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Hemlock Falls Mysteries #10
Fried by Jury
When the judge for a deep fat frying contest disappears-along with a butcher's knife from Quill and Meg's kitchen-the Quilliam sisters know they have a new murder to solve.
- GenresMysteryCozy Mystery
232 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 6, 2003
About the author
Claudia Bishop
52 books119 followersClaudia Bishop is the nom de plume of mystery & fantasy author Mary Stanton.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 7, 2016
An hour after I finished it and I've forgotten where it is set. The plot is hazy (it was hazy even when I was reading it), I don't understand how Meg and Quill run an Inn. Meg is never cooking and Quill is never doing running the Inn type stuff. They do a lot of talking and looking for clues. It all has to do with fast food chicken franchises. There is supposedly a big event, fried chicken cook off, that is going to happen. It is barely mentioned. Basically, it is poorly written! The author has potentially good ideas, writes the occasional good scene; but she doesn't manage to pull it all together and take the reader with her. I was ho-humming my way through it. The who of the who-done-it is rather clever but by the time it was revealed I was so finished with the book I didn't even care.
June 20, 2009
This was a complete waste of time. I want my 3 hours back.
I started off thinking this would be a fun read, and hey, it gave me a total craving for fried chicken! Two sisters as detectives in a small town; sounds like it'd be a light romp, right? No, no, no. There are so many ridiculous, completely illogical things happening in this book that it made me want to throw it through the window, except I didn't think my neighbours would appreciate the noise at 3am.
Quill is supposed to be good at managing a business, but as far as I could see, she's completely hopeless, and lacks any common sense I would have expected a 30-something woman to have. What kind of complete dunce tries to cover up a crime because she felt sorry for the woman? The woman is supposedly distraught over the murder of her daughter, takes out a gun, and attempts to shoot people. A shot goes off, though no one is injured, and Quill figures she should just let this "blow over", because wow, poor woman! She must be sad! Oh, honestly, I can understand compassion, but that's sheer idiocy right there. And her policeman boyfriend is irritated, but nothing is done other than giving her a good talking to.
Not only that; the characters also sneak into the room of the dead woman and manages to pick up pieces of evidence like used kleenex and so on. 1. Access to crime scenes, as long as things are unsolved, is restricted by police. 2. How the heck did the police miss that kind of evidence? It won't BE left on the scene. It amazed me that all the characters ever got for their obstruction of justice was a light rap on the knuckle.
That doesn't even begin to cover the idiocy, but there's also the problem of the characters. I can't stand reading a story where the main character is completely stupid; it just makes reading it so difficult. She accuses the wrong people left and right, feels sorry for the wrong people, and pretty much gets in the way. She doesn't know anything, and she doesn't do anything right. It wasn't only her, either; the mayor was totally inefficient, and the staff couldn't seem to tell right from wrong. The only character I really liked in this was Meg; the novel would probably have been more tolerable had it been told from her point of view.
All in all, this was a complete waste of my time. When Quill wasn't being an idiot, and you get some light, heart-warming 'family' scenes between the main characters, then the novel is tolerable, but mostly, I wish I could forget I ever read this and get my 3 hours back.
I started off thinking this would be a fun read, and hey, it gave me a total craving for fried chicken! Two sisters as detectives in a small town; sounds like it'd be a light romp, right? No, no, no. There are so many ridiculous, completely illogical things happening in this book that it made me want to throw it through the window, except I didn't think my neighbours would appreciate the noise at 3am.
Quill is supposed to be good at managing a business, but as far as I could see, she's completely hopeless, and lacks any common sense I would have expected a 30-something woman to have. What kind of complete dunce tries to cover up a crime because she felt sorry for the woman? The woman is supposedly distraught over the murder of her daughter, takes out a gun, and attempts to shoot people. A shot goes off, though no one is injured, and Quill figures she should just let this "blow over", because wow, poor woman! She must be sad! Oh, honestly, I can understand compassion, but that's sheer idiocy right there. And her policeman boyfriend is irritated, but nothing is done other than giving her a good talking to.
Not only that; the characters also sneak into the room of the dead woman and manages to pick up pieces of evidence like used kleenex and so on. 1. Access to crime scenes, as long as things are unsolved, is restricted by police. 2. How the heck did the police miss that kind of evidence? It won't BE left on the scene. It amazed me that all the characters ever got for their obstruction of justice was a light rap on the knuckle.
That doesn't even begin to cover the idiocy, but there's also the problem of the characters. I can't stand reading a story where the main character is completely stupid; it just makes reading it so difficult. She accuses the wrong people left and right, feels sorry for the wrong people, and pretty much gets in the way. She doesn't know anything, and she doesn't do anything right. It wasn't only her, either; the mayor was totally inefficient, and the staff couldn't seem to tell right from wrong. The only character I really liked in this was Meg; the novel would probably have been more tolerable had it been told from her point of view.
All in all, this was a complete waste of my time. When Quill wasn't being an idiot, and you get some light, heart-warming 'family' scenes between the main characters, then the novel is tolerable, but mostly, I wish I could forget I ever read this and get my 3 hours back.
March 16, 2017
This was the worst in this series that I have read.
March 25, 2020
A nice cozy mystery involving two competing fried chicken businesses. Both businesses want to start a store in Hemlock Falls and the owners are staying at the Inn. This causes all kinds of problems for the sisters (Quill and Meg) that own and run the Inn. The two businessmen are fighting and disrupting everything. One is sponsoring a Fried Chicken Cook Off and the mayor has asked a famous chef to be the judge and now trying to find the money to pay him. Meg has also been asked to judge but turned it down. When the famous chef is murdered Meg accepts the job and she and her sister try to figure out who the murderer is. Others are killed and the police are having a hard time figuring it out.
Lots of small town politics involved that are entertaining. The mayor wants to be accepted as a big player and make money. The town pain-in-the-butt (Carol Ann) is on the zoning committee and wants to have a say in everything and just plain causes problems for people. Lots of relationships between different characters such as Quill is dating the sheriff and Meg is dating the town doctor. A fun story.
Lots of small town politics involved that are entertaining. The mayor wants to be accepted as a big player and make money. The town pain-in-the-butt (Carol Ann) is on the zoning committee and wants to have a say in everything and just plain causes problems for people. Lots of relationships between different characters such as Quill is dating the sheriff and Meg is dating the town doctor. A fun story.
March 30, 2018
This was my first book by this author. My husband lived in the area of upstate NY where the book is set so I was intrigued. A country inn with a quirky cast of characters has lots of potential, but this story was slow and I had a hard time staying with it. The abrupt ending is completely improbable and a big disappointment. When I finally made it to the last page, I said out loud “you’ve got to be kidding!?!” Perhaps her earlier books were stronger, but by #11 it felt like the author was just trying to fill pages.
August 21, 2024
Wasn't a very balanced story. When a mystery doesn't have a murder until a third of the way into the book, it does what Fried by Jury did and struggled with pacing. This is extremely obvious when 3 different plot twists are revealed in the last 10 pages, and then still ended on a cliffhanger.
Overall, pretty slow read. Did have a couple of lines I had a good chuckle at. I also hadn't realized this was part of a larger series so I won't hold the characters against the story too much.
Overall, pretty slow read. Did have a couple of lines I had a good chuckle at. I also hadn't realized this was part of a larger series so I won't hold the characters against the story too much.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 13, 2022
Good book. Never a dull moment. Interesting to see how "dangerous" fast food can be without even eating it. This series definitely makes me want to visit the inn. Would be a fun vacation itself. Can't wait to read more.
January 22, 2019
Another great addition to this great cozy mystery series
August 31, 2023
Great series!
November 9, 2024
This series is full of funny characters. Good fun mystery
January 21, 2026
A Hemlock Falls Mystery. Where the cause of the murders is a surprise and the murderer is a surprise.
November 15, 2012
Number 11 in the Hemlock Falls series. Quill & Meg get a US Civil War re-enactment group at the Inn; 3 ill people whose illnesses are under control die suddenly. And, Meg's fiance, is their doctor who takes the deaths hard. Quill's latest management technique suggested by a Cornell course is hated by all the employees; Carol Ann the self-righteous tax assessor manages to enter the hotel employees-only contest.
June 27, 2009
This author writes fun, cozy mysteries. This story was based around a "Fried Chicken Empire." I never did figure out who the killer was until it was revealed. 20% of the characters were believable. The rest of the characters were true stereo types. This was enjoyable "brain candy" for me. I will read this author again.
February 20, 2011
Fun reading. Also writes under the name Mary Stanton author of the Unicorns of Balinor series.
September 30, 2011
Too many words, not enough action.
Too much angst, not enough truth.
Ended up skimming the last 1/3 of the book, just couldn't be bothered to spend the time reading it.
Too much angst, not enough truth.
Ended up skimming the last 1/3 of the book, just couldn't be bothered to spend the time reading it.
December 25, 2013
pleasantly surprised. good read.
September 16, 2015
It took to the end of the story to understand all the side journeys and also why the psychiatrist is in the story so much.
September 24, 2015
The mystery kept me guessing right to the end. I liked the interaction between Quill and Meg, and between their significant others.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews