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Bouncing Grandma #2
The Case of the Mystified M.D.
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356 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 15, 2026
3.75 stars light read
June 9, 2013
Glory Harper, who is 52 years old and was first introduced in The Case of the Bouncing Grandma where she saw a foot hanging out of a rolled up carpet which resulted in her helping to solve a murder mystery, lives in Tarryton, MO, where she works at the local college. Her older sister, Jane Calvin, is a school teacher and lives with Glory since her own house mysteriously burned down. Both women are widows. Glory’s daughter Andi and grandson Seth live nearby. Andi’s husband Jared is deployed oversees. While Glory and Jane are on a walking trail, their dog Misty finds a severed hand, and the signet ring indicates that it belongs to a missing college professor, Zeke Wallace, who caused a lot of trouble around town before he disappeared.
Thus, Glory has another mystery to solve. But she must also deal with the fact that sister Jane is overwhelmed by trouble with her pediatrician fiancé Steven (“Dr. Dreamboat”) and his newly discovered daughter Becca. In addition, Glory herself is fired from her job, and must consider her budding relationship Detective Rick Spencer (“Blue Eyes”) who is in charge of the investigation and objects to Glory’s pursuit of information. And there is the involvement of Renee Brent, a lawyer with the radical Coalition for Civil Rights, an ACLU-type organization with which Wallace has been working. Then, when it is learned that Wallace was blackmailing people and even was related to someone in town, all of a sudden there is a plethora of suspects. And the mystified coroner can’t even determine a cause of death. So who killed Wallace and why?
Author A. K. Arenz is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, so I was a bit surprised at all the references to having affairs, people “sleeping with” other people, out-of-wedlock births, even rape. To be fair, all such things are presented more or less tastefully as sin needing repentance, and at least in one case there is an emphasis on seeking and granting forgiveness for past mistakes. Relying on faith in God to help in difficult situations is also stressed on several occasions, and church is a regular part of these people’s lives. Also good family relationships are portrayed. Besides a few common euphemisms (e.g., heck), there are a couple of incidents where some of the “bad guys” use the word hell as an exclamation or curse. Thus, the book is not for young children. But teens and adults who like semi-humorous, somewhat light-hearted murder mysteries, ala Jessica Fletcher of Murder She Wrote, that are generally clean and wholesome should enjoy it. I did notice that Becca had been homeschooled and her new grandmother was planning to continue doing so.
Thus, Glory has another mystery to solve. But she must also deal with the fact that sister Jane is overwhelmed by trouble with her pediatrician fiancé Steven (“Dr. Dreamboat”) and his newly discovered daughter Becca. In addition, Glory herself is fired from her job, and must consider her budding relationship Detective Rick Spencer (“Blue Eyes”) who is in charge of the investigation and objects to Glory’s pursuit of information. And there is the involvement of Renee Brent, a lawyer with the radical Coalition for Civil Rights, an ACLU-type organization with which Wallace has been working. Then, when it is learned that Wallace was blackmailing people and even was related to someone in town, all of a sudden there is a plethora of suspects. And the mystified coroner can’t even determine a cause of death. So who killed Wallace and why?
Author A. K. Arenz is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, so I was a bit surprised at all the references to having affairs, people “sleeping with” other people, out-of-wedlock births, even rape. To be fair, all such things are presented more or less tastefully as sin needing repentance, and at least in one case there is an emphasis on seeking and granting forgiveness for past mistakes. Relying on faith in God to help in difficult situations is also stressed on several occasions, and church is a regular part of these people’s lives. Also good family relationships are portrayed. Besides a few common euphemisms (e.g., heck), there are a couple of incidents where some of the “bad guys” use the word hell as an exclamation or curse. Thus, the book is not for young children. But teens and adults who like semi-humorous, somewhat light-hearted murder mysteries, ala Jessica Fletcher of Murder She Wrote, that are generally clean and wholesome should enjoy it. I did notice that Becca had been homeschooled and her new grandmother was planning to continue doing so.
September 8, 2016
4.15 stars - heavy pg13(see below)
Glory Harper is a hoot!! She’s our fifty-something year old sleuth, first introduced in book one, The Case of the Bouncing Grandma. (It’s not necessary to read the books in order, but I think it helps.) This book is cute, quirky, funny and it kept my interest when every other book I picked up was seeming just “meh”. Glory’s police detective boyfriend is a great character and I love when she refers to him as “Blue Eyes”. I do not like when she, ad nauseam, refers to him as a “Harrison Ford look-a-like”; to me, Harrison Ford has become an icky, screwed-up, old geezer and is no longer all that appealing.
I liked this book, but not as much as book one. There were parts that were very funny, but I didn’t like the premise as much and it seemed sometimes to be a bit contrived. The Christian faith part of the book is sometimes good and sometimes a bit iffy and sometimes left me with a perplexed look on my face. (Maybe should be termed inspirational instead of Christian?) And why, in these books set in small towns, does it seem everybody attends the same exact church? Surely there are other churches in town? Also,
As a reader, I like to try and figure out the “who” and “why” and “how” of cozy mysteries. Even if I guess wrong, it’s fun to guess. Here, I ended up with a few too many unanswered questions and things that didn’t quite make sense to my little pea-brain. …… Even so, I still enjoyed the book and was engaged and didn’t put it down. The strength is in the fun, quirky characters, the small town and the good writing style.
I would say that this book was not as squeaky-clean wholesome as book one. Maybe a heavy pg13? Probably not appropriate for young teen readers (although nowadays the teens would probably rate this as “G”!). One of the main characters was icky. There was reference to affairs, “sleeping with”, gambling, and out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Thankfully, these were not shown as positive things, and forgiveness and faith were emphasized more than the “ewww” stuff.
Glory Harper is a hoot!! She’s our fifty-something year old sleuth, first introduced in book one, The Case of the Bouncing Grandma. (It’s not necessary to read the books in order, but I think it helps.) This book is cute, quirky, funny and it kept my interest when every other book I picked up was seeming just “meh”. Glory’s police detective boyfriend is a great character and I love when she refers to him as “Blue Eyes”. I do not like when she, ad nauseam, refers to him as a “Harrison Ford look-a-like”; to me, Harrison Ford has become an icky, screwed-up, old geezer and is no longer all that appealing.
I liked this book, but not as much as book one. There were parts that were very funny, but I didn’t like the premise as much and it seemed sometimes to be a bit contrived. The Christian faith part of the book is sometimes good and sometimes a bit iffy and sometimes left me with a perplexed look on my face. (Maybe should be termed inspirational instead of Christian?) And why, in these books set in small towns, does it seem everybody attends the same exact church? Surely there are other churches in town? Also,
As a reader, I like to try and figure out the “who” and “why” and “how” of cozy mysteries. Even if I guess wrong, it’s fun to guess. Here, I ended up with a few too many unanswered questions and things that didn’t quite make sense to my little pea-brain. …… Even so, I still enjoyed the book and was engaged and didn’t put it down. The strength is in the fun, quirky characters, the small town and the good writing style.
I would say that this book was not as squeaky-clean wholesome as book one. Maybe a heavy pg13? Probably not appropriate for young teen readers (although nowadays the teens would probably rate this as “G”!). One of the main characters was icky. There was reference to affairs, “sleeping with”, gambling, and out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Thankfully, these were not shown as positive things, and forgiveness and faith were emphasized more than the “ewww” stuff.
July 17, 2010
Title: THE CASE OF THE MYSTRIFIED M.D.
Author: A. K. Arenz
Publisher: Sheaf House
2009
ISBN: 978-0-979-74856-1
Genre: Inspirational/mystery
Glory Harper and her sister, Jane, are walking on the trail with their puppy when they notice an awful smell, and the puppy finds a severed hand. Glory recognizes the ring on the hand as belonging to a missing professor, and notifies the police. The professor, a blatant opponent to anything religious is on a lot of people’s radar, and the murderer could be almost anyone in town. Glory’s sister, Jane, even seems to be a person of interest since her home fire was arson and she admits to arguing with the professor before hand.
When Glory’s boss orders her to go to the professor’s house to retrieve the semester grades (which he hadn’t turned in), Glory balks, but when her job is threatened, she gives in. There she finds another woman hiding in the closet, and soon after several other people arrive. The Detective in charge of the case (and Glory’s romantic interest) is soon hot on their heels.
Will Glory be able to stay uninvolved in this case, since the Detective orders her to? Or will her relationship with the Detective survive another murder case?
THE CASE OF THE MYSTRIFIED M.D. is the second book in Ms. Arenz’s Bouncing Grandma Mysteries. I enjoy this plucky grandma and getting to know her, as well as the scraps that she gets into.
Glory is realistic (and a lot like me in some ways) so I could totally relate to her. Her more “grownup” sister, Jane, is a nice side-kick, and the town is full of colorful individuals who add their own unique touch to the story. If you are looking for a cute, funny mystery, then THE CASE OF THE MYSTRIFIED M.D. would be the perfect book to consider. The third book in the series is coming out in the fall of 2010. $12.99. 368 pages.
Author: A. K. Arenz
Publisher: Sheaf House
2009
ISBN: 978-0-979-74856-1
Genre: Inspirational/mystery
Glory Harper and her sister, Jane, are walking on the trail with their puppy when they notice an awful smell, and the puppy finds a severed hand. Glory recognizes the ring on the hand as belonging to a missing professor, and notifies the police. The professor, a blatant opponent to anything religious is on a lot of people’s radar, and the murderer could be almost anyone in town. Glory’s sister, Jane, even seems to be a person of interest since her home fire was arson and she admits to arguing with the professor before hand.
When Glory’s boss orders her to go to the professor’s house to retrieve the semester grades (which he hadn’t turned in), Glory balks, but when her job is threatened, she gives in. There she finds another woman hiding in the closet, and soon after several other people arrive. The Detective in charge of the case (and Glory’s romantic interest) is soon hot on their heels.
Will Glory be able to stay uninvolved in this case, since the Detective orders her to? Or will her relationship with the Detective survive another murder case?
THE CASE OF THE MYSTRIFIED M.D. is the second book in Ms. Arenz’s Bouncing Grandma Mysteries. I enjoy this plucky grandma and getting to know her, as well as the scraps that she gets into.
Glory is realistic (and a lot like me in some ways) so I could totally relate to her. Her more “grownup” sister, Jane, is a nice side-kick, and the town is full of colorful individuals who add their own unique touch to the story. If you are looking for a cute, funny mystery, then THE CASE OF THE MYSTRIFIED M.D. would be the perfect book to consider. The third book in the series is coming out in the fall of 2010. $12.99. 368 pages.
October 20, 2009
The Case of the Mystified M.D.
A.K. Arenz
2009
Sheaf House Publishers
Fiction/Christian/Mystery
Reviewed by Cindy Loven
Oh dear Bouncing Grandma, Glory Harper is at it again. Right in the middle of a mess! How in the world she gets into these kind of messes, is beyond her wildest imagination, but there she is.
While walking with her sister and her new puppy, the puppy makes a grisly discovery. A human hand. The authorities are called, Glory knows immediately who the hand belongs to. A nasty professor at the college where she works. A man always causing trouble.
Burned down houses, attempted arson, stifling or trying to intimidate people to vote for ordinances against freedom of religion, womanizing, just what all had the victim been involved in. It was truly looking like his character was worse than everyone thought. Glory and the victim's half-sister keep their eyes and ears open. Unraveling this mess is a big job.
While snooping around she discovers things that could implicate some of her friends and even her own family members. Follow along as Glory tries to stay on the right side of the law, while she snoops even further. Watch as romance blossoms between Glory and Blue Eyes, the detective on the case.
A really good book, that kept my interest from front to finish. Most definitely a book to share with others. 368 pages $12.99 US 4 stars.
A.K. Arenz, mother of two grown daughters and grandmother to three grands, has been writing since she was a child. A member of the ACFW, she often serves as a judge in Book of the Year and Genesis contests. Residing in Missouri with her husband, she is owned by her two Himalayan cats. Most definitely an author to add to your favorite list.
A.K. Arenz
2009
Sheaf House Publishers
Fiction/Christian/Mystery
Reviewed by Cindy Loven
Oh dear Bouncing Grandma, Glory Harper is at it again. Right in the middle of a mess! How in the world she gets into these kind of messes, is beyond her wildest imagination, but there she is.
While walking with her sister and her new puppy, the puppy makes a grisly discovery. A human hand. The authorities are called, Glory knows immediately who the hand belongs to. A nasty professor at the college where she works. A man always causing trouble.
Burned down houses, attempted arson, stifling or trying to intimidate people to vote for ordinances against freedom of religion, womanizing, just what all had the victim been involved in. It was truly looking like his character was worse than everyone thought. Glory and the victim's half-sister keep their eyes and ears open. Unraveling this mess is a big job.
While snooping around she discovers things that could implicate some of her friends and even her own family members. Follow along as Glory tries to stay on the right side of the law, while she snoops even further. Watch as romance blossoms between Glory and Blue Eyes, the detective on the case.
A really good book, that kept my interest from front to finish. Most definitely a book to share with others. 368 pages $12.99 US 4 stars.
A.K. Arenz, mother of two grown daughters and grandmother to three grands, has been writing since she was a child. A member of the ACFW, she often serves as a judge in Book of the Year and Genesis contests. Residing in Missouri with her husband, she is owned by her two Himalayan cats. Most definitely an author to add to your favorite list.
May 31, 2012
This was a very different type of read for me. I'm not into Mystery much, but this one kept me reading.... First a foot, now a hand. What body part is next? Glory Harper finds a severed hand belonging to a missing college professor who caused a lot of trouble around town. Will the police take her seriously? Read it to find out.....
August 17, 2013
I loved this book. It left me wanting more. I hope there will be more books in this series!
November 17, 2014
Very funny
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews