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Joan Hess
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Out on a Limb (Claire Malloy Mysteries, No. 14) Paperback – November 17, 2003

by Joan Hess (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 81 ratings
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Faberville bookstore owner Claire Malloy is ruminating over the state of her love life when she gets disturbing news. Elderly Miss Emily Parchester is up a tree. Chained to an old oak, packing a thermos of tea and a gun, the retired schoolteacher is ready to go down with the ship, or rather the tree, before she'll let another historic piece of Farberville be bulldozed in the name of "progress," i.e., developer Anthony Armstrong's condominiums.

With Miss Parchester armed, and therefore dangerous, Claire fears this noble act will end tragically. Unfortunately, it does-when someone murders Armstrong. And suddenly Claire herself is out on a limb: a baby has been left on her doorstep, the child's teenage mom is suspect number one in Armstrong's death, and Claire needs to find the real killer fast. Especially when she discovers Miss Parchester knows more than she's willing to tell....

Previous page
  1. Book 14 of 20
    Claire Malloy Mysteries
  2. Print length
    336 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Minotaur Books
  5. Publication date
    November 17, 2003
  6. Dimensions
    4.25 x 1 x 6.75 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0312986327
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0312986322
  9. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Joan Hess is one of the best mystery writers in the world.” ―Elizabeth Peters, author of Lord of the Silent

“I love Joan Hess. She's hilarious, of course-one of the few writers who can crack me up both on the page and in person. If you've never spent time with Claire and her crew, I feel sorry for you. Stop reading this nonsense and hop to it. You'll see wit and humanity all wrapped up in a nifty murder mystery.” ―Harlan Coben, author of Tell No One

From the Inside Flap

Praise for the Claire Malloy Mystery Series

"Joan Hess is one of the funniest people in the mystery world."-Margaret Maron, author of Slow Dollar

"With her wry asides, Claire makes a most engaging narrator...the surprising denouement comes off with eclat."-Publishers Weekly

"Joan Hess is seriously funny. Moreover, she is seriously kind as well as clever when depicting the follies, foibles, and fantasies of our lives. Viva Joan!"-Carolyn Hart, author of April Fool Dead

"Joan Hess shares with P.G. Wodehouse an unmistakable comic voice and the ability to juggle a dizzying number of subplots. She has the remarkable ability to take caricatures and bring them to life and make us care about them in book after book."-M. D. Lake, author of Death Calls the Tune

"Witty, ironic, and biting...Joan Hess has an unerring comedic instinct."-Bookpage

"Joan Hess fans will find a winning blend of soft-core feminism, trendy subplots, and a completely irreverent style that characterizes both series and the sleuth, all nicely onstage."
-Houston Chronicle

"Breezy and delightful...Claire Malloy is one of the most engaging narrators in mystery."
-The Drood Review

"Definitely entertaining. Hess deftly sprinkles red herrings and odd characters throughout."
-Library Journal on The Murder at the Mimosa Inn

"Dear Miss Demeanor is great fun...Hess's poniard is tipped with subtle wit."
-Chicago Sun Times

"Hess's theme is a serious one, but she handles it with wit. Claire is an appealing character, and this is an engaging mystery for anyone who likes crime mixed with comedy."
-Booklist on Roll Over and Play Dead
0
"Hess's style-that of a more worldly Erma Bombeck-rarely flags. Amiable entertainment with an edge."-Kirkus Reviews

"Joan Hess is one funny woman."-Susan Dunlap

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Minotaur Books; First Edition (November 17, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0312986327
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312986322
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.25 x 1 x 6.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 81 ratings

About the author

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Joan Hess

Joan Hess

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Oh dear, this seems so personal. I was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas, luckily a blue dot in a red state. Did the normal kid stuff, avoided the long arm of the law. I earned a BA in art from the U of A, and a MS in early childhood development from Long Island University. I was teaching art in a preschool (pretty clever combination of the degrees, right?) when a friend suggested I write a romance novel. I wrote ten unpublishable ones before I realized I needed a splash of blood and a slather of humor in my prose and turned to mysteries. The Claire Malloy series came first, followed by the Maggody series. A third series, the Theo Bloomer mysteries, sputtered out after two novels, alas (it was going to be my "travel" series, requiring me to take tax-deductible business trips to do the research).

Now I live in Austin, Texas (also a blue dot, but a bigger one), a ten-minute drive from my absolutely adorable twin grandchildren Jack and Annabelle, soon to be three years old. Please don't ask me if they're identical. Their gracious mother frequently allows me to drop whatever I'm doing and dash over to babysit. And I do.

I'm currently working on my forty-fifth (or so) mystery, a Claire Malloy based on my brief experience in the jury pool. When I'm not babysitting, that is.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
81 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

greta odom
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2016
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I love this whole series of books and the characters are lovable and funny.
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Yooper60
4.0 out of 5 stars Great fun!
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2016
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Claire Malloy does it again! Murder, mayhem, a righteous retired teacher, baby left at doorstep, greedy sisters make for a challenge for Clairr, her best friend as well as her oh so teenage daughter to figure everything out before the cute local police lieutenant does
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Patricia Davillier
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2017
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Love Joan Hess!
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B. Idle
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2017
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great book
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Julie Ross
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2014
I was disappointed that it didn't have a dust jacket even though it was pictured with one.
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gfkdipper
4.0 out of 5 stars totally engaging!
Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2013
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The author creates the characters so well that you truly care what happens to them. And while there maybe several subplots, you don't get lost along the path, even tho' there are times you feel you have to hang on tightly!
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Sally J. Riley
5.0 out of 5 stars very good.
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2016
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very good.
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tregatt
5.0 out of 5 stars a humourous and engaging read
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2002
You could say that it all started about a month ago, when Claire Malloy, owner of Faberville's only bookstore, part-time amateur sleuth, and mother to sixteen year old Caron, helped deliver the baby of an (apparently) abused teenager living on the streets. But after having seen that the girl and her newborn son made it to the shelter for abused women, Claire never thought to see either them again. And yet here's the baby boy, left (literally) at her doorstep with a note from the mother begging Claire to look after her son while she tries to sort a few things out, extolling Claire NOT to contact the authorities and promising to retrieve the child in a few days. Unfortunately, the next thing Claire knows is that she's watching a newsclip on her TV of the baby's mother being arrested for murder!
It turns out that the baby's mother is Daphne Armstrong, the only daughter of Faberville's own shady land developer, Anthony Armstrong. Daphne had runaway from home the previous year when she realised that she was pregnant and when her father had demanded that she have an abortion. Now Anthony Armstrong has been found murdered in his own study, and witnesses (who include Armstrong's trophy wife and her sister) claim to have seen Daphne fleeing the scene minutes after shots were fired, gun in hand. It looks like an open-and-shut case, but Claire is sure that Daphne is innocent of the crime. And so decides to investigate. (It's either that or risk being lumbered with caring for the baby for the next 16 years). But this soon proves to be a case with quite a few 'legs.' Many people had a reason to dislike Armstrong immensely -- like the members of Faberville's Green Party, who claim that Armstrong is bribing the planning commission in order to build at sites that should be preserved. Claire's good (and slightly eccentric) friend, retired school teacher Emily Parchester, has even decided (to Claire's dismay) to 'sit' in a tree until the planning commission rethinks it's decision to allow Armstrong to destroy a valueable corpse of trees. And then there is Armstrong's first wife and Daphne's mother, Sheila, whom he divorced and who received a very shabby divorce settlement. And of course one must not forget Daphne herself who had reasons of her own to resent her father... Soon, Claire is busy hanging out with Faberville's rich and trendy set as she tries to discover if anyone else in Armstrong's set could have had a strong enough motive to kill him and pin the murder on Daphne. But she also has to keep an eye on Emily Parchester, and make sure that she doesn't come to harm. As well as make sure that Peter, the police detective she's dating, doesn't get wind of what she's up to (they have a very complicated relationship)! And then there is Caron's (Claire's 16 year old daughter) strained and tempestuous reaction to what's going on... Perhaps Claire is juggling a bit more than she can take on?
Joan Hess's Claire Malloy mystery series has always been a firm favourite. And I'm really thrilled that I can report with all honesty that this latest installment is as funny and as whimsical as the other books in the series. The mystery may take a little longer than necessary to unfold, and one really has to wonder about Claire and Peter's relationship, esp since she spends a lot of time hiding things from him and he spends an equal amount of time disapproving of her tendency to get involved in murder investigations, but most of the joy that one gleans from this series is in the characters -- old favourites that any reader cannot help but be engaged by, eccentric and funny (all of them) -- and in Joan Hess's wonderful and witty manner of telling a story. I loved all the sarcastic asides and ironic humour in the book. And I loved that Caron still speaks in capitol letters -- she's such a riot, and really adds colour to the plot. All in all, "Out on a Limb" was a wonderfully engaging and fun read that is bound to please (and amuse).
9 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Glenoran1
5.0 out of 5 stars it is a delight to read
Reviewed in Canada on May 16, 2018
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Another lovely Joan Hess novel. As always, it is a delight to read.
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Ilse Plenter
4.0 out of 5 stars Out on a Limb (Claire Malloy Mysteries) by Joan Hess
Reviewed in Germany on January 15, 2013
Verified Purchase
Immer wieder gerne, so geht es mir mit den Büchern von Joan Hess.
Ich lese ihre kleinen Krimis so zwischendurch, sie bringen mich zum Schmunzeln. Ich mag den Humor, den Joan Hess in ihren Büchern zum Ausdruck bringt. Ich mag die Beziehung hier zwischen Mutter und Tochter, bringt auch Erinnerungen mit sich. Ich könnte mir diese Bücher auch als Filme vorstellen, Claire hört sich doch nach einer richtig chicen, rothaarigen Mutter an.
Ich habe auch meine Tochter zu diesen Büchern bekehrt und sie hat sie auch alle gelesen.
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Nina Senecal
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on July 30, 2017
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On time and as promised
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