Murder as a Second Language - (Claire Malloy Mysteries) by Joan Hess (Paperback)

About the Book

With new-found leisure time, Claire Malloy tries to learn French cooking and becomes an ESL tutor, but ends up investigating a murder when one of her students, an unpleasant Russian woman, is found dead at the Farberville Literary Council.

Book Synopsis

Claire Malloy--now a married woman of leisure--tries her hand at volunteering, but instead lands her right in the middle of another murder investigation

Longtime bookseller and single mother, Claire Malloy has recently married her long term beau and moved out of her less than opulent apartment into a sprawling, newly remodeled house. Her daughter, Caron, is making plans for college. All of which leaves Claire with something she hasn't had in quite a while: spare time.

When her attempts to learn French cooking start getting "mixed" reviews, she agrees to help Caron and her best friend Inez in fluffing up their college applications by volunteering as an ESL tutor with the Farberville Literacy Council. But her modest effort to give back quickly becomes a nightmare when she's railroaded onto the Board of Directors of the troubled nonprofit. Vandalism, accusations of embezzlement, epic budget problems, and a cacophony of heavily-accented English speakers are just the tip of the iceberg. Just as she decides that it might be best to extricate herself, Claire gets a frantic call from her husband, Deputy Chief Peter Rosen. One of the students, an older Russian woman named Ludmilla, famed for her unpleasantness, has been murdered in the offices of the Farberville Literary Council. For the first time ever, Peter actually asks Claire for her help, and Hess brings a new depth to this fan-favorite series, in Murder as a Second Language.

Review Quotes

"Snappy, sassy." --Publishers Weekly on Deader Homes and Gardens on JOAN HESS AND THE CLAIRE MALLOY SERIES

"Another fun romp." --Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Deader Homes and Gardens on JOAN HESS AND THE CLAIRE MALLOY SERIES

"Well-paced suspense spiced with wry wit." --Boston Sunday Herald on Closely Akin to Murder on JOAN HESS AND THE CLAIRE MALLOY SERIES

"Clever...irreverent murder and mayhem." --Baton Rouge Sunday Advocate on Closely Akin to Murder on JOAN HESS AND THE CLAIRE MALLOY SERIES

"Wickedly amusing." --Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine on Busy Bodies on JOAN HESS AND THE CLAIRE MALLOY SERIES

"Intriguing...an amusing look at the universal human comedy." --Fort Smith Times Record on JOAN HESS AND THE CLAIRE MALLOY SERIES

"If you've never spent time with Claire and her crew, I feel sorry for you. Stop reading this nonsense and hop to it. You'll see wit and humanity all wrapped up in a nifty murder mystery." --Harlan Coben on JOAN HESS AND THE CLAIRE MALLOY SERIES

"Delightful...worthy of Hercule Poirot in the classic Death on the Nile." --Publishers Weekly on Mummy Dearest on JOAN HESS AND THE CLAIRE MALLOY SERIES

"A good substitute for a trip to Egypt." --Deadly Pleasures on Mummy Dearest on JOAN HESS AND THE CLAIRE MALLOY SERIES

"Hess fans will find much to entertain them..." --Publishers Weekly on Damsels in Distress on JOAN HESS AND THE CLAIRE MALLOY SERIES

"Lively, sharp, irreverent." --The New York Times Book Review on Poisoned Pins on JOAN HESS AND THE CLAIRE MALLOY SERIES

"Larcenous shenanigans...breezy throughout." --Chicago Tribune on Poisoned Pins on JOAN HESS AND THE CLAIRE MALLOY SERIES

"With her wry asides, Claire makes a most engaging narrator. The author deftly juggles the various plot strands...the surprising denouement comes off with éclat." --Publishers Weekly on Out on a Limb on JOAN HESS AND THE CLAIRE MALLOY SERIES

"A winning blend of soft-core feminism, trendy subplots, and a completely irreverent style that characterizes both the series and the sleuth." --Houston Chronicle on JOAN HESS AND THE CLAIRE MALLOY SERIES

"A wildly entertaining series." --Mystery Scene on JOAN HESS AND THE CLAIRE MALLOY SERIES

"Joan Hess is one of the best mystery writers in the world. She makes it look so easy that few readers and fewer critics realize what a rare talent hers is." --Elizabeth Peters, author of Tomb of the Golden Bird on JOAN HESS AND THE CLAIRE MALLOY SERIES

"Joan Hess is seriously funny. Moreover, she is seriously kind as well as clever when depicting the follies, foibles, and fantasies of our lives. Viva Joan!" --Carolyn Hart, author of Dead Days of Summer on JOAN HESS AND THE CLAIRE MALLOY SERIES

"Fresh and funny...her trademark humor is stamped on every page." --Publishers Weekly, on The Goodbye Body on JOAN HESS AND THE CLAIRE MALLOY SERIES

"Hess is one very funny woman." --Susan Dunlap, former president of Sisters in Crime on JOAN HESS AND THE CLAIRE MALLOY SERIES

"Amiable entertainment with an edge." --Kirkus Reviews on JOAN HESS AND THE CLAIRE MALLOY SERIES

About the Author

JOAN HESS is the author of both the Claire Malloy mysteries (which begins with Strangled Prose) and the Maggody mystery series. She is a winner of the American Mystery Award, a member of Sisters in Crime, and a former president of the American Crime Writers League. She lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas.