Summer Pot Luck Selection: The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz

All three of the Holmes Public Library book clubs will come together in one big group on Tuesday, August 18, at 6 p.m. to share a pot luck supper and talk about The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz, a fun summer read. Hope you can make it!

What We Thought: Our Lady of Immaculate Deception (or Foxy Roxy) by Nancy Martin

Mystery Readers Book Club

June 24, 2015

Our Lady of Immaculate Deception

by Nancy Martin

“I mean, I know you better than most, Roxy. You’ve got a bad history too. History that’s really screwed with your head. It makes you do the stuff you do. It makes you less than attractive, let’s put it that way.” Patrick Flynn talking to Roxy Abruzzo, p. 273.

Although readers said they liked this book, the discussion began with book titles they liked better than this one. They felt that the story was a lighter mystery than other selections in our Mystery Book Club. They wanted more developed characters and back history of their involvement with each other. They especially wanted more connections between Sage, Roxy’s daughter, and Arden, daughter of wealthy Julius Hyde, recently murdered. Readers agreed that the most likable characters were Roxy’s sidekick Nooch; her long-time ex -- professional chef and biker Patrick Flynn; and Rooney, her pit bull.

Some readers didn’t like Roxy’s promiscuous behavior. They thought it was unbecoming of her as a role model to her teenage daughter Sage. It was noted that she did have a moral code of her own, never knowingly sleeping with a married man. Others liked her and said her behavior was important because she acted like a man in the rough and tumble architectural salvage business. She was outspoken and independent, and said what’s on her mind and did what she wanted regardless of the consequences.

Pittsburgh is the perfect setting for this mystery involving the international trade in stolen antiquities and local mafia characters, some of which are Roxy’s relatives. Author Nancy Martin has written an interesting story with a sense of mystery and humor that readers said reminded them of the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich. When the book ended, it was fast and surprising, but still satisfying.

Readers were served cannoli and lemoncello cookies while discussing a quote by Hank Phillippi Ryan in relation to Martin’s book. “I remember Lee Child said his father told him: readers want something new-but they want it to be exactly the same as they already like.”

Have you read Our Lady of Immaculate Deception, now retitled Foxy Roxy? What about the second book in the series, Sticky Fingers? Please share your thoughts in the comments! You don't have to be part of the group already to join the discussion!

This Month's Selection: Our Lady of Immaculate Deception by Nancy Martin

Mystery Readers Book Club

Wed., June 24, 2 p.m.

Our Lady of Immaculate Deception

by Nancy Martin

Big truck, big dog, big hair. Bad attitude.

Roxy Abruzzo, bestseller Nancy Martin’s latest creation, is a loud-mouthed, sexy, independent-minded niece of a Pittsburgh Mafia boss trying to go (mostly) straight. She’d like to stay completely out of her uncle Carmine’s shady business dealings, though he's trying to reel her in. She'd like to concentrate on the architectural salvage business she runs mostly on the up and up for a tidy profit. She'd like to keep her rebellious teenage daughter on the straight and narrow. But Roxy knows where all the good intentions in the world usually lead, and when she can’t help herself from tucking away an ancient Greek statue that's not really hers, she pays for it by getting caught up in the chaos surrounding the sordid murder of the statue’s former owner, heir to a billion-dollar Pittsburgh steel fortune.

Of course, she has plenty of help getting in and out of trouble, including her sidekick “Nooch” Santonucci, too dumb to say no to whatever Roxy wants to do and strong enough to do it; her widowed aunt Loretta, a lawyer whose big hair and short skirts are as big a help to her in court as her brains; and Patrick Flynn, ex-marine, professional chef, and former high school flame, fresh from Afghanistan to torture Roxy, just like old times.

Please comment here or on the discussion post after our meeting if you'd like to be part of our virtual group. We'd love to hear your thoughts on this book by very popular author Nancy Martin! It's a fun one to end our first year of our Mystery Readers Book Club, where we've been reading first books in series.

This Month's Selection: Dog On It by Spencer Quinn

Mystery Readers

Wed., April 22, 2 p.m.

Dog On It

by Spencer Quinn

The first book of the New York Times-bestselling Chet and Bernie mystery series, an “enchanting one-of-a-kind novel” (Stephen King) that is “nothing short of masterful” (Los Angeles Times)

Chet, the wise and lovable canine narrator of Dog on It, and Bernie, a down-on-his-luck private investigator, are quick to take a new case involving a frantic mother searching for her teenage daughter. This well-behaved and gifted student may or may not have been kidnapped, but she has definitely gotten mixed up with some very unsavory characters. With Chet’s highly trained nose leading the way, their hunt for clues takes them into the desert to biker bars and other exotic locales—until the bad guys try to turn the tables and the resourceful duo lands in the paws of peril. Spencer Quinn’s irresistible mystery kicks off a delightful new series that will have readers panting for more.