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Ellen Hart
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This Little Piggy Went to Murder Paperback – October 31, 1994

by Ellen Hart (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars 51
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It's election year in Minnesota, and Jack Grendel is running hard for the U.S. Senate. But a pair of grotesque murders threatens to derail his campaign. One is the bizarre hanging of a consultant for Grendel Shipping. The other is the shooting of Jack's own father soon after he withdraws financial support from his son's campaign. When food critic Sophie Greenway, a family friend, starts snooping, it begins to look like one of her oldest friends is a killer. But will she discover which one before it's her turn to die?
Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 8
    Sophie Greenway Series
  2. Print length
    230 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Fawcett
  5. Publication date
    October 31, 1994
  6. Dimensions
    4.25 x 0.75 x 7 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0345381890
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0345381897
  9. See all details
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All the Little Raindrops: A Novel
"All the Little Raindrops: A Novel" by Mia Sheridan for $10.39
The chilling story of the abduction of two teenagers, their escape, and the dark secrets that, years later, bring them back to the scene of the crime. | Learn more

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hart, whose previous mysteries starred restaurateur Jane Lawless (Stage Fright), introduces a new heroine, food critic and amateur sleuth Sophie Greenway. Don't expect much in the way of recipes, restaurants or food, however, since the job serves mainly as an excuse for Sophie's presence on the scene. When an old friend, Amanda Jorensen, remodels her family restaurant, Sophie travels to Duluth, Minn., with her husband, Bram, to cover the grand reopening. The day before, a man has been found hanging from Duluth's Aerial Lift Bridge, and Amanda's father is shot to death soon afterward. A few days later, a third person is poisoned at a Labor Day fund-raiser for Amanda's politician brother. The killer leaves behind verses from the nursery rhyme "This Little Piggy Went to Market," and it soon becomes obvious that the murderer must be a member of Amanda's family. Though Hart has given her characters distinct and detailed backgrounds, they never quite come alive, and a point-of-view switch whenever the killer is about to strike is annoying. The reason behind the nursery rhyme, other than to provide a catchy title for the book, is also never fully explained. Still, there are some good, nail-bitingly tense scenes and lots of red herrings, and Hart manages to resolve things nicely.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap

n year in Minnesota, and Jack Grendel is running hard for the U.S. Senate. But a pair of grotesque murders threatens to derail his campaign. One is the bizarre hanging of a consultant for Grendel Shipping. The other is the shooting of Jack's own father soon after he withdraws financial support from his son's campaign. When food critic Sophie Greenway, a family friend, starts snooping, it begins to look like one of her oldest friends is a killer. But will she discover which one before it's her turn to die?

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Fawcett; First Edition (October 31, 1994)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 230 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0345381890
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0345381897
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.25 x 0.75 x 7 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.6 out of 5 stars 51

About the author

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Ellen Hart

Ellen Hart

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Ellen Hart is the author of thirty-two crime novels in two different series. She is a six-time winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Mystery, a three-time winner of the Minnesota Book Award for Best Popular Fiction, a three-time winner of the Golden Crown Literary Award, a recipient of the Alice B Medal, and was made an official GLBT Literary Saint at the Saints & Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans in 2005. Entertainment Weekly named her one of the "101 Movers and Shakers in the Gay Entertainment Industry." For the past sixteen years, Ellen has taught "An Introduction to Writing the Modern Mystery" through the The Loft Literary Center, the largest independent writing community in the nation. Her newest Sophie Greenway mystery is No Reservations Required, (Ballantine, June 2005). Fever in the Dark, the newest Jane Lawless mystery, will be released by St. Martin's/Minotaur in October 2016. Ellen lives in Minneapolis with her partner of 37 years.

Customer reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars
3.6 out of 5
51 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Chloe
3.0 out of 5 stars Typos and punctuation errors! Ugh.
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2022
Verified Purchase
Sure, it is the first book in a series, but as a reader I feel insulted when someone didn't proof their work. Maybe it was a scanning from hard copy to digital, or some other tech reason, but there were way too many typos and punctuation errors. The poor layout between paragraphs didn't help explain that action had stopped and restarted. These things make me stop and lose my suspension of disbelief. It is too bad as the story itself wasn't bad. A bit too fantastical. The plot went over the top and at times got ridiculous - a senate candidate's family is connected to a series of murders but he just goes on with his stump speeches? The press doesn't hound him. Too many of the characters seemed to be one dimensional - almost too easy to hate. But I enjoyed some of the twists and turns in solving the mystery and the North Shore descriptions hit home. I'm willing to read #2 as I want to like this author, but I hope the writing improves.
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Snow ❄ White
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow 👏
Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2017
Verified Purchase
I was prepared to "like this #1 ~ in a series" book, LESS ... I do not know which previous reviewer I jumped to believe, LOL
I am glad I read it ANYWAY ... 5 stars for the plot & the author's wording
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SaxmanAlex
4.0 out of 5 stars Don't eat that piece of pie!
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2017
Verified Purchase
I checked out this author since I went to college with her in the 1960s. We both went into writing and were successful in opposite genres, so I'm checking up on her work by starting with the Sophie Greenway series, since that series is based indirectly on our shared college experience. I like the plot development, the hook to the familiar piggy rhymes and the local color from Duluth. There are nice political and environmental hobby horses along the way. As with the best mystery writers, you really can't guess the real killer very well in advance. Well done, Ms. Pat "Ellen" Hart!
One person found this helpful
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Kelton Jenkins
2.0 out of 5 stars scenes and dialogue didn't ring true
Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2018
Verified Purchase
I didn't find anyone that I cared about very much.Certain scenes and dialogue didn't ring true.Also, no police are going to stand for a long monologue by the murderer during a standoff with hostages.
6 people found this helpful
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sre
4.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as the later books in the series but it's ...
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2015
Verified Purchase
1st book in the series. Not as good as the later books in the series but it's interesting to see where she started from
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2019
First in series. Good story. Well-written. Interesting, likable characters. Some twists and turns. I was kept guessing until the end.
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wizardwoof
4.0 out of 5 stars Good REad.
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2013
Verified Purchase
Entertaining and easy to read. Not a lot of gratuitous violence. Like the descriptions of the area around the Great Lakes.
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Lori L. Lake
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Start for the Sophie Greenway Series
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2003
THIS LITTLE PIGGY is an excellent debut novel. The sleuth, Sophie Greenway, is engaging, reflective, and entirely believable as a nosy but nice magazine food critic who gets plunged into the puzzling circumstances of the murder of her oldest friend's father.
In particular, the language and subtle humor are striking. Hart sets a nice balance between the grim realities of the murders and the relationships of the main and secondary characters. The narrative draws the reader in and keeps you hooked, whether we are finding out unexpected things about Greenway's friends and family or about the deadly plot that results in the murders.
After reading this first novel in the Sophie Greenway series, I was surprised to see it out of print. If this debut is any indication of the quality of the subsequent Greenway books, this series is well worth Ballantine reissuing it.
Other books recommended: M.D. Lake's Peggy O'Neill series, William Kent Krueger's Cork O'Connor series, and R.D. Zimmerman's Todd Mills mysteries.
3 people found this helpful
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