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    Murder Passes the Buck
    Unavailable
    Murder Passes the Buck
    Unavailable
    Murder Passes the Buck
    Ebook234 pages3 hours

    Murder Passes the Buck

    By Deb Baker

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Murder Passes the Buck (book 1 in the Gertie Johnson mystery series) is approximately 60,000 words.

    When her neighbor is shot and killed in his hunting blind, sixty-six-year-old widow Gertie Johnson seizes the opportunity to move on with her life by investigating his death. Gertie is abetted (and hindered) by her grandson Little Donny, man-hungry best friend Cora Mae, and word-of-the-day challenger, Kitty. It doesn’t help that Chester’s death has been ruled an accident by the sheriff of this backwoods community in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Or that Sheriff Blaze Johnson happens to be Gertie’s son.

    Whether it’s interrogating neighbors, spying, or impersonating the FBI—not to mention staying one step ahead of Blaze—Gertie will do whatever it takes to solve the case, even when the killer takes aim at her.

    Praise for the series:
    “Laugh-out-loud funny” Crimespree Magazine

    “Fans of Janet Evanovich, imagine Grandma Mazur with a shotgun.” Green Bay Press Gazette

    “One of the most memorable heroines in recent crime fiction.” Lansing State Journal

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDeb Baker
    Release dateOct 29, 2009
    ISBN9781452310527
    Unavailable
    Murder Passes the Buck
    Author

    Deb Baker

    Deb Baker was born in the Michigan Upper Peninsula (yes, she is a Yooper!), which is the setting for her humorous award-winning Gertie Johnson mystery series. She also is the author of the Dolls to Die for series. Deb writes the Queen Bee mystery series under her pen name, Hannah Reed. (Buzz Off, Mind Your Own Beeswax,Plan Bee). For more information about Deb and her books, visit http://www.deb-baker.blogspot.com

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    Reviews for Murder Passes the Buck

    3.5/5

    46 ratings8 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Not one to read mysteries, I found this book fun to read. Gertie and her friends are quite entertaining. A fun read.
    • 1/5
      I'm rarely moved to write a review but I've rarely began a book this bad. I can still remember the only other book I've ever put down after 2 chapters (a star trek novel from the early eighties). The words drone, the characters annoy and the tone bores. This was definitely self published on Amazon. An editor would have made a world of difference- perhaps by critique or, more probably, by keeping it from seeing the light of day.
    • 4/5
      First Line: If my grandson Little Donny hadn't taken so long getting out of bed this morning, I would have been at Chester's hunting blind in time to see them haul Chester out.It's been a little over a year since Gertie Johnson's husband died, and she's finally perking up a bit. She's sixty-six and is level-headed enough about her age to know she's going to let the gray hair and wrinkles slide while she focuses on life's more important matters. Listening to her police scanner is making her feel connected to the world again, and when Chester Lampi's body is discovered in his deer blind, Gertie decides to investigate: "The thought of investigating Chester's death appealed to me. The more time I spent listening to my police scanner, the more I thought I'd make a pretty good investigator. After all, I had three kids to practice on while they were growing up. If nothing came of my efforts and it was a stray bullet that killed Chester like Blaze and Cora Mae thought, I'd chalk it up to on-the-job training."Of course it doesn't help that the local sheriff (who's got nothing but retirement on his mind) has declared Chester's death an accident and a no-investigate zone... and it also doesn't help that he's Gertie's son. That's not about to stop Gertie, and soon she's on the case with the help of her friends-- man-hungry Cora Mae and bodyguard Kitty.Everything becomes further complicated when Gertie learns that that self-same son has petitioned the court to become her legal guardian, but she and her two cohorts continue to investigate-- even when the killer starts to target them.A previous reviewer of Murder Passes the Buck said, "Fans of Janet Evanovich, imagine Grandma Mazur with a shotgun." I wouldn't go that far. Yes, Gertie has a shotgun, but she's not as cuckoo as Grandma Mazur. I'd go hunting with Gertie; she knows not to point a gun at anyone unless she fully intends to shoot them. Where Grandma Mazur is concerned, I wouldn't be on the same block as her when she's packin' simply because I trust her to do something stupid, and I can't drop flat to the ground as quickly as I used to.Deb Baker makes it clear that the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is another place in America where bonafide characters live and prosper. Gertie is an original and a bit eccentric, but far from being a danger to herself or to others. It was a mark of how much I'd come to care for the old girl when I learned that her son was wanting to become her legal guardian. I wanted to aim one of my boots at him and kick him to the next planet!If you're in the mood to read about some eccentric folks doing their thing in the backwoods, by all means become acquainted with Gertie Johnson and her friends. I know I'll be reading her next adventure very soon!
    • 5/5
      Gertie Johnson is a 66 year old widow in Michigan's Upper Peninsula with a rather cock-eyed way of looking at life, and bright orange hair after a little hair rinse mishap. Her daughter's Heather and Star never minded that they were named after horses, but her son Blaze (who also just happens to be the by-the-book sheriff of this little backwoods community) has always resented it. Gertie has time on her hands and when a neighbor of hers is found in his hunting blind with a bullet between his eyes, she's determined to convince her son that it wasn't a hunting accident, but murder. So, she enlists the help of her kooky friends, man crazy Cora Mae and Kitty (who always has her hair done up in pin curls and never seems to find an occasion big enough to warrant a comb out) and the three would-be detectives are determined to find out whodunit. They stumble into more clues than any of them know what to do with and Gertie refuses to be distracted by the competency hearing her son Blaze has scheduled for her in court.This is the first book in the Yooper series (Yooper being what the locals call the Upper Peninsula) and it was a real hoot. These gals are as delightful as the Southern Sisters were. Gertie is eccentric and there is literally no telling what she's apt to pull next, so this is going to be another series to keep an eye on, I'm thinking. 4.5
    • 1/5
      Gertie Johnson is in her sixties and decides to investigate a death in the local community. Her son the sheriff is petitioning to become her legal guardian. If I was related to her so would I.
    • 4/5
      After her neighbor is shot in his hunting blind 66-year old Gertie Johnson, a widow living in the U.P. (Upper Peninsula) in Michigan forms an ad hoc investigation agency consisting of her man-hungry best friend, Cora Mae (think Blanch Devereaux,), and larger than life, pin-curled friend Kitty to find the killer.

      Gertie is a hoot; she’s feisty, snarky, and wholly independent (despite her son’s petition to get her a guardianship). While I didn’t laugh out loud per se, it did bring lots of grins and knowing smiles to my lips. Few cozy mystery heroines are this funny and entertaining. I can’t believe this series hasn’t been nominated for a Lefty Award (humorous crime novels)!

      While the mystery is really secondary to Gertie, her friends and her family, Baker still does a fine job of creating a cozy mystery and I really didn’t figure it out until Gertie did, so all in all it was a fun romp of a read perfect for a lazy summer vacation. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
    • 3/5
      Very funny, lots of funny little one-liners. A nice change after all the set texts I'd been reading before it.Didn't find Gertie hugely likeable, she was a bit of a batty old lady who got by on sheer luck but that added to the comedy of the story.May look out for more books about Gertie because it was an enjoyable, quick read.
    • 4/5
      After her neighbor is shot in his hunting blind 66-year old Gertie Johnson, a widow living in the U.P. (Upper Peninsula) in Michigan forms an ad hoc investigation agency consisting of her man-hungry best friend, Cora Mae (think Blanch Devereaux,), and larger than life, pin-curled friend Kitty to find the killer.

      Gertie is a hoot; she’s feisty, snarky, and wholly independent (despite her son’s petition to get her a guardianship). While I didn’t laugh out loud per se, it did bring lots of grins and knowing smiles to my lips. Few cozy mystery heroines are this funny and entertaining. I can’t believe this series hasn’t been nominated for a Lefty Award (humorous crime novels)!

      While the mystery is really secondary to Gertie, her friends and her family, Baker still does a fine job of creating a cozy mystery and I really didn’t figure it out until Gertie did, so all in all it was a fun romp of a read perfect for a lazy summer vacation. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.