Death by the Light of the Moon - (Claire Malloy Mystery) by Joan Hess (Paperback)

About the Book

Bookstore owner Claire Malloy accompanies her teenage daughter Caron to the creepy mansion of her late husband's family on the Louisiana Bayou--a perfect setting for a murder.

Book Synopsis

"Outstanding...A fun-to-read mixture of homicide and humor."
THE PITTSBURGH PRESS
In this, the seventh adventure in the Claire Malloy series, Claire discovers a lot about her late, unlamented husband. The viperish family matriarch, Miss Justicia, gives a preview of her latest will at the decaying family estate in Louisiana. From snobbish Cousin Maxie and timid, tippling Pauline to beautiful Ellie and her porky dad, the Malloys appear a poisonous lot--and appeareances in this case are not deceiving. When Miss Jusiticia and her wheelchair end up in the bayou, Claire is certain that one of them assisted the old lady to her death. And snakes, snipers, and tapeworms notwithstanding, she's prepared to prove it....

From the Back Cover

Things that go bump in the Bayou...
For bookseller and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy getting a root canal beats going to a Malloy family reunion. But it is time her fifteen-year-old daughter Caron visits her deceased father's relatives. Now Claire and Caron have arrived at Malloy Manor, a run-down mansion in Louisiana's bayou country...where the mosquitoes are big enough to barbecue, the swamp is crawling with alligators, the butler looks like he stepped out of a teen slasher movie, and the wheelchair-bound matriarch, Miss Justicia, races around the grounds cackling like a loon.
It's the perfect setting-for a murder. Before a night has passed, Miss Justicia is sleeping with the fishes. The police call it a "tragic accident." Caron is all for calling a cab. But Claire wants to have a closer look at her "loving" relatives since she has a hunch leaving Malloy Manor isn't going to be all that easy...and neither is staying alive.

Review Quotes

"Hess's books are funny, acerbic, touching, terrific."
--Elizabeth Peters
"Echoes of "Arsenic and Old Lace flutter through this chronicle of the eccentric Malloys of Louisiana." --"Kirkus Reviews