Death of a Damn Yankee

Laura Fleming #6

by Toni L.P. Kelner

When Northerners Marshall and Grace Saunders arrive in Byerly, North Carolina, to purchase the town's largest mill, they are met with major opposition in the form of a twisted arsonist, and Laura Fleming must unearth the townpeople's long buried secrets

Genres: Mystery

Hardcover

First published August 1, 1999

About the author

Toni L.P. Kelner is the author of the "Where are they now?" mysteries and the Laura Fleming mysteries. She was awarded the 2002 Mystery Series Award from Romantic Times Book Reviews Career Achievement Awards for Best Author for the Laura Fleming series and and her story "Sleeping with the Plush" won the Agatha for Best Short Story of 2006. Kelner has also been nominated for the Anthony, the Macavity, and the Derringer awards. You can find more out about her on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Toni-LP...), Twitter (@ToniLPKelner) or her official website (http://www.tonilpkelner.com/).

Reviews

[Evan Þ. · Rating 4 out of 5]

When some suspicious people are trying to buy the cloth mill in her hometown, Laura is called to investigate them. And then - as the town, and Laura's family, choose sides about the purchase, the suspicions turn into murder.

Kelner has mostly regained her touch here, with Laura's family coming back as central characters, still more interesting characters added, and a fast-moving plot. The mystery still depends on clues not shown till very late, and enough information is hidden at the climax for a couple final twists. But, the tension of the story profits from that.

[Stephen Levesque · Rating 5 out of 5]

Toni Kelner's Laura Fleming mysteries just "keep getting better". , Laura Fleming returns once again to her hometown of Byerly, North Carolina. To the folks of Byerly, carpetbaggers rank right up there in popularity with death and taxes. So when Northerners Marshall and Grace Saunders try to buy out the town's largest mill, it's no shock the proposed sale nearly causes a second Civil War. But Laura is surprised when the mill's president, Butt Walters, confidentially asks her to muckrake through the Saunders' backgrounds, even though Big Bill Walters, Burt's dad, the controlling owner of the mill, wants to sell. Matters grow even more complicated when the Byerly fire brigade pulls Marshall Saunders' body from a burning barn, and police name Laura's cousin Linwood as the number one suspect. Now, a twisted pyromaniac is on the loose and if Laura doesn't untangle the myriad deceptions surrounding a small city of suspects, the mill - and her life - may soon go up in smoke. This series keeps getting better and better the more I read. I have looked head to the next two books and see there are no more after them. I sure hope she continues to write the Laura Fleming Series. The Charaters in this series are very relatable. The story grabs you through the end of the story making you want to read the next book. Great series.

[Chance Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someone in a literature class I'm taking used the term "potato chip book" to describe a book that has little literary merit or take-away, but is a lot of fun and you want to keep reading it anyway. These are my current favorite potato chip books. Heroine Laura Fleming is a South-to-North-and-back-again kind of gal, and I really relate to that, especially now.

In this one, Laura is brought from Boston back to Byerly, South Carolina for a different reason: to investigate a potential take-over of the local sock mill. It's not as interesting or compelling as previous mysteries she's been engaged in, because it involves her keeping a lot of secrets from her family, who are the best reasons to read the books. This one did have a very funny scene with Laura's big-hair, Southern bimbo makeover that had me laughing out loud.

Anyway, this was a solid book, but if it was a bag of chips, I wouldn't be rooting around for the crumbs, unlike some of the other books in the series which would have me licking the bag. Still, I only have two left, and I'll be a little sad when I finish the series.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the sixth book in the Laura Fleming series; I didn't like this one nearly as well as the Tilda Harper books. Perhaps I should have started with the first one. Anyway, there were too many aunts and cousins and other family members for me to keep straight all the way through. Still, the main investigator has a husband with a propensity for quoting Shakespeare, and the whole North vs. South dynamic was well-drawn and entertaining. It's a fun and well-written mystery, but I didn't think it was nearly as good as the "Where Are They Now?" series.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Laura Fleming is back in Byerly, the town where she was raised. She has been hired by the son of the local mill owner to investigate the couple to whom his father wishes to sell the mill. Then, the prospective purchaser is found murdered. There were a lot of townspeople who didn't want the mill sold to a Yankee but who felt strongly enough to literally kill the deal?
The book has a fairly good plot but the writing style is a bit weak so the book comes out a bit trite.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book as I have enjoyed some of her short stories in other compilations. Unfortunately, this book was turgid. Mediocre. Characters were ok, but there was nothing to get excited about here. Will stick to the short stories.

[Suzanne McLeod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great mystery! Love these books :-)