Meet Isabel Puddles

by M.V. Byrne

Overview

“Fans of Garrison Keillor’s tales of Lake Wobegon will be enchanted.”
—Publishers Weekly

The only thing widow Isabel Puddles loves as much as her hometown of Gull Harbor on the shores of Lake Michigan is cozying up to a good mystery—but she never expected to be caught in the middle of one . . .
 
To the tourists and summer residents, Kentwater County is a picturesque community of small-town charm, fruitful farmland, and gorgeous freshwater beaches. To middle-aged widow Isabel Puddles, it’s where she enjoys breakfast every morning at a local café with her childhood best friend and spends her evenings cozying up with a good book and her devoted Jack Terrier, Jackpot. In between, Isabel makes ends meet through a variety of trades—preserving pickles, baking pies, working the counter at her cousin’s hardware shop, and occasionally helping “fix-up” the hair of corpses at the local funeral parlor.
 
When Isabel discovers a two-inch nail embedded in the skull of Earl Jonasson, it seems the octogenarian may not have died of a stroke. His son is quickly arrested when his alibi doesn’t check out. But Isabel has known Earl Jr. since they were kids and can’t believe he’d murder his own father, regardless of his financial difficulties. As gossip about Earl Sr.’s land and insurance policy money starts to spread around the county, Isabel finds herself conducting her own investigation to clear her friend’s name. But real detective work isn’t like what she sees on TV, and she’s meeting dangerous suspects who don’t like Isabel poking around in their business . . .
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496728326
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	11/24/2020
Series:	A Mitten State Mystery , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	198,367
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

M.V. Byrne was born in East Lansing, Michigan and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, although he spent his summers on Lake Michigan with family. He later returned to East Lansing to attend Michigan State University. After years of living in both NYC and LA, he has settled in LA full time where he continues to work as a writer/producer in unscripted TV, though he can now add the job title of “Author” to his resume. He’s currently working on the next Isabel Puddles Mystery. He can be found online at MVByrne.com.
 

Editorial Reviews

10/05/2020

Former hairdresser Isabel Puddles of Gull Harbor, Mich., the busy heroine of Byrne’s sprightly debut and series launch, supports herself through small moneymaking schemes such as selling home-baked pies and hand-knitted scarves. When 88-year-old Earl Jonasson dies, Isabel accepts the job offered by the owner of the local funeral parlor to tidy up Earl’s hair. While making Earl presentable for his sendoff, she discovers a nail in the wealthy farmer’s head. She promptly calls the Kentwater County sheriff to alert him to a murder case. Before leaving the funeral home, Isabel is already speculating on possible motives and the culprit’s identity. Her investigative technique hinges mainly on being in the right place to overhear the guilty talk about their crimes. Much of the narrative is filled with Isabel’s family history, descriptions of her neighbors and friends, and reveries on such topics as renewable energy and the habits of beavers. Fans of Garrison Keillor’s tales of Lake Wobegon will be enchanted. Others may want to take a pass. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

2020-09-02
A Michigan widow with a strong sense of justice solves a series of crimes.

Famously frugal Isabel Puddles has lived in her family’s Gull Harbor lakeside home for most of her life and intends to die there. Now that her children are grown and gone, she struggles to pay for the extras in life, including taxes, in an area of summer homes owned primarily by wealthy outsiders. To keep up, she sells her popular pickles and pies, works at her cousin’s hardware store, and reluctantly accepts a hairdressing job at a funeral home. That’s how she discovers a nail in the head of wealthy farmer Earl Jonasson. Isabel’s call to her cousin Ginny, who’s engaged to sheriff Grady Pemberton, kicks off an investigation that leads to the arrest of Earl’s son, whose girlfriend, Tammy Trudlow, is more of a fighter than a lover, according to Isabel. Earl Jr. isn’t the brightest bulb, and his sister, Meg, is furious that anyone would think he could kill his father—a judgment Isabel shares, although her loudmouthed bestie, Frances Spitler, voices an alternative opinion to a reporter. Although Isabel thinks Tammy had something to do with the death, Grady ignores her, forcing her to use her wide network to dig up clues that will prove her right. Her decision to take in Earl’s lonely dog, Corky, as a companion for her dearly loved Jackpot leads to a breathtaking denouement.

A charming debut featuring a middling mystery, a captivating cast, and many spells of laugh-out-loud humor.

Kirkus Reviews