Frogskin and Muttonfat: A Mystery

Thea Barlow #2

by Carol Caverly

Thea Barlow, a Chicago editor, is interviewing Kid Corcoran, the last of the old-time bandits. Kid, now 82 and just released after 40 years in prison, has returned home to peacefully live out his remaining years, or so he says. But nobody in town believes him, and they can neither forget nor forgive him for his crimes.

"A fast-moving adventure with a heroine to admire... the wester atmosphere just spices up the action " -- Murder ad lib

Genres: Cozy Mystery

Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Carol is the author of the Thea Barlow Wyoming Mystery series, All the Old Lions, Frogskin and Muttonfat, and Dead In Hog Heaven. Her books were also selections of the Detective Book Club.
Though raised in a suburb of Chicago, Il, Carol married into an old pioneer Wyoming ranch family outside of Gillette, Wyoming where she and her husband raised a large family.
Her books reflect her love of Wyoming and the Western way of life.

Reviews

[Kerry Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set a few years after the first book in the series we follow Thea on the trail of another story, and a catch up with Max, in a small town that became famous for a while for the jade deposits found around it.

This book can be read as a stand alone if you haven't already read the first in the series as most of the characters are new.

I have really enjoyed this book with the interesting characters and information regarding the different types of jade and their common names.

I recieved a copy of this book from ebook discovery in exchange for an honest and freely given review.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book on the series I have read. It is filled with interesting characters and an interesting plot. I am glad I found this series and highly recommend it to others.

[T Olsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very well written story, with a fantastic setting and characters. The plot is OK, and even though there are a lot of characters, the clear timeline makes the book easy to read.
I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily post this review. This is my honest review.

[Robin Tobin (On the back porch reading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am enjoying this Wyoming mystery series….

[John Presler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book free from E-Book Discovery in exchange for an honest review.

Thea Barlow is a writer/editor for Western True Adventures magazine in San Francisco. She has come to Rawhide, Wyoming to interview Kid Corcoran, the last of the western bandits. Of course she would not mind spending some quality time with her boyfriend, Max Holman, either.

Kid Corcoran made a name for himself in the 1930s as an inept, but somewhat successful, bank and train robber. According to legend, while he successfully robbed numerous trains and banks, he never made a big haul.

While exploring the gift shop in town, Thea learns about Wyoming jade - the different colors, the names, the different uses, and their surprising value.

Kid Corcoran doesn't want to cooperate for the magazine interview. He has come home to Wyoming after 40 years in a California prison and wants nothing more than to be taken to the old family homestead.

What is the attraction of the old homestead? Sentimentality? Curiosity? Perhaps a family cemetery? Can the Kid persuade Thea to take him there? Will Kid Corcoran ever cooperate and give Thea the interview she wants for her magazine? And will Max show up and sweep Thea off her feet for the promised vacation?

This is a fun, complex story with wonderful characters and great descriptions, with lots of twists and turns.

Primary characters are complex and well developed.

[Marjorie Mindel · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I received a copy of this book from eBook Discovery in exchange for my honest review."
Clairvoyance and tarot cards are causing Sheila Rides Horse to be on edge. Her self-readings have been the same for a couple of months: her death nears connected to a dark-haired man.
Thea Barlow is visiting Rawhide, Wyoming, ostensibly to interview the last living bank/train robber of the old west, but actually there to meet with her lover, Max .
Miss Caverly entertains us with long-missing raw Wyoming jade chunks, as well as precious carved jade pieces, all supposedly stolen and hidden by Kid Corcoran, the old, sick ex-convict, recently returned to his hometown.
We gives us an old-time whorehouse, now a B & B, where a young reporter murdered after meeting with Kid the day before. Next, Thea is hit over the head, left for dead, but escapes. Then range fires start, and they learn that they were set as a diversion to dig up the hidden stolen jade pieces in order to send them off to Denver to sell.
The last self-reading that Sheila does with her Tarot cards shows that karma has postponed her death. She had helped fight the fires, and king of spades had been captured and arrested.
All's well that ends well is the trite-but-true ending to this story.

[Yvonne Montgomery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frog Skin and Mutton Fat by Carol Caverly brings a welcome return of Thea Barlow, who's in Rawhide, Wyoming to interview Kid Corcoran, Last of the Western Bandits. Love interest Max Holman is working near Rawhide, and he's promised Thea a rip-roaring Fourth of July weekend. But as Thea uncovers old feuds and new bodies, romance and fireworks are pushed aside for murder investigations and wild fires. Caverly adds Tarot cards and collectible jade into her brisk plot, along with the humor and Western pluck that make her writing shine. This book is a terrific second entry for the first-rate mystery series.