Murder Of The Month

Jane Serrano Mystery #1

by Elizabeth C. Main

Murder of the Month combines one struggling independent bookstore, two mysterious deaths, a book club of amateur sleuths, and a one-eyed dog named Wendell. Stirred into a lethal mix, they prove to bookstore employee Jane Serrano that working in a bookstore can be murder.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Elizabeth Main is a writer who loves the Northwest and sets her novels in Oregon where she lives. A former English teacher, she now spends her time writing and trying to keep up with this rapidly changing world of publishing.

Reviews

[Susan]

Widowed Jane Serrano is generally happy with life in her small Oregon town and her job at the local bookstore. She's less happy about the mystery book club she's supposed to be running, especially since her flaky youngest daughter Bianca has joined it. When a tragic accident claims the life of a popular local woman, Bianca is sure that the bereaved husband--who happens to be the politically ambitious district attorney--is a murderer. Soon enough Bianca, Jane and the other members of their group find themselves in trouble with the law, as they try to find proof of a murder that only they believe in.

[Vintagebooklvr]

2 1/2 stars. I didn't really like the main character, Jane Serrano, in the beginning. She was very judgmental. Later, she improved and stood by her daughter and friends, but it took a while. By the end of the book, the reader understands better her attitude in the beginning, because her daughter and the members of the book club got into a lot of hi jinks--which, for the reader were funny--but would not be for Jane. So that diminished some of my enjoyment of the book.

The mystery was decent and there were funny hi jinks that made the book enjoyable. So a bit of a mixed bag.

[Kaye]

Jane Serrano is 42, widowed, raising a 19-year old daughter, Bianca, working part-time at Thornton's Books, and trying to keep up with everything with self-help books. The newly formed mystery book club is filled with hostilities. When there is a murder and Bianca gets involved, Jane has to use all of her wits to solve it. I liked this book and look forward to reading the next one. I particularly liked Wendell, the one-eyed dog (who is based on Tar who was the author's dog).

[Curt Bobbitt]

Compare to Claire Malloy series by Joan Hess

This fast-moving cosy resembles the series featuring Claire Malloy by Joan Hess, complete with mother-daughter plot conflicts and a bookstore setting.

[Harlequin Books]

Category: Mystery