, but I wouldn't make a special trip to the library to find them.
In any case, this was a decent first book of another cozy series. I will be on the lookout for further installments, but I wouldn't make a special trip to the library to find them.
I liked this mystery, although I didn't like the characters. Does that make sense? I'm not a fan of books that make their characters appear stupid or uneducated and Callie Parrish is both, but the mystery itself was amusing. One warning- if you have a death phobia, skip this one as there's lots of talk of embalming and other procedures.
This mystery is definitely in the cozy class despite the main setting of a funeral home. It has a plot that keeps the reader absorbed, despite, or maybe because of an originally unusual best friend, a whole lot of other odd characters, and an amateur sleuth who rotates her little black dresses and pumps up her inflatable bra a little more each day. All in all, a fun read.
Ah, it had been a while since I read a mystery, so this was a nice change of pace. I actually picked up this book on accident, for some reason I thought it was the Garnet Lacey series by Tate Hallaway.
Callie is a pretty likable lead, with the unusual job of mortuary cosmetologist. I was liking her best friend until the scene in clothes store which just put me off her for good. Callie's family situation is a little weird. Her favorite brother calls her "Little Sister" all the time, makes me thin...more
Callie is a pretty likable lead, with the unusual job of mortuary cosmetologist. I was liking her best friend until the scene in clothes store which just put me off her for good. Callie's family situation is a little weird. Her favorite brother calls her "Little Sister" all the time, makes me thin...more
Another great series! My only complaint is that I have to wait so long for the next book! :-) I love a laugh along with my mystery and this series does NOT disappoint!
Never thougt I would enjoy-- let alone spend more time with-- someone who works in a morgue, but this was a very fun series and I read the books back to back.
I truly loved this book. The humour was great, the characters ones that I look forward to getting to know much better in future books.
The descriptions were vivid and drew specific pictures and emotions from me. ie Callie's describes her apartment as: "I can describe my apartment in one sentence: It has avocado shag green carpet. A second sentence completes the picture: The kitchen appliances match the carpet."
Jane is a character I hope to meet again and again. Employers Otis and Odell are intere...more
The descriptions were vivid and drew specific pictures and emotions from me. ie Callie's describes her apartment as: "I can describe my apartment in one sentence: It has avocado shag green carpet. A second sentence completes the picture: The kitchen appliances match the carpet."
Jane is a character I hope to meet again and again. Employers Otis and Odell are intere...more
Annoyingly overdone on the kindergarten swear words and the syrupy Southern pronounciations, but somehow readable.
Another book from my library book sale. This is fun and funny, and I'll be searching out other titles by this author!
Feb 13, 2011
Lesley Harris
added it
I really like the main character!!! Good light reading!! Read the first two books in a day each!
An amateur detective in a cozy mystery. A key element is a piece of lingerie.
A nice, quick plot and a surprising twist made this an entertaining read.
Some interesting characters Buhleeve me :-)
Cute, fun story. A fast read.
A fun cozy-style mystery.
a really good read
I really enjoyed this book. It was just the type of easy read entertainment that is fun to sit back with. The main character reminded me a lot of Sookie Stackhouse with the same southern flair and strong yet femanine personality and triats. I would like to read the other 2 in the series, and hope they are equally entertaining.
view 1 comment
Fun read, plan to continue the series when I have a chance
If you want stereotypes & cliches, this is the book for you. A main character named Calamine Lotion who's such a ninny she allows her father & brothers to dictate personal choices, the spelling out of BUH-LEEVE me on every page & twin funeral directors do nothing to salvage this book from being abysmal.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
