The Case of the Missing Flamingo

books:


	• Flamingo Fatale (A Trailer Park Mystery) Jimmie Ruth Evans Berkley, 2005 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 15 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Case of the Missing Flamingo

When I first heard about this mystery series and learned about the murder weapon from this story I got a very mistaken impression of what this book would be like. I had envisioned a book that was bent more toward humor than mystery and had started reading it with the idea that I was heading for some hilarious fun. It didn't take me long though to realize my mistake and I must admit that at first I was disappointed. As I read on though I became more and more intrigued with the plot and the characters and soon found that I had trouble putting the book down. I must admit that I had an inkling about the solution before it was revealed but that didn't matter at all because I found that I was really concerned about what might happen to the characters in this book. It is rare to find an author that can weave a story in such a way that the reader begins to identify with and care about the characters in a book and this author has that talent.

The central character in this series is Wanda Nell Culpepper who works two jobs to support her two daughters and her infant grandson. Her ex-husband is a real stinker who has never paid any child support even though he comes from one of the wealthiest families in town. He is a schemer, a liar and is basically worthless but one of his best friends is a high-ranking official in the sheriff's department and another one is Wanda Nell's boss at one of her jobs. When her ex is murdered suspicion naturally falls on her and she has to fight tooth and nail to prove her innocence because her ex's friends are determined to convict her. Then her son, who has been in a lot of trouble during his life, shows up unexpectedly and things get very convoluted when he becomes a suspect too.

As the adventure proceeds the reader will meet Wanda Nell's two daughters. One is too lazy to hit a lick at a snake and one is the polar opposite. There are also Wanda Nell's neighbors in the trailer park most of whom she doesn't get along particularly well with but she and her next door neighbor, the shotgun toting beautician Mayrene are best friends and Mayrene saves the day on more than one occasion. There is also Wanda Nell's hard drinking ex mother-in-law "Miz" Culpepper who hates Wanda Nell with a passion and is convinced that Wanda Nell killed her baby.

As I started reading this book I never thought that I could get attached to these people but I did. This book is a bit more gritty than the usual cozy mystery and I must admit that some of the grit turned me off a bit at first but now I can't wait to pick up the second installment to see what happens next. There is an abundance of action, some humor, a good bit of anger and a whole lot of love in this book and if you stick it out through the first hundred pages or so I feel certain that you will come to appreciate this book just as much as I did.

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Flamingo

I was lucky enough to meet the author at a small bookstore I worked at in my neighborhood and learned of his books. I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed Flamingo Fatale. It was an easy lively read. As the reader you could visualize every scene with the descriptions given. From Pink Flamingos to Old Lady Culpepper. I have a friend who sounds alot like Wanda short of the murdered ex but the single mom trying to support her kids and a grandbaby and dealing with a crazy ex sounded like real life to me. I've already bought the second book to read. Way to go Jimmie Ruth Evan aka Dean James.

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Life and death in a doublewide

Wanda Nell Culpepper is a single mom holding down two jobs to support her family (I know some single moms doing that). She lives in a doublewide in the Kozy Kove Trailer Park in Tullahoma, Mississippi. Her worthless ex-husband, Bobby Ray, shows up flashing a roll of cash, then turns up dead the next morning, skewered by one of the pink flamingos from her flowerbed.

The list of suspects grows, and Wanda Nell must deal with the good-old-boy friends of Bobby Ray, including the chief deputy sheriff, Elmer Lee Johnson. She also has to contend with a harridan ex-mother-in-law who has never liked her and blames her for Bobby Ray's death. Their relationship can be summed up by Wanda Nell's statement, "you wouldn't spit on me if I was on fire."

Wanda Nell doesn't trust the sheriff's deputies, and carries out some investigations on her own. Some readers say that they guessed the killer's identity. Well, the killer was on my list of suspects, but it was a longer list. I did not think that it was that obvious. Events did seem to bring about some reconcilliations within Wanda Nell's family, and a possible boyfriend for Wanda Nell.

Some of my friends will love this novel. I would rate it at the PG-13 level.

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flamingo fatale

"Flamingo Fatale" was much better than I had anticipated. I hate to say that I put off reading this book for so long because I wondered how much I could identify with a protagonist who lives in a trailer park. Wanda Nell Culpepper was great. I love mysteries with good local color, & this series felt very authentic. I'll definitely be purchasing the rest of the books in this series.

Great Read - Fun Author

I had a chance to meet Jimmie Ruth Evans (AKA Dean James) at Murder by the Book in Houston last weekend. I was there so my wife could hear another author on the panel speak, but I was enchanted by Jimmie Ruth's description of Trailer Park mysteries.

So much of popular media seems to be limited to portraying the rich and powerful I feel like I'm way over staturated with "Glamorous People". Most enjoyable about this book was the characters, down to earth, hard working folks who don't have time or energy to put up fascades. I was waiting to find a hint of a condescending elitism, but it just isn't there. The characters were finely developed and believable. If your sister ran into tough circumstances, you'd hope she'd show this much character. But the story is well crafted as well. Like other reviewers, I was pretty sure who the bad guy was before the thing unfolded, but I wasn't entirely sure, and the unfolding was exciting reading.

I can't wait to read the next ones.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

After a full day slinging hash at Kountry Kitchen and then surviving the graveyard shift at Budget Mart, the last thing Wanda Nell Culpepper needs is to to find her no-account ex-husband, Bobby Ray, flashing cash and stirring up trouble. Things can't get much worse--until the next day when she finds her missing pink flamingo stuck in his very dead body.

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