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Jennifer Penny #1
Too Dead To Dance
"Lederhosen, accordions.....and a dead body! And a dead body is just what coffee roaster Jennifer Penny found when she walked into her coffee booth the second day of Hermann, Minnesota's Polka Daze Festival. Jennifer, Megan Murphy, and Sister Bernadine, the only working nun in town, have been friends since second grade. When Sister Bernie becomes the chief suspect, Jennifer gets on the bandwagon to find the real murderer and prove the innocence of her unjustly suspected friend. While unearthing clues, Jennifer dodges the demands of her soon to be ex-husband, and the advances of a sexy cop and a flirtatious butcher. She'll need more than a double espresso to stay on her toes and solve this mystery. Diane Morlan's TOO DEAD TO DANCE is filled with excitement, fun, and suspense, along with charming details drawn from the world of county fairs and craft exhibits."
202 pages, Paperback
First published April 22, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 13, 2014
Here's to you Diane Morlan for writing a delightful and fun mystery with small-town charm that is sure to keep readers coming back for more.
"Zicke, zacke, zicke, zacke, hoi, hoi, hoi" - A German toast that I'll be sure to use at my next cocktail party!
Hermann Minnesota's Polka Daze Festival is interrupted when Jennifer Penny local coffee roaster and entrepreneur stumbles onto a dead body at the local fairgrounds. When one of her best friends Sister Bernie is accused of the murder of a Polka band member, Jennifer soon turns to amateur sleuthing and meets the most handsome police detective that would have any girl weak in the knees.
Will the Polka dancing, yodeling, and merriment continue or will the town and Jennifer see the end of Polka Daze? Darlings, you will just have to read and find out for yourselves!
"Zicke, zacke, zicke, zacke, hoi, hoi, hoi" - A German toast that I'll be sure to use at my next cocktail party!
Hermann Minnesota's Polka Daze Festival is interrupted when Jennifer Penny local coffee roaster and entrepreneur stumbles onto a dead body at the local fairgrounds. When one of her best friends Sister Bernie is accused of the murder of a Polka band member, Jennifer soon turns to amateur sleuthing and meets the most handsome police detective that would have any girl weak in the knees.
Will the Polka dancing, yodeling, and merriment continue or will the town and Jennifer see the end of Polka Daze? Darlings, you will just have to read and find out for yourselves!
December 22, 2011
A lovely cozy mystery diversion for a snowy day. There are all kinds of amateur woman detectives in this genre: owner of a scrapbooking store, fifth grade teacher, retired librarian, and coffee roaster just to mention a few. Must be tough to come up with an original occupation for them these days. Many of these amateurs are also middle-aged or older, something this middle-aged reader can relate too. Many of these books are also intelligently written, by obviously intelligent women, but I have one major beef with them, and it happened in Too Dead To Dance. In the last 15 percent of the book or so, the author has the amateur detective do really stupid, dangerous, thoughtless and impulsive things and the handsome police detective - in this case - comes racing to the rescue. I hate that. I really really hate that. How an otherwise thoughtful and intelligent person comes to do really dumb things just ruins the book for me. It's like those teenage slasher films: you want to scream at the young teenage girl to NOT go and investigate the noise in the closet when there's a raging thunderstorm outside, the power's gone off, the telephone line's cut, and the serial killer just broke out of prison. Run you dork, run! I wouldn't suggest you run away from this book. Just be prepared to pull your hair out at the end while shouting, "no, no, no! Don't do that! Don't tell him what you know! Get the heck outta there!".
September 28, 2011
I'm guessing this is the author's debut novel and it's decent. I appreciate the fact that it's quite clean.
Sister Bernadine seems like the likeliest suspect in the murder of band player, Wes. Jennifer sets out to prove her innocence but the more she finds out, the worse it looks for her friend. This story takes place during the town's German Fest. In the midst of a divorce, Jennifer owns a coffee business and runs a booth at the festival.
For .99 you can get over the mix-ups, errors, and such. For instance, who's Jim? I think the author meant "Randy" but she writes "Jim." In many places, there are two people speaking with no obvious break in between. It was a fun read and while I would have liked to have given it more than 3 stars, it could have used a bit of work.
All in all though, it was definitely worth the purchase and read and I would like to see more by this author.
Sister Bernadine seems like the likeliest suspect in the murder of band player, Wes. Jennifer sets out to prove her innocence but the more she finds out, the worse it looks for her friend. This story takes place during the town's German Fest. In the midst of a divorce, Jennifer owns a coffee business and runs a booth at the festival.
For .99 you can get over the mix-ups, errors, and such. For instance, who's Jim? I think the author meant "Randy" but she writes "Jim." In many places, there are two people speaking with no obvious break in between. It was a fun read and while I would have liked to have given it more than 3 stars, it could have used a bit of work.
All in all though, it was definitely worth the purchase and read and I would like to see more by this author.
May 18, 2010
The heroine of this mystery trips over the body right at the beginning of the story--a dead guy wearing lederhosen. Now that's how I like to see bad guys meet their end. This independent gal, Jennifer Penny (don't call her "Jenny Penny") goes on to find the fellow's murderer, all while running her own coffee roasting business, dodging her despicable ex-husband, and brewing up a little romance herself with a local cop. If, like me, you love cozy mysteries, because you can get wrapped up in a juicy tale filled with clues, excitement, laughter, and romance--then "Too Dead to Dance" is a great choice for you. I was especially smitten with all the lore of state fairs and craft shows that the author, Diane Morlan (obviously drawn from years of experience) brings to this well-rounded tale of amateur sleuthery.
October 13, 2011
This mystery was taking place at a German festival in Minnesota. Jennifer Penny is the friend turned sleuth when she finds a body next to her coffee booth and her dear childhood friend is looked at by the Police for the crime.
Jennifer, predictably, decides upon herself to find the culprit and pulls in her other friend in the effort. The police warn her to stop but, she doesn't...
The story had good bones but just was bland. Perhaps her next book will be stronger.
Jennifer, predictably, decides upon herself to find the culprit and pulls in her other friend in the effort. The police warn her to stop but, she doesn't...
The story had good bones but just was bland. Perhaps her next book will be stronger.
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March 12, 2012Jennifer Penny is a coffee roaster, recently divorced. She has a booth at the Polka Daze Festival in MN where she is selling her coffee. One of her dear friends, Sister Bernie, is accused of murdering a man found by Jennifer's booth at the festival. Jennifer, of course, has to work at having her friend exonerated. She does. The murderer is the head of the Polka festival.
October 18, 2011
For the author's first book I thought it was very well written. I enjoyed as a light, easy read, quirky mystery.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews