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405th out of 2,125 books
—
5,025 voters
A Bad Day for Scandal (Bad Day #3)
by
Sophie Littlefield (Goodreads Author)
When Prosper homegirl turned big-city businesswoman Priss Porter returns to town with a body in her trunk, she calls Stella Hardesty to dispose of it. Her uppity ways don’t convince Stella to take the job, and Priss attempts to blackmail her with a snapshot of Stella doing what she does best: curing woman-beaters by the use of force.
Stellarefusesto cooperate and goes home...more
Stellarefusesto cooperate and goes home...more
Hardcover, 290 pages
Published
June 21st 2011
by Minotaur Books
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May 10, 2012
Regina
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
favorite-authors,
favorite-series,
mystery,
favorites,
narration-is-great,
thriller,
funny-stuff
4.5 stars. When I think of Stella Hardesty one word comes to mind: BADASS. Now, lest you think I am taking advantage of marketing my blog in the text of this review – let me prove to you why Stella is so gosh darned BADASS.
1. At the age of 50 she redefined her body from chubby to svelte, powerful and able to endure a lot of physical activity....more
2. At the age of 49 she killed (in defense and out of anger) her long standing physically abusive husband. (Note: I am not endorsing murder, this is simply
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There Stella is about to get her groove on with Sheriff "Goat" Jones when she gets a call from a person in her past needing her special kind of help. When she finally gets there, Priss Porter, a hometown snooty girl makes good, wants her to get rid of a dead body. When Stella turns her down, Priss shows Stella her blackmail hand. Darn, she is holding a pair of pictures...pictures showing Stella applying her special brand of justice to one of her "parolees". She tells Stella to think about it and...more
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Sophie LIttlefield is one of my favorite guilty pleasures. Her protagonist, Stella Hardesty, is so deliciously beyond the limits of what's allowed in good girl behavior -- but in the BEST ways. And I love seeing abusive schmucks get what they deserve.
Having said that, I dragged my heels buying this book. I just didn't believe Littlefield could jump the formula. She'd written two books about Stella beating up pricks to teach them a lesson and then nearly dying in the process. And they were good!...more
Having said that, I dragged my heels buying this book. I just didn't believe Littlefield could jump the formula. She'd written two books about Stella beating up pricks to teach them a lesson and then nearly dying in the process. And they were good!...more
Stella Hardesty is a great heroine - funny, kick-ass, feminine. She was a battered wife and is now a defender and advocate for other women and men like her past self. Her daughter Noelle, sewing shop employee and defender partner, Chrissy, and law man Goat are the main characters. Each book in this series brings a mystery to solve. Stella usually makes me laugh, and this time she still does. However, it was not as compelling a story as the first two. Also, even set in the rural Midwest, I find t...more
I am a huge fan of this series! I love that Stella Hardesty is a very realistic middle-aged woman with imperfections galore yet at the same time has overcome incredible obstacles to become an amazing take charge woman. As a very discrete vigilante who sets about pointing abusive men in the right direction, she is a heroine to all women! In her latest adventure Stella is dealing with a former Prosper resident, Priss Porter who calls upon Stella for help then disappears thus the adventure begins!...more
Jun 14, 2012
Lance Charnes
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fans of the series
Shelves:
fiction-mystery-intrigue
Poor Stella Hardesty. She burst out on the mystery world in 2009’s A Bad Day for Sorry and won a passel of awards from a bunch of city clickers who were taken (as was I) by her fresh voice and setting. (I gave it four stars mostly because of the nearly out-of-control ending.) Then came A Bad Day for Sorry (2010): her story was a little messier, herself a bit less unusual for a heroine (those workouts and newly-found gun smarts, I reckon), the plot more convoluted than quirky. But Stella was stil...more
Small town vigilante, Stella Hardesty, returns for a third installment in Sophie Littlefield's unique series of a women fighting back against domestic abuse and other manner of wrong doings. Brandishing a 'take-no-prisioners' attitude, a curvaceous sidekick, and a weapons arsenal sure to blush than bloody, Stella, is one hell of a women - get on her wrong side and you'll the wrath of the finer sex like never before.
Stella's latest case sees her momentarily assume the role of victim (but you kno...more
Stella's latest case sees her momentarily assume the role of victim (but you kno...more
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With each page I turned this story served up shock and laughs. Stella the lead characher in this story has an a side business, "she cures women-beaters by the use of force". You'll love trying to figure out the who, what and why dead body in this little not Mayberry town. Adding to the drama of the story is Sheriff "Goat" Jones, Stella's kind of boyfriend who doesn't know about her side business. Daughter Noelle who may or may not be gay, but does know about the side business along with every ot...more
As much as I enjoyed the first book in this series--and liked the second one--it was just too much 'more of the same' in this one and had lost the appeal...especially as the sexual tension/romance factor ramped up between the main character and the sheriff. Can we not ever have a mystery that doesn't devolve into pseudo-romance? Also? Just a li'l too much of that good ole girl thang going on...I read about a quarter of it and decided to just fondly remember the first one and not read on.
Another entertaining outing with the mature, humerous Stella Hardesty. This one involves a slight misunderstanding on the part of one of Stella's clients, who thinks Stella's secret business of "attitude adjustment" for abusive men covers getting rid of inconvenient corpses. Even though Stella refuses the case, she ends up getting involved once the woman goes missing. Which of course further complicates the romance between Stella and Sheriff Goat Jones. Fun book!
Stella is quietly running her (mostly illegal) business scaring off wife abusers, when an old acquaintance tries to blackmail her into disposing of a dead body. Determined to keep out of trouble, Stella refuses, only to find herself in trouble anyway when the acquaintance, her no-count brother, and the corpse all disappear. Sheriff Goat Jones, the subject of Stella's hottest dreams, knows she's up to no good, but he can't resist a feisty woman.
The main thing I like about Littlefield's characters, especially the protagonist, is that they are realistic, as opposed to always being described as young and beautiful. The dialogue is life-like as well. These are conversations one would actually have. I only noticed one continuity error within the story, as well as a few regarding the weather patterns in the South. Overall, Littlefield seems to have a pretty adequate grasp of southern people.
Sophie Littlefield has writes about men who mistreat, or beat their wives, a very current problem than needs to be exposed, she has a hot affair with the Sheriff, and is not afraid to express herself how she feels about him.
The book is filled with characters most of which one can relate to, except for those wife beaters.
It is a fun book, dealing with animals, working on a lama farm, chasing animals, etc etc, a romp of a good read!
The book is filled with characters most of which one can relate to, except for those wife beaters.
It is a fun book, dealing with animals, working on a lama farm, chasing animals, etc etc, a romp of a good read!
As good as the first two books in the series. The main character, Stella Hardesty, is entertaining as she searches for justice. Her philosophy on life and men are truly hilarious. And the author gives equal billing to the colorful supporting charcters, never making them too good, bad, or pathetic to be believable. This was a great read.
I enjoyed the first two in this series and this was right up there. I like the fact that the heroine is middle aged - healthy and active and I am enjoying her growing family - a family of mostly non-blood related individuals but family none-the-less.
So far, Sophie Littlefield has written 3 of these books, and I've read all three within the last six months. A middle-aged woman who beats the hell out of abusers and assholes in her town--this is a heroine who really taps into my shadow side.
Sophie Littlefield can Do No Wrong. Her menopausal, smart-ass, anger-management-challenged heroine Stella Hardesty can and does do lots of Illegal, but it's all to the greater good.
Product placement in a novel? Really?
Try describing the red of the lipstick instead of just naming the Avon shade. Does the author get paid by Avon or is she just lazy?
Try describing the red of the lipstick instead of just naming the Avon shade. Does the author get paid by Avon or is she just lazy?
Really liked the first of this series, not so much the second one, and this one feels back on track. The main character, Stella Hardesty, is original and refreshing.
This is the 3rd book in the series, but the 2nd book I have read...starting to get a little predictable; not sure if would read another by this author.
For light entertainment, hard to beat Sophie Littlefield. A great cast of characters, some humor, some romance. Fun.
Another fun read! This was a fast read which keeps you laughing and engaged...a great deal like the Joan Hess novels set in the Ozarks
She knows how to unravel a story and build up characters. And Stella's one helluva character.
Hilarity abounds in Stella Hardesty's third outing. This series, with its unique blend of cozy and thriller elements continues to delight. This one is more on the cozy size, which is great because I can give it to my blood-averse friends. Stella's daughter, Noelle, plays a bigger role in this book and assistant Chrissie continues to make me snort with her no-nonsense deadpan humor.
Loved the ending. The story overall was so so but I really like this series. Can't wait for the next one.
A fun quick read. Looking forward to mire of Stella's missions.
3.5 for the voice of the characters. laugh-out-loud.
What fun! I just love Stella. Keep'em coming!
love this series. One more to go!
Stella is offered a job by a former local girl Priss. But it turns out that this job is nothing more than disposal of a corpse. Stella refuses and Priss counters with blackmail. Now Priss is missing and Stella's scarf was left at the scene. She's just have to get to the bottom of this herself before the sheriff does.
Why I started this book: I enjoyed the other books in the series and wanted to see where Stella would go to next.
Why I finished it: Quick read, Littlefield knows how to weave a beli...more
Why I started this book: I enjoyed the other books in the series and wanted to see where Stella would go to next.
Why I finished it: Quick read, Littlefield knows how to weave a beli...more
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Sophie's first novel, A BAD DAY FOR SORRY (Thomas Dunne/St. Martin's Minotaur, 2009) has been nominated for the Edgar, Macavity, Barry, and Crimespree awards, and won the Anthony Award and the RTBookReviews Reviewers Choice Award for Best First Mystery. Her novel AFTERTIME was a finalist for the Goodreads Choice Horror award.
Sophie is also the author of:
A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY (Minotaur, 2010)
A BAD D...more
More about Sophie Littlefield...
Sophie is also the author of:
A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY (Minotaur, 2010)
A BAD D...more
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“Oh, your mom is going to kill me. What was I think getting you practically murdered and on a school night too.”
—
2 people liked it
“He settled his big hands on her hips. He let them slide slowly down to cup her ass which she had jammed into a Spanx hide and seek high rise panty. Before slipping on the slinky purple faux wrap dress that her daughter had given her after surviving being held at gunpoint together gift the prior fall. Stella was fairly sure she would enjoy the sensation of Goat’s strong fingers kneading her flesh if it hadn’t gotten numb in its fierce polyester lycra prison hours ago.”
—
1 person liked it
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