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The Curse of the Holy Pail (An Odelia Grey Mystery #2)
by
Sue Ann Jaffarian (Goodreads Author)
Is the "Holy Pail" cursed? Every owner of the vintage Chappy Wheeler lunchbox–a prototype based on the 1940s TV western–has died. And now Sterling Price, business tycoon and a client of Odelia Grey's law firm, has been fatally poisoned. Is it a coincidence that Price's one-of-a-kind lunch pail–worth over thirty grand–has disappeared at the same time?
Treading cautiously sin...more
Treading cautiously sin...more
Kindle Edition
Published
(first published March 31st 2003)
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Odelia does it again!, November 25, 2011
By Ellen Rappaport
This review is from: The Curse of the Holy Pail (The Odelia Grey Mysteries) (Paperback)
I don't know where Sue Ann Jaffarian gets her ideas but they are great and she is #1 author. In this mystery a lunch pail is the center of the story...go figure! Off the wall crazy but Jaffarian or should I say Odelia pulls it off.
The characters from the first book in this series continue and relationships evolve. Odelia grows in more ways than jus...more
By Ellen Rappaport
This review is from: The Curse of the Holy Pail (The Odelia Grey Mysteries) (Paperback)
I don't know where Sue Ann Jaffarian gets her ideas but they are great and she is #1 author. In this mystery a lunch pail is the center of the story...go figure! Off the wall crazy but Jaffarian or should I say Odelia pulls it off.
The characters from the first book in this series continue and relationships evolve. Odelia grows in more ways than jus...more
Odelia Grey is a plus-sized, 40-something year old, corporate paralegal. Her specialty at the law firm is research, and although she is no PI, she has been known to get herself involved in some sticky situations. Odelia just can't resist the opportunity to solve a mystery. Her younger boyfriend Greg has just proposed to her, and she's feeling like she needs time to think it over. When she is nervous or stressed she overeats.
In this cozy mystery, the second in a series, Odelia is sent over to the...more
In this cozy mystery, the second in a series, Odelia is sent over to the...more
Very engaging murder mystery with a plus-sized, middle-aged heroine. Odelia Grey is a paralegal with a major firm and struggling to decide if she wants to accept a recent marriage proposal.
That's enough to keep a woman occupied but her client is murdered just hours after she saw him. Missing from the man's office is the "Holy Pail," a 50 year-old lunch box from a long-defunct TV Western. Her client had sent Odelia a lunch box after their meeting but convincing the myriad list of collectors it wa...more
That's enough to keep a woman occupied but her client is murdered just hours after she saw him. Missing from the man's office is the "Holy Pail," a 50 year-old lunch box from a long-defunct TV Western. Her client had sent Odelia a lunch box after their meeting but convincing the myriad list of collectors it wa...more
Jaffarian has a character I can relate to - a middle aged over weight "regular" person. Except Odelia has an overpowering curiosity that she just can't hold back. When one of her law firm's clients is killed and a lunch box from his collection is stolen (everybody has to have hobby) the family secrets come out of the woodwork. In the mean time she has a life changing decision to make. So is her interest in the crime a way to postpone the decision? That's what her best friend wants to know. With...more
I didn't realize this was #2 in a series until after I'd started, but it works fine as a stand-alone novel. Well-written and fast paced. I really enjoyed the quirky main character and her escapades. But I don't know how much I would like the series. Part of what appealed to me was the "ordinariness" of the main character. Solving multiple murders if you aren't on the police force is hardly ordinary!
I also got a weird feeling about the relationship with the boyfriend - I foresee him getting dumpe...more
I also got a weird feeling about the relationship with the boyfriend - I foresee him getting dumpe...more
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This book was quite entertaining and I probably would read more in the series. The heroine was very likable and realistic. It is nice to see someone fat and middle-aged getting to be a hero for once. I did think that the point about her being fat was rather laboured though - it wasn't necessary to be constantly adverting to it so much throughout the book. If you know a fat person you don't constantly need to mention how fat they are every time you speak about them, so this didn't quite ring true...more
This book had all the elements of the cozy type mystery that I usually enjoy - slightly overweight heroine who can't stay away from trouble, wonderfully supportive boyfriend and best friend, pets, and murders that are not graphic. I expected and really wanted to like it. Somehow it fell short. Some of the plot elements were a bit far fetched and I found that the choice's made by the heroine annoyed rather than amused me. I was hoping to have found a new series to enjoy, but this will not be the...more
This was a departure from what I usually read. No supernatural beings any where. It was a fun murder mystery, thriller. I thought I had it all figured out about half way into the book and I was pleasantly surprised to find out just how wrong I was. The heroine is not young and lithe but older and has a tendency to drown her sorrows or fears in comfort food. (I found kinship in those characteristics) ;-) The writing was witty and characters engaging. I plan to try another of Ms Jaffarian's books...more
Sometimes when you get a free Kindle book, you may find an undiscovered gem of a book. Not always, but The Curse of the Holy Pail is one of those books where you understand and then buy into Amazon's marketing scheme. In other word, have they tempted me to buy more Odelia Grey mysteries? Could be. The writing was very good, the plot was well thought out, the action was well-paced, and the heroine is actually quite likable without being too kitschy cute.
I'm really enjoying Odelia Grey. She runs up against the strange world of collecting when she goes to get some documents signed by a client who collects vintage lunch boxes, including one so rare & sought-after that it's called the "holy pail." Seems harmlessly unusual until the collector turns up dead not long after Odelia last sees him. She decides to find out what happened & quickly turns up a ton of motives among the deceased's soap-opera-like family. But is her need to solve this cr...more
"Just OK". I had a really hard time getting into this book, but kept reading because I wanted to see how it ended. I was really disappointed! Near the end it all of a sudden takes some really sharp turns and ends in the weirdest way, with a lot of unresolved issues still hanging. It wasn't a horrible book and I would try another by this author before giving up completely, but this one just didn't work for me.
I really like Odelia a lot. I just wish she would stop talking about how big she is all the time. There's no reason she can't be a plus size without saying how big her butt is. I'm plus sized and I don't go around talking about my big butt or thunder thighs. This is book 2 and it had a pretty good mystery, even though sometimes she does things that make her seem TSTL.
this was a free book, but i would have paid good money for it, it was that good! the heroine is a BBW, the hero (whom we didn't see much of in this book) is in a wheelchair, and there was lots of action in a well-paced book. am going to look into other in this author's series; if they are as good as this one, i'm in for a good time reading.
I can't wait to read another book in this series. It was surprising and delightful. The heroine is full-figured, her boyfriend is a wheelchair, and things don't always go how they stereotypically do. A real story, featuring real people who might just as well be people you know. I wasn't expecting a lot when I picked this book up and ended up not wanting to put it down. I looked up the author online right away and made plans to buy the next Amelia Grey book.
The Curse of the Holy Pail is the second in the Odelia Grey Mysteries. Sue Ann Jaffarian not only spotlights plus sized women, but also reminds all of us that those with disabilities are capable of loving and living the same way we all do. The twists and turns in this book were amazing. When I thought I had it figured out, she threw in another twist. Loved it and I highly recommend it to any one.
Second in the Odelia Grey series. Enjoyable story of a overweight paralegal/accidental private investigator. Appreciated the romantic backstory more in the first story, not so much in this one. I find it easy to read and makes me happy. I like the justice overtones
The second book really brought home how much I like Odelia and seamus the cat. I like a good mystery, especially when told with humor, and not being able to guess the ending was the coup de gras. This one was great company for train rides to and from work.
A fun and light mystery with a heroine I liked. Odelia has a sense of humor and doesn't take herself too seriously. She was down to earth and human, making a few errors in judgement like all amateur sleuths. Enjoyable reading - I would read more in this series.
Odelia is great. I love that her circle of friends is made up of people who aren't like her. And I love how smart she is and how easy it is for her to accept herself (tho she needs to remember that she IS beautiful...she forgets now and again). Looking forward to reading more!
Odelia Grey is one of my favorite protagonists. She's feisty, knows what she wants and is REAL. She's also vulnerable. Sue Ann Jaffarian spins a great yarn in the second of the series (the first was excellent) - with lots of plot twists and surprises.
This book is one in a series that centers around a plucky, middle-aged heroine who has a day job as a paralegal. As the cutesy title indicates, the novel revolves around a cursed lunchbox.(I read a free Kindle edition.)
The mystery centers around a missing collectible lunchbox. Odelia Grey, a paralegal, investigates and solves the crime. I enjoyed the characters in the book and already have another in the series lined up to read.
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A fun book. My first Odelia Grey, but I will read others. I can identify with Odelia and admire her ability to figure things out logically. Enough romance to keep it girly, too.
Fluff. But a free Kindle read, so I moved through it. Unfortunately, action was lacking - the plucky heroine finds all her information out through conversations rather than action. Not my kind of fun summer mystery!
It took a minute to get into it, but ended up being a good mystery that kept me guessing until the end. Mostly clean. :) Will read more from this author.
This is a very readable mystery. At some points a little silly, but in a tongue-in-cheek way, not an insulting-your-intelligence way.
Odelia is a crack up and I loved the premise of the book based on lunch pails! Easy read that was a great stress escape!
Cute little mystery that I wouldn't mind having my mom read. Super easy, very short, fluffy, kinda funny, and clean book.
This is the first one in the series that I read, but it was pretty good. It was a little predictable, but I liked the funny parts.
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Sue Ann Jaffarian is the author of the popular Odelia Grey mystery series, the Ghost of Granny Apples mystery series and the Madison Rose vampire mysteries.
She has also launched a Holidays From Hell short story series for e-readers only.
Like the character Odelia Grey, Sue Ann Jaffarian is a middle-aged, plus-sized paralegal. She lives in Los Angeles and writes mysteries and general fiction, as we...more
More about Sue Ann Jaffarian...
She has also launched a Holidays From Hell short story series for e-readers only.
Like the character Odelia Grey, Sue Ann Jaffarian is a middle-aged, plus-sized paralegal. She lives in Los Angeles and writes mysteries and general fiction, as we...more
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