Meet Kim Claypoole, restaurateur, reluctant heroine and amateur sleuth with moxie galore. “I’d had a feeling all along that this wasn’t going to be my day. But I hadn’t been prepared for things to go this badly…”
In Small Town Trouble, the first in a series from mystery writer Jean Erhardt, we get acquainted with Kim Claypoole’s irreverent and witty ways of dealing with the peculiar characters and events that she finds in her life.
Claypoole’s adventure begins as she leaves her home in the Smoky Mountains to help save her kooky mother Evelyn from financial disaster. Setting off to assist Evelyn (i.e., “the other Scarlett O’Hara”) with her newest personal crisis, Claypoole leaves in her wake her Gatlinburg doublewide, her restaurant, The Little Pigeon and her restaurant partner and sometimes best friend Mad Ted Weber as well as a budding secret love affair that’s hotter than an Eskimo in July.
Claypoole’s savior complex leads to more trouble when she bumps into an old flame in her hometown who asks for her help clearing her hapless brother of murder charges. In true Claypoole fashion, she gets more than she bargained for when she gets dragged into a complicated quest to find the true killer complete with topless tavern dancers, small town cops, a stream of backwater characters-even a meeting with the Grim Reaper. Can Claypoole muddle her way through the murky depths of this bizarre murder mystery before it’s too late?
With biting humor and wit, Small Town Trouble will leave you guessing what’s around the next corner in the quirky life of Kim Claypoole.
Small Town Trouble – Jean Erhardt
Unfortunately, I found this book boring to the point where I struggled to finish it. I wanted to reach the end for all the wrong reasons. On reflection, the worst part about it was the corny attempts at humour. It just did not work for me. The plot was weak and unbelievable; the characters even more so. The story is based around a lesbian (yes, the writer labours this point) who returns to her home town to visit and financially advise her mother. Whilst she is involved with one married lady she also rekindles a friendship from her school days (another married lady) whilst at the same time trying to solve a multiple murder. When embarking on a novel, I like it to grab my interest in the first couple of pages. I got to the end of chapter 4 and thought I would continue to see if it improved, but unfortunately I was disappointed. This is not a book I would recommend!
Sharon Peterson
Purple Book Reviews 