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Morgue Mama Mysteries #2
Dig: A Morgue Mama Mystery
Maddy Sprowls gets to The Hannawa Herald-Union right at nine. She makes her first mug of Darjeeling tea and settles down at her desk to read the obituaries. The obits are the best part of her day, she admits. But not today. First she reads that her old college friend Gordon Sweet is dead. Then she learns he was murderedat the abandoned landfill where the eccentric archaeology professor was conducting his latest dig.
And just like that, the cranky 68-year-old newspaper librarian finds herself investigating another murder. No, two murders! Gordon's death just might be linked to the grisly bludgeoning of state wrestling champ David Delarosa fifty years earlier.
And so begins a harrowing, and hilarious, trek back to Maddy's old beatnik days, when she was a member of the Meriwether Square Baked Bean Existentialist Society. There's a coffee house full of quirky suspects to consider: Poet Chick Glass, saxophonist Shaka Bop, free-thinking Effie Fredmansky, snooty Gwen Moffitt-Stumpf, and toxic waste dumper Kenneth Kingzette, just to name a few. And, oh yes, the legendary beat writer Jack Kerouac figures into this satisfying caper, too.
There's a reason why reporters call Maddy "Morgue Mama" behind her back. And why cops and criminals alike get the jitters when she pulls up in her old Dodge Shadow. She is tough, tenacious, and as readers of C.R. Corwin's Morgue Mama: The Cross Kisses Back discovered, tricky as the dickens.
And just like that, the cranky 68-year-old newspaper librarian finds herself investigating another murder. No, two murders! Gordon's death just might be linked to the grisly bludgeoning of state wrestling champ David Delarosa fifty years earlier.
And so begins a harrowing, and hilarious, trek back to Maddy's old beatnik days, when she was a member of the Meriwether Square Baked Bean Existentialist Society. There's a coffee house full of quirky suspects to consider: Poet Chick Glass, saxophonist Shaka Bop, free-thinking Effie Fredmansky, snooty Gwen Moffitt-Stumpf, and toxic waste dumper Kenneth Kingzette, just to name a few. And, oh yes, the legendary beat writer Jack Kerouac figures into this satisfying caper, too.
There's a reason why reporters call Maddy "Morgue Mama" behind her back. And why cops and criminals alike get the jitters when she pulls up in her old Dodge Shadow. She is tough, tenacious, and as readers of C.R. Corwin's Morgue Mama: The Cross Kisses Back discovered, tricky as the dickens.
250 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2005
7 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 3, 2017
This was a fab one to read. Much mellower than the first in the series. I loved that one too.
Maddy Sprowls cracks me up. She's in her 60s, does not take any crappe, especially at the newspaper where she runs the 'morgue' or the place where past copies or articles are maintained. She'
She runs into a murder that affects her past and present and she knows the cops are going to do little to investigate what she thinks needs investigating.
I like watching her mind work. She's smart and can see things in a way that no one else does. And since she's older, she can meander where others might be suspect.
I had a hard time locating the rest of the series after I read MORGUE MAMA several years ago. Thankfully they are available for the e-readers. All are at a really reasonable price, at least for my Nook.
Definitely recommend.
Maddy Sprowls cracks me up. She's in her 60s, does not take any crappe, especially at the newspaper where she runs the 'morgue' or the place where past copies or articles are maintained. She'
She runs into a murder that affects her past and present and she knows the cops are going to do little to investigate what she thinks needs investigating.
I like watching her mind work. She's smart and can see things in a way that no one else does. And since she's older, she can meander where others might be suspect.
I had a hard time locating the rest of the series after I read MORGUE MAMA several years ago. Thankfully they are available for the e-readers. All are at a really reasonable price, at least for my Nook.
Definitely recommend.
April 19, 2020
Dig by C.R. Corbin is the second book of the Morgue Mama mystery series set in the contemporary (fictional) small town of Hannawa, Ohio. Maddy Sprowls "Morgue Mama" has been head librarian for the local newspaper for decades. Each morning she starts her day precisely at 9 with a cup of tea, reading the obituaries. When she reads the obituary for a dear friend, university professor Gordon Sweet, she's shocked and saddened. When she finds out "Sweet Gordon" was murdered at the archaeological dig he directed, she's determined to make sure his killer is caught and punished.
She persistently investigates the details of Gordon's life. She contacts fellow members of Meriwether Square Baked Bean Existentialist Society, her beatnik club back in college days. She believes Gordon's death is linked to another death from 50 years ago. The police don't believe her, so she sets about investigating that death as well, to prove the link. Of course, she is right.
She's a tough, smart and sassy protagonist. As a senior citizen, she's frequently ignored and/or underestimated; factors she uses to her own benefit. She diligently pursues all clues, encountering many red herrings until she at last uncovers the truth.
I look forward to the third (and final) book of the series, The Unraveling of Violeta Bell.
She persistently investigates the details of Gordon's life. She contacts fellow members of Meriwether Square Baked Bean Existentialist Society, her beatnik club back in college days. She believes Gordon's death is linked to another death from 50 years ago. The police don't believe her, so she sets about investigating that death as well, to prove the link. Of course, she is right.
She's a tough, smart and sassy protagonist. As a senior citizen, she's frequently ignored and/or underestimated; factors she uses to her own benefit. She diligently pursues all clues, encountering many red herrings until she at last uncovers the truth.
I look forward to the third (and final) book of the series, The Unraveling of Violeta Bell.
March 4, 2025
Maddy gets her gradification.
This is another good story with twists and turns.to keep you guessing. More concerning an earlier time frame in the history of this interesting detective era.
This is another good story with twists and turns.to keep you guessing. More concerning an earlier time frame in the history of this interesting detective era.
August 10, 2018
Lots of "beatnik" allusions in this mystery wherein the college professor friend of a newspaper librarian is killed at the town dump where he is directing an archeology dig.
November 14, 2024
interesting
I love the idea of an older newspaper librarian being a sleuth and solving murders. That’s what makes these books so fun.
I love the idea of an older newspaper librarian being a sleuth and solving murders. That’s what makes these books so fun.
February 8, 2016
Maddy Sprowls has worked for the Hannawa Herald-Union newspaper for more than 40 years in the morgue where she reigns over decades of old clippings. Her job has earned her the nickname of the "Morgue Mama". Maddy is stunned when she learns that a dear friend from her college days, an archaeology professor named Gordon, has been found shot to death at the site of his latest dig - the local city dump. Her innate curiosity drives her to her own investigation into the murder which may be linked to another murder nearly 45 years earlier. Maddy fears that it is entirely possible one of her college circle of friends might be the culprit and as Maddy gets closer and closer to the truth, she fears for her own life.
This seems to be a fun little cozy mystery series but unfortunately this is the only one of the series my library has. If I ever come across any of the others I would certainly give them a try. Some of it was a bit convoluted but Maddy is a fun detective and she is surrounded by a lot of quirky characters.
This seems to be a fun little cozy mystery series but unfortunately this is the only one of the series my library has. If I ever come across any of the others I would certainly give them a try. Some of it was a bit convoluted but Maddy is a fun detective and she is surrounded by a lot of quirky characters.
May 19, 2008
I was drawn to this book because it was about a former member of a Beat Generation group that was trying to link two murders that occured fifty years apart.
First of all, although the author knew a lot of Beat Generation history, it was presented with an irreverence, in my opinion, as a passing fad, like the hula hoop, rounding off the edges of an important literary movement, missing the spirit of the whole post World War II scene.
Then, I could not relate to the female senior citizen would-be-detective. And the scenes with the dog she was pet sitting were obnoxiously saccharine to me.
Even with these two strikes against the book, I had to finish it to see how the mystery would turn out.
The result was alright and the guilty party was not whom I expected.
This was not the book I thought it would be. Maybe I should stick with Raymond Chandler or Mickey Spillane.
First of all, although the author knew a lot of Beat Generation history, it was presented with an irreverence, in my opinion, as a passing fad, like the hula hoop, rounding off the edges of an important literary movement, missing the spirit of the whole post World War II scene.
Then, I could not relate to the female senior citizen would-be-detective. And the scenes with the dog she was pet sitting were obnoxiously saccharine to me.
Even with these two strikes against the book, I had to finish it to see how the mystery would turn out.
The result was alright and the guilty party was not whom I expected.
This was not the book I thought it would be. Maybe I should stick with Raymond Chandler or Mickey Spillane.
February 13, 2013
Newspaper librarian, referred to as Morgue Mama (because she works in the paper's "morgue") is 60ish and investigating the murder of an old friend, shot dead at a landfill at which he was involved in an archaeological dig. Morgue Mama gets in the way of the police, with friends remembers the "beat" generation and Kerouac's one day visit to the town, and generally solves the mystery. I would refer to the book as a day tripper. Fast moving, lightweight, and fun to read
June 20, 2020
Dolly reunites with her college "beat" friends when one is found killed near his archeological site, the local dump. Was someone afraid of what he might find there, relating to a death at college?
Lots of historical information nice look back at her in earlier years and about her husband.
Lots of historical information nice look back at her in earlier years and about her husband.
June 9, 2015
Decently done who-done-it about a 60ish newspaper librarian (whose job in the "morgue" of dead clippings is the source of her nickname) who pokes around in her old friend's murder and helps the police uncover the real killer.
February 13, 2008
this is the second book with the morgue mama character, but the first one i read. i like her a lot and this book emphasized her college years/old gang more than the newsroom connection.
Read
June 12, 2011Very fun, even though it's about murder. A 68 year old protagonist
who was a beatnik and has a great sense of justice!
who was a beatnik and has a great sense of justice!
January 20, 2012
Morgue Mama (old woman who works at newspaper) gets mixed up in murder that involves her old friends from the 50's
February 5, 2013
These Morgue Mama books about Dolly Madison Sprowls are entertaining, light, fast reads. Just enjoy the romp.
Read
June 8, 2017Miniseries: A Morgue Mama Mystery
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews