C. R. Corwin (1949–2008)

I liked the mystery, I liked the characters (this is the second I've read), I liked the story. But there was sure a whole lot of boring narrative.... The Red Herring was pretty good too, not at all who I suspected, but I wasn't paying attention.

Violeta Bell is a presumptuous heir to the Romanian Throne. She is one of a group of four older (senior) women who go Garage Sale hunting every week with the same cab driver Eddie. After an article appears in the local newspaper, Violeta is murdered, and Eddie is being framed for it.

As it turns out Violeta was once the Prince Presumptive, who everyone thought died in a boating accident, where no body was ever found....... This is a part of the Red Herring......

Maddy Sprowles is the Morgue Mama (Newspaper Librarian) who helps to solve the mystery of Violeta's murder......… (más)

Maddy Sprowls has worked for the Hannawa Herald-Union newspaper for more than 40 years in the morgue where she reigns over decades of old clippings. Her job has earned her the nickname of the "Morgue Mama". Maddy is stunned when she learns that a dear friend from her college days, an archaeology professor named Gordon, has been found shot to death at the site of his latest dig - the local city dump. Her innate curiosity drives her to her own investigation into the murder which may be linked to another murder nearly 45 years earlier. Maddy fears that it is entirely possible one of her college circle of friends might be the culprit and as Maddy gets closer and closer to the truth, she fears for her own life.

This seems to be a fun little cozy mystery series but unfortunately this is the only one of the series my library has. If I ever come across any of the others I would certainly give them a try. Some of it was a bit convoluted but Maddy is a fun detective and she is surrounded by a lot of quirky characters.
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The Morgue Mama in question is one Dolly Madison Sprowls. She is Head Librarian for the Hannawa Herald Union newspaper. She is also described as crusty and a pain-in-the-ass.
As the story unfolds she teams up with a new crime reporter,Aubrey McGinty,who is as young as Sprowls is elderly,go ahead and feisty with it.
Very soon they investigate the poisoning of a TV evangelist,by a somewhat unusual method,and they also attempt to prove the innocence of the person that the police have quickly arrested for the crime.
The story-line was quite clever and opens up the possibility of further stories in the series.My only slight quibble was that the title should have been "The Cross Kisses Back" which I think a good one in itself. The Morgue Mamma part would have been better used as,say,"A Morgue Mamma Crime Novel".
I do look forward to the second book in the series.… (más)