Tue 6 Jul 2010
Archived Review: DEBORAH ADAMS – All the Crazy Winters.
Posted by Steve under Authors , Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Reviews[4] Comments
DEBORAH ADAMS – All the Crazy Winters. Ballantine, paperback original; 1st printing, July 1992.
This is the second in the recent series of mysteries taking place in Jesus Creek, Tennessee. Since the population of Jesus Creek is only 430 at the beginning of the book, and somewhat less than that at the end, you can only wonder (1) how long the series can last, and (2) how the number of murders per capita might compare to other metropolitan areas, such as (for example) the far more notorious New York City, a haven for killers and muggers if ever there was one.
But before going on any further, I should tell you right away that if you’re a reader fonder of hard-boiled mysteries than not, you should avoid this one with all the gusto you can gather. This one’s about libraries and librarians, and genealogy, and cute characters so lovably eccentric that Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade fans will run screaming from the room and not looking back.
It’s fairly clear that Deborah Adams has fallen in love with her characters, which is seldom a good thing to do. But no matter how you look at it, the plot really needs some help. It is so frail that Nancy Drew would have solved it in a minute, even on a bad day. With the wind blowing against her.
Or in other words, if you like whimsical people and even lighter-weight plots, you may find this series a good investment. Do read page 75 again, however, and tell me how two grown people (male and female) groping and tussling with each other at the victim’s funeral could in any way brighten your day.
[UPDATE] 07-06-10. Obviously I did not find much to recommend in this one, and I have not read another in Deborah Adams’ series of “Jesus Creek” mysteries. As I recall, however, while there is a recurring ensemble cast, the leading protagonist changes from book to book. Positive blurbs by Sharyn McCrumb and Joan Hess on the covers show that my opinion was not universal.
The Jesus Creek series —
1. All the Great Pretenders (1991)
2. All the Crazy Winters (1992)
3. All the Dark Disguises (1993)
4. All the Hungry Mothers (1994)
5. All the Deadly Beloved (1995)
6. All the Blood Relations (1996)
7. All the Dirty Cowards (2000)
July 6th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
I’m not really sure how ‘cozy’ a small town full of murderers and their victims could be, but growing up around some relatively small towns they have a remarkably active history of major crime under the veneer of small town Americana.
That said, there usually isn’t a lot of mystery involved, though I do know of at least one genuine “locked car” mystery — it was solved, but the murderer walked away because she was too big and rich locally to be arrested with any evidence less than a room full of eye witnesses. Luckily the second time she tried it she hired someone to do the job and the state police weren’t as forgiving or timid as the locals.
But there was nothing particularly cozy about the crimes or the way they were handled.
And so as not to leave anyone hanging, the ‘locked car’ involved a woman found in her Caddy out by the golf course. She had supposedly committed suicide by .22 rifle. Unluckily for the killer the local medical examiner pointed out to the the police that A. she was unconscious when she was shot B. there was no way for a woman sitting behind the steering wheel to pull the trigger of the .22 rifle and be shot at the angle the bullet entered C. Even ignoring the first two points there was no motive for suicide.
Eventually it was determined the killer met her at the golf course. Drugged her. Positioned the rifle and shot her. Locked the car from the inside, popped the trunk open, and climbed out of the car that way. The locals bungled any physical evidence, but everyone knew who did it since everyone knew the victim was the mistress of a local oilman.
The killer tried it again a few years later hiring a hit man from Dallas to kill a hairdresser who was hubbys new mistress, but when the Dallas police arrested the hit man on an unrelated charge he gave her up for a deal. She died of cancer before there was a trial though — a tremendous relief to her husband and the local police.
But that’s about the level of ‘cozy’ small town crime. Everyone knows who did it and why and the police don’t do anything about it unless they just have to or the guilty person is obvious. Half the time a local jury wouldn’t convict anyway, it’s just not much like cozy fiction.
Unlike this book the cynical Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade would feel perfectly at home.
July 6th, 2010 at 11:31 pm
No, there’s nothing inherently cozy about small towns. The town I grew up in was medium-small, about 10,000 or just under, and I think I knew about 1/2 of 1 percent of what really went on.
July 7th, 2010 at 5:46 am
I haven’t heard anything about Adams in a long time. In the early years of Malice Domestic, she was taken up by some of the ‘names’ in the cozy field (as indicated in the blurbs Steve alluded to) and went around the conventions with them – Hess, McCrumb, et al.
Now I’m glad I never tried her books.
July 7th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
McCrumb is a good regional writer and not always all that cozy — a few of her books get fairly dark, but in general what I consider cozies (and I don’t consider Agatha Christie, Charlotte Armstrong, Margaret Millar, and quite a few others to be cozies) are more concerned with a fairly nostalgic view of community, usually combined with either soap opera or romantic comedy elements, some special field of knowledge, and an emphasis on relationships between characters over crime, suspense, and mystery elements.
Some cozies are more mystery oriented than others, and some writers at times a bit darker, but in general cozies to me refer to books that are more concerned with creating a comfortable and inviting social milieu for the reader than creating suspense or solving a mystery.
Obviously that is tremendously appealing to many fans who devour these to the extent they have crowded out many other types of mysteries — at least in the mass market paperback range, and obviously there is a great variance among writers ranging from racy and action oriented to genteel and quiet. I tend to think in terms of cozies primarily being read by women but I suspect some writers have a healthy male following who just don’t announce their choice of reading material.
Still, though this isn’t one I’m likely to read, it is always helpful to find out more about someone whose books you see on the stands. And you never know. I finally broke down and read Harry Potter and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the writing. The first Miss Marple I read I wasn’t expecting a tough old bird who could give Sam Spade a run for his money in the cynical stakes. It took me a few books to get into Nicholas Freeling, but I ended up reading virtually every book he wrote. You never know where you will find a good read, a pleasant surprise, or a lifetime of entertainment.