Mama Rocks the Empty Cradle

Mama Detective #6

by Nora DeLoach

Mama's back on the case, sniffing out dark, tragic secrets...and a killer.

Not much happens in Otis, South Carolina (pop. 5,000) that Mama, a caseworker for the Department of Social Services, doesn't know about.  Mama's given name is Grace Covington, but everyone calls her Candi--for the honeyed color of her complexion, not her cooking (which is second to none from Otis all the way to Atlanta, where I work as a paralegal).  I usually go home when I need some truly soul-satisfying eating.  But this time I was heading back to Otis to help Mama after her bunion operation.  I had no idea we'd end up knee-deep in somebody else's trouble....

It all seemed to start when Mama and I were shopping for groceries and crazy old Miss Birdie stole Cricket Childs' tiny baby, causing a scene between the two women everyone in town heard about.  It wasn't twenty-four hours later that Cricket, known as a lady who liked wild times and wilder men, turned up murdered in a fellow's bed.  Even worse, Cricket's baby had vanished.

To add to the chilling events, my Daddy's wandering dog Midnight dug up something an infant's skull.  And not long after Mama rushed it over to Sheriff Abe's office, Midnight brought home another.  Naturally, he couldn't tell us where he got them...and the mystery deepened.

So no way Mama wasn't going to start snooping.  And with the doctor ordering her off her feet, I ended up doing some legwork.  But it's a good thing I still had two good feet, because before long, I was running for my life...as babies' cries and women's tears  mingled in a crime fueled by motives as ancient as human memory--greed, jealousy, and old-fashioned revenge.

In Mama Rocks the Empty Cradle, Nora DeLoach captures the warmth of family life in the deep South...and the icy tingling of superb suspense.  And in Mama she has created a woman sleuth as filled with compassion as courage, wise in the ways of the human heart--and the criminal mind.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Southern

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Nora Deloach was a mystery writer. Spent much of her career as social worker; worked professionally in Hampton, SC; moved back to Orlando and then to Atlanta, GA; wrote first novel, Silas, 1991 (published 1993); wrote Mama Solves a Murder, first book in Mama series, 1994; four books in series published by Holloway House, 1994-97; signed to Bantam Books, 1997; first Bantam Mama mystery, Mama Stalks the Past, published 1998; four Mama books published by Bantam, 1998-2001.

Awards: Gold Pen Award nominee, Black Writers Alliance, 2001; twice nominated as Georgia Author of the Year.

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Mama series has an interesting premise. Candi Covington is a social worker in a small town where the sheriff is a trusted friend. The stories are told from the point of view of her adult daughter, hence the "Mama" part. A lot of the characters are mentally ill or minor criminals so people she knows from her work life. When a woman is killed and her baby disappears, Mama's knowledge of several extended families aids in solving both the murder and the kidnapping.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Reading it was a fun ride. It was a simple cozy enjoyable mystery. For me, the characters and setting were relatable and familiar. I felt comfortable and entertained. While the mystery itself was just ok, the story as a whole and writing were very entertaining.

[Doris Raines · Rating 4 out of 5]

I. LIKE THIS BOOK.

[Kim G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent !!!

[Amber Willard · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Courtney Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very eventful and more detailed than necessary.. I like the suspense but I wish the ending was better. 3.5 stars.

[Anne Plimmer]

good reading