Reader reviews

• delphimo_1

  (3/5)

  Kathy H Trocheck is known today as Mary Kay Andrews, and this is one of her earlier books which features Callahan Garrity. Callahan is an unlikely detective, as she runs a house cleaning service with over-the-hill ladies, but murder and mayhem interrupt the cleaning. The series has many fascinating characters and the situations create scenes of laughter. Of course, Callahan has her fill of problems, such as a perfect sister and a cancer scare and no boyfriend in sight. Who knows what the next caper will be?
• auntie0nanuuq

  (4/5)

  
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  Callahan Garrity, owner House Mouse cleaning service (former Policewoman & P.I.) is called in to clean the house of a former Sorority sister.... Her kids are running amok and the nanny has done a bunk. However, as it turns out the Nanny was sleeping w/ & blackmailing the husband (a crooked real estate developer)... when she suddenly disappears.
  
  When Nanny is found dead wrapped in the furs in cold storage, Husband & Sorority sister do their best to dissuade Callahan to drop the investigation... they harasser her, threaten her, even try to ruin her business.... all to no avail. Add in the mix a disreputable nanny service, a former convict lesbian lover, and over-zealous LDS kid... well there are may possible suspects.
  
  I had read this series years ago when it first came out... and then it just dropped off. I liked the characters, I liked the story it really held my interest.....
• pmaurer_11

  (2/5)

  Fluff book. Part time detective, part time house cleaner, Garrity is asked to locate the missing nanny of one of her college chums. She is aided by her housecleaning team, and mother on a series of twists and turns. Fun, but mostly predictable.
• mulebarn_1

  (4/5)

  Bought as part of a buy 4-for-3 deal at amazon.com, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the work. The characters are well developed, the story interesting and the overall experience good enough to send me to the library to seek out the rest of the series.
• judithdcollins

  (4/5)

  Every Crooked Nanny (Callahan Garrity Series #1) was a real treat – full of southern humor, sass and wit! Loving the new series mixed with a little mystery, detective work, cleaning business --- funny southern women from Atlanta (so right on). I lived in Atlanta most of my life until a few years ago, in Buckhead, Midtown, Peachtree Hills and off Paces Ferry in Vinings, so loved hearing all these mentions - Highlands and Little Five Points (always my favorite)!!! I was also a publisher for commercial real estate and former director of the North Fulton Chamber in Alpharetta, so enjoyed the real estate development tie in. I recommend buying the audio as (narrator had the southern draw down)…..as laughed the entire day while I was working online building a website and finished it in one day.
  
  If you liked Janet Evanovich's Jersey Stephanie Plum and Lula - you will love this series (instead of Jersey accent you get sweet southern)with the same spunk and humor! Out to get their man!
  
  Also loved the e-book “Killer Fudge” a short story prelude ----- Atlanta private investigator/cleaning business owner Callahan Garrity once again proves her ability to clean up a sticky mess. When the grandson of faithful House Mouse employee Ruby is charged with murdering an an elderly antique dealer, Callahan is called on to investigate. What she discovers is a recipe for homicide. Looking forward to the series!
  
• brendaklaassen

  (3/5)

  I listened to this while I was doing some crafts. The characters sometimes made me laugh out loud. In some parts of the story the tempo of the book really dragged. This dragging is unusual for this author. I will seek out this author again in the future.
• bookconcierge

  (3/5)

  From the book jacket: Earthy, outspoken Callahan Garrity has witnessed many dirty deeds in her time, first in her ten years as a cop and now as the reluctant owner of House Mouse, a cleaning service that tidies up after Atlanta’s elite. Callahan’s old and new lives collide when her client (and old sorority sister) Lilah Rose Beemish hires her to locate the family’s nanny, Kristee Ewbanks. Kristee has absconded with jewelry, furs, and secret files on a shady business deal her husband, Bo, is concocting. Callahan soon find Kristee is not the devout, naïve Mormon she’s pretended to be. Then she finds Kirstee’s corpse.
  
  My reactions
  This is a good start to a mystery series. Callahan is a strong central character; her previous experience as a cop and private detective serves her well in this outing. That experience also makes this more than the typical cozy. Yes, we still have a cast of colorful characters in her house-cleaning crew, and her mother, Edna, who is also her business partner and with whom she lives, provides a nice counter balance. I wasn’t quite sure why she persisted in investigating after her client basically told her she was done, and some of the relationships stretched credulity (especially the sudden appearance of a rich in-law for the chief suspect). Still, it was fast paced, entertaining and kept me turning pages. I read it in two days. I’d definitely be up for trying another in the series.
  
• celia

  (4/5)

  Very funny, good story with wonderful characters, well read in a southern accent, just a fun read
• Irene Mearsheimer Wenner

  (5/5)

  What a fun book! Callahan Garrity uses her police skills and her cleaning ladies to solve a murder and fight corruption.
• Sheri Masala

  (4/5)

  Loved this book. The characters are so well fleshed out. The story is a bit ridículous but that doesn't Matter as the feisty Southern belles more than make Up for It?
• madamejeanie

  (3/5)

  I'd not heard of this series before, but I do like Southern novels. The blurbs and reviews use words like "Bright and sassy." Well, it was an okay story with okay characters, but nothing that I found particularly sassy or bright. A reasonable read and I'll try a couple more in the series before I give up on it. But this one gets a 3. I've read far better, but I've also read far worse. We'll see how another one goes.
• cathyskye

  (3/5)

  Protagonist: J. Callahan Garrity--ex-cop, failed P.I. and owner of the House Mouse cleaning serviceSetting: present-day AtlantaSeries: #1First Line: I knew it was going to be a bad day when Neva Jean called that early in the morning.While cleaning the home of snooty Lilah Rose Beemish, Callahan is hired to trace Kristee, the family's Mormon nanny who has absconded with furs, jewels and business secrets stolen from Lilah's husband Bo during their affair. Callahan's investigation leads her to Kristee's boyfriend, to a lesbian who loved the missing woman and then to Kristee's body, stored in a fur vault with Lilah's black sable. Bo and Lilah seem the most likely suspects as Callahan digs up dirt about Bo's multimillion-dollar real estate deal.Trocheck has a marvelous cast of characters in this first book of the series, and I'm looking forward to seeing what she does with them in following books. The only real problem I found with Every Crooked Nanny was that it really didn't pick up steam until the last third of the book.