Odelia Grey Mysteries, Book 12 - Too Big to Die

Sue Ann Jaffarian introduced the world to the middle-aged, overweight Odelia Grey back in her first mystery, Too Big to Miss.  Now, with her twelfth book, Jaffarian provides readers with a potential send-off of her fun-to-read, sassy, never-back-down amateur sleuth in a mystery to end all mysteries.

To say that Too Big to Die is a life-changing story for Jaffarian's characters would be an understatement.  So many things happen, almost happen, could have happened, and should have happened, it's like a whirlwind of events, and poor Odelia will definitely never be the same after this one.  Of course, that's not to say that Jaffarian doesn't interject her usual sense of sarcasm and humor throughout the story, but there are definitely some more tender moments, some frustrating moments, and some sad moments (particularly at the conclusion) that will make the reader feel closer to Odelia than ever before.

The book starts off innocently enough.  Greg wins a baby duckling in one of his regular poker games, so he and Odelia must decide what to do with it.  By the second chapter, though, Odelia and her husband become involved in something that will lead to murder - they rescue a small dog from suffocating in the California heat while locked in a car.  With the help of a stranger (Burt Sandoval), they manage to break the window and rescue the dog - just as the owner of the car and dog, one very rich, very snooty, and very nasty piece-of-work Marla Kingston, comes out and starts accusing them of vandalizing her car.  What starts out as a simple animal rescue mission turns into an online viral sensation when Odelia and Greg find themselves all over the internet as the heroes of the day.  Particularly since they videos not only show Odelia and Greg's heroic act, but it shows the police taking the high and mighty Marla Kington down a peg or two.

But someone doesn't see them as heroes.  It turns out that Marla's husband is the number one client at the law firm where Odelia works with her boss, Mike Steele, and he will simply not have his wife humiliated in that way, especially by an employee of the law firm that he employs.  So, Odelia finds herself unexpectedly on administrative leave until the firm can calm Kingston down.  With time on her hands, it's easy for Odelia to visit her husband at work - where, faster than you can say, "Really, Odelia?  Another dead body?!" - yes, another dead body turns up, this time shot and killed right in front of Greg's business.

And so starts that roller coaster that is Odelia Grey's life.  From a mysterious young woman who has been filming Greg, Burt, as well as the Kingstons, to a paraplegic who has a connection to someone in Greg's past, to a construction company secretary, to a tragic accident and a secret payoff to keep the truth about the accident hidden - someone willing to literally kill to keep that secret from coming out!  With all of Jaffarian's mysteries, there are plenty of twists and turns, unexpected surprises, and a climax that will leave you reeling - only, in this book, not everyone makes it out alive at the end (how about that for whetting your appetite to read this book!).

The one thing I have absolutely loved about this series is how real Jaffarian keeps her characters.  There are no stereotypes, there are no caricatures, and no over-the-top portrayal of any of the scenes.  The characters react in normal, human ways, and they face real consequences for all of their actions.  The stories are grounded, which make them believable and that much more enjoyable to read.  I am truly sad to think that this could be the last Odelia Grey book (as a friend has told me that the publisher, Midnight Ink, will not be publishing them any more, so unless Jaffarian finds another publisher or self-publishes them, then the misadventures of Odelia Grey have quite possibly reached their conclusion), but if it is the last book in the series, it is definitely a perfect send-off.

Oh, and as a final note on the story - Steele definitely proves his loyalty to Odelia in a rather unexpected way in this mystery!

RATING:  10 half-and-half pizzas with veggies on the side out of 10 for feeding my Odelia Grey fix with another well-written mystery that can both bring a smile to my face and tears to my eyes!

Odelia Grey Mysteries, Book 11 - Rhythm and Clues

Sue Ann Jaffarian returns with her latest Odelia Gray mystery. The fifty-something, overweight corpse magnet is up to her old tricks just months after finding a body in her trunk (although, for those of us in the real world, it's been a whole year since the last book came out). While previous books have found Odelia stumbling across a body within the first chapter, if not the first few pages, this time Jaffarian eases readers into the mystery. And, instead of Odelia finding the body, we discover that her "corpse magnet" curse is a family thing - as her niece, Lorraine, is the one who actually finds the body in the house of one of her grandmother's neighbors at the quiet little retirement village.

As with all of the Odelia Gray mysteries, the plot is rather intricate, and the tale Jaffarian weaves is full of red herrings, murder suspects, and just good ol' plain fun. This series is one of the few that I actually laugh out loud while I'm reading it.

"Oh my God, Odelia!" Greg shouted. "I haven't even been gone twenty-four hours and you've managed to find a dead body?"

At this point, you pretty much are waiting for that line to come out of someone's mother - whether it's Greg, Zee, Clark, Seth, Steele, or any of the other countless people Odelia knows. Only this time, Greg and Clark are out of town, so Odelia gets involved in yet another murder with the help of her mother and Clark's daughter, Lorraine. In fact, poor Lorraine is the one who discovers the body (while breaking into the house of a former rock singer who lives in the same community as Odelia's mother, Grace - that's a whole 'nother story in and of itself!), and it goes without saying, she finds herself drawn into figuring out who killed Cydney Fox, the agent (or should I say, former agent) for Bo Shank, the former lead singer for Acid Storm, an old rock band of yesteryear.

With Greg and Clark out of town and Seath and Zee running off to visit relatives, Odelia's sidekicks become Grace and Lorraine, with a bit of Willie and his new bodyguard, Buzz, thrown in for some fun.  The interaction between Odelia and Willie is thoroughly enjoyable to read, and it was nice to see that even Willie can get exasperated by Odelia's gung-ho desire to follow-through and figure out exactly who the murderer is and why they killed Cydney Fox.  But when an Armenian group appears on the scene and kills the band's recent agent who could have vital knowledge as to not only the murder of Cydney Fox, but also the disappearance of Bo Shank (as well as the disappearance of another resident at the Seaside Retirement Community), the danger escalates quickly.

Jaffarian knows how to plot a good murder mystery, there is no doubt. From page one, whether Odelia stumbles across the body there or two chapters in, the story and the characters are so engaging that the reader is immediately drawn into (or in my case, back into) the world of Odelia Gray. Jaffarian's characters are believable, never so over-the-top that it reminds you that this is pure fiction, and despite how crazy and zany things get, the reader makes an easy and immediate connection with Odelia and wishes that he or she were there in Odelia's stead!

I will say that Jaffarian had me guessing up until the very end.  I admit that once I realized who the killer was, the rest of the pieces fell into place pretty easily. But up until that point, I truly thought someone else had done it (which, surprisingly enough, the motive of the person I thought had done it turned out to be pretty close to the motive of the real killer!). And with as many mysteries as I read, both adult fiction and young adult fiction, it's nice to know I haven't got the skills yet to figure them all out pretty early on!

The only question I have now is - when's the next book coming out?!?!

10 sleeping night-shift guards out of 10 for always providing engaging stories and keeping the plots fresh and new with no rehashed ideas!

Odelia Grey Mysteries, Book 10 - A Body to Spare

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post, as I got a part in a new play at the Breakthrough Theatre in Winter Park - it's called "The Library," written by Scott Z. Burns.  A very powerful drama, I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has never seen it.  Very relevant, very moving, and quite frankly, very sad.

However - - that doesn't mean I haven't had time to read at all.  In my spare time between work, rehearsals, learning lines, and Christmas shopping, I've managed to squeeze in a few minutes here and there to read the latest Odelia Grey mystery, A Body to Spare.

God, how I absolutely LOVE this series.

Odelia Grey is a middle-aged, overweight paralegal (and, coincidentally enough, so is her author, Sue Ann Jaffarian!) who has an uncanny knack for stumbling across dead bodies and getting mixed up in some rather exciting and often-times adventurous murder mysteries.  Jaffarian has an excellent skill at writing well-fleshed-out characters who literally jump off the page and read very much as real people.  Their reactions to situations, their interactions with one another, and their love and concern for each other instantly make the reader fall in love with them and root for them (regardless of what illegal activities they might be involved in...)

This time around, a body is discovered in the least likely of places - the trunk of Odelia's car! While getting her car washed, the employees of the car wash facility open the trunk to discover the body of a naked man. The body turns out to be none other than Zach Finch, who disappeared years ago when he was still a teenager. Who killed him?  Who put him in Odelia's trunk?  And of all the cars in the world, why her car?  Needless to say, Odelia's in the thick of things again.

While Jaffarian does not utilize all of the supporting cast in this mystery (and Odelia does have quite a large supporting cast!), we do find out what is going on with most of them.  Her boss, Steele, has gotten married and is off on his honeymoon; her brother, Clark, now retired from the police force, is working full time with Willie Proctor - a con man who remains in hiding, yet runs a number of 'legitimate' businesses; her mother is living not far from Odelia and her husband in a retirement community, still maintaining her blog; Elaine Powers is still staying under the radar and watching out for Odelia; Dev is set to retire and move to Seattle to be with his new girlfriend; Seth and Zee are always there to come to Odelia's aid (this time, Seth acting as her attorney); and Odelia herself is working part time for Steele.  And there's a surprise guest star in this one...

The police are all over this one, but they aren't alone; since the deceased was kidnapped, it falls under the jurisdiction of the FBI. So not only does Odelia have to deal with the new police detective Fehring, but she also is under the scrutiny of FBI Agent Shipman, both of whom are very adamant about Odelia keeping her nose out of this one.

Then, of course, there's that special guest star - Emma Whitecastle. Of course, I wasn't really sure who this was right away...until she started talking about the fact that she can talk to ghosts.  At which point, I began to suspect who she was and quickly contacted my friend Kevin, who has read some of Jaffarian's other series.  Sure enough, my suspicion was correct, that Emma Whitecastle is the lead character from Jaffarian's "Ghost of Granny Apples" series. While I have not read any of the books in that series, I have heard good things about them. And now that Jaffarian has crossed over the characters, it makes me wonder if perhaps Odelia won't pop up in that other series, or if Jaffarian might even write one mystery starring both of these sleuths.  If she did, I'd be right there to buy it!

I definitely cannot recommend these books enough.  I used to sing the praises of Lilian Jackson Braun's "Cat Who..." series back in the day (although the last few books in that series were definitely ghost-written, as the style and plotting was considerably different), and the Odelia Grey mysteries far surpass even those mysteries.  A fellow mystery-lover, Dina Stout, turned me on to this series, and I am definitely grateful she did (being a paralegal myself, plus a lover of mysteries, it was right up my alley).

Can't wait for the next one to come out!

RATING:  10 surprise-filled trunks out of 10 for such great, fun storytelling and lovable characters!