Jane Reads: The Case of the Clobbered Cad by Debra E. Marvin | Blog Tour Review, Guest Post, Giveaway

The Blurb

Inspired by the famous Girl Detective, the members of the Olentangy Heights Girls' Detective Society, affectionately known as the Nosy Parkers, spent their formative years studying criminology, codes, and capers. Unfortunately, opportunities to put their unique skills to work were thin on the ground in the post-war boom of their little corner of suburbia and they eventually grew up to pursue more sensible careers. Until...

Heather Munro’s youthful devotion to The Girl Detective led to a passion for digging around in history. Now pursuing her Master's Degree in Celtic Studies, Heather must balance exploring Edinburgh with her determination to excel in her all–male classes at the University. Unfortunately, on her first night working in the Archives room, she discovers the dead body of a visiting professor, the same would-be Lothario she’d hoped never to see again.

As clues come to light, it’s clear someone hopes to frame Heather for the murder. Besides her quirky landlady, whom can she trust? How can she clear her name? The police and the American Consul have plenty of suspects, but only two seem to have both motive and opportunity: Heather and the quiet Scottish historian she longs to trust.

The Case of the Clobbered Cad by Debra E. Marvin

Series: Nosy Parkers Mysteries, #2
Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publication Date: August 1, 2017
Publisher: Journey Fiction

Paperback: 302 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1946892027

E-Book ASIN: B0749K9NZX

Amazon | Goodreads

The Review

I just read a really good book, y'all — The Case of the Clobbered Cad by Debra E. Marvin, book two in the Nosy Parkers Mysteries. Let me tell you a little about it.

The Case of the Clobbered Cad is a fun, quick read, as is The Counterfeit Clue, book one in the series. The main character in each book is a former member of the Olentangy Heights Girls' Detective Society, aka the Nosy Parkers by their parents. Because the books have different authors, different settings (New York City and Edinburgh), different sets of characters, and different mysteries, each book can be read as a standalone. The Counterfeit Clue earned Four Kitties also. An excerpt is included at the end of The Case of the Clobbered Cad.

There is no shortage of people who have something against Jack Winter, the cad who was clobbered. While on the same transatlantic ship as Heather, along with his wife, Winter played at romance with Heather as if he were unattached — dancing, flirting, long talks in the moonlight. Heather was just the last in a long line of coeds Winter collected, so Mrs Winter had ample cause for jealousy. Author Debra E. Marvin has included several other suspects for your viewing pleasure. Can you figure out whodunit?

I enjoyed the references to the Girl Detective, who inspired the name of the society Heather belonged to, as a girl in Columbus, Ohio. Heather read every Girl Detective book she could find, and solved neighborhood mysteries with her friends. Now, Heather is still being inspired by the Girl Detective. After doing some research, Heather

finalized her plan. Relying on her most comfortable shoes, she stepped outside at eleven into a light mist. It was time for the girl detective to act.

Later, Heather realized that the

Girl Detective often put herself in danger, but it wasn't the same as doing it in real life.

One more quote — my favorite passage:

In the Hitchcock movies, the heroine would scream. But Heather was just a history major having a bad week, and there was no one around to hear her.

I love the detailed descriptions of the setting — Edinburgh, Scotland and its environs. The well-written plot made me feel like I was really there. Heather, her landlady Mrs Kintyre, her employer Mrs Baker-Pye, and "the quiet Scottish historian she longs to trust" are quite engaging and easy to like. I am looking forward to reading more about them.

I really enjoyed The Case of the Clobbered Cad, and recommend it to all fans of cozy mysteries. I think it will have special appeal to fans of Carolyn Keene's books, fans of the Scottish Bookshop Mysteries, and travelers or armchair travelers to Scotland.

I really like The Case of the Clobbered Cad by Debra E. Marvin, and hereby bestow upon it Four Kitties!

Four out of five kitties

Note: I received an advance review copy of The Case of the Clobbered Cad,
and voluntarily reviewed it. All opinions shared are 100% my own.

The Guest Post

Who’s to blame for your love of mysteries?

“Carolyn Keene”

Agatha Christie?

Daphne Du Maurier?

Mary Stewart?

After my Nancy Drew days, I found Mary Stewart, Phyllis Whitney, Dorothy Eden, Victoria Holt, Barbara Michaels — stories considered a mystery or romantic suspense with female protagonists. If it had a gothic feel, all the better!

I once owned every Phyllis Whitney book in print.

I’m preaching to the choir here, but some readers don’t understand the different genres that fall under mystery and suspense. Toss in thrillers as well, but there is no story in any genre that will keep our interest if we aren’t curious how the protagonist tackles what is thrown at them from A to Z!

Let’s look at those sub-genres: Amateur sleuth (often a professional in something else), procedural (often a professional doing his or her job, including police, legal or private eye), capers, fiction noir (hard-boiled, gritty, often with a professional sleuth)… but wait. Don’t those usually include a private eye as well? Yes. Sub-genres mix all the time!

Then there’s Classic or Whodunit. Here’s the thing… Agatha Christie is often referred to as cozy mystery author, but she spans far too many aspects of mystery. Cozies keep the gritty act of murder ‘off-screen’. Popular cozies now have quirky protagonists that go out and get themselves in trouble (think Agatha Raisin), but the classics like Miss Marple, Poirot and Sir Peter Wimsey did all their work intellectually by interviewing and observing. They rarely found themselves facing the villain in a life or death situation!

Thrillers are high stake, a test of good versus evil (we often ride along with both the bad guy and the hero), while the suspense genre has the protagonist stalked or pursued.

Maybe what we like about mysteries is the challenge — the puzzle — AND the entertainment of seeing how their authors use all these aspects that keep us turning the pages.

My story, The Case of the Clobbered Cad, falls into a mix of cozy, classic, and amateur sleuth, and I hope you enjoy its nostalgia for the girl detectives while figuring out whodunit, and… yes, scones and bagpipes!

So, tell me which mystery, suspense or thriller author was the one who got you hooked?

The Author

About Debra E. Marvin

Debra E. Marvin tries not to run too far from real life but the imagination born out of being an only child has a powerful draw. Besides, the voices in her head tend to agree with all the sensible things she says.

She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Sisters in Crime, and serves on the board of Bridges Ministry in Seneca Falls, NY. She is published with WhiteFire Publishing, Forget Me Not Romances, and contracted with Journey Fiction, and a judge for the Grace Awards for many years.

Debra works as a program assistant at Cornell University, and enjoys her family and grandchildren, obsessively buying fabric, watching British programming and traveling with her childhood friends.