Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Search - Busy Bodies (Claire Malloy, Bk 10)

Busy Bodies  (Claire Malloy, Bk 10)
Busy Bodies - Claire Malloy, Bk 10
Author: Joan Hess
When Zeno Gorgias, an avant-garde artist, moves into Farberville, the whole neighborhood is up in arms. His "interactive art", complete with a nearly nude model and a coffin in the front yard, is attracting a mob of noisy gawkers.   Then the volatile artist's house goes up in smoke, a dead body is found... and the artist ...  more »
Info icon
ISBN-13: 9780451405609
ISBN-10: 0451405609
Publication Date: 5/1/1996
Pages: 272
Rating:
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 29

3.6 stars, based on 29 ratings
Publisher: Onyx Books
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed Busy Bodies (Claire Malloy, Bk 10) on + 87 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I enjoyed this book very much. New author to me, but I will try for more of her books. Sometimes she was nosey, but sometimes she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. A fun book and I was surprised by who the killer really was.
reviewed Busy Bodies (Claire Malloy, Bk 10) on + 56 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
i love this series, claire malloy and her teenage daughter's antics, as well as the murders, are always a joy to read.
ladyshortyg avatar reviewed Busy Bodies (Claire Malloy, Bk 10) on + 33 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
busy bodies is a hilarious story . about claire malloy a book store owner who is also an amateur sleuth . who gets involved in solving a murder
Read All 11 Book Reviews of "Busy Bodies Claire Malloy Bk 10"

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

twoseagreeneyes avatar reviewed Busy Bodies (Claire Malloy, Bk 10) on
Mortified, outraged and shocked are words that could easily describe Zeno Gorgias' neighbors. Of course, he brought it on himself with his front lawn display of what he calls âinteractive environmental art.â His latest work involves a barely clad woman strolling in his makeshift cemetery beside the centerpiece, a coffin. This cemetery is by no means a peaceful one. Loudspeakers boom sexually explicit sounds to the ever-gathering crowd.

Claire Malloy is having a cup of tea at the home of Miss Parchester, one such neighbor of the boisterous artist. The unconventional Miss Parchester feels Zeno is just exercising his right of expression, but Claire finds it hard to believe that the man in her life, Lieutenant Peter Rosen, can do nothing to shut down the three-ring circus that is creating such high emotion among the Willow Street residents.

Just when the situation seems at its pinnacle, a dead body is found in the notorious coffin-and this time it is not part of the artistic experience. Claire must find out just exactly who among the long list of angry suspects committed the crime while still keeping her sanity and her man.

I found the characters in this book quirky and outlandish, making it a very interesting read. One such character, Claire's wisecracking daughter, adds substantial stress to the situation as only a teenager can do. It made me want to pour a glass of wine for Ms. Malloy and toast to her motherly resilience.

Busy Bodies is the tenth Claire Molly Mystery by Joan Hess, and it is a comical jaunt down the whodunit trail.

To further whet your appetite, included in the book is a first chapter sneak peak to number eleven in the series, Akin to Murder.

You can find this review and more at http://reviews.armchairinterviews.com/reviews/busy-bodies-claire-molly-mystery
reviewed Busy Bodies (Claire Malloy, Bk 10) on + 199 more book reviews
Leave it to Claire Malloy, devoted amateur sleuth and owner of the Book Depot in Farberville, to start out having tea and end up investigating a murder. When Zeno gorgias, an avant-garde artist, moves into town, the whole neighborhood is up in arms. His "interactive art" complete with a nearly nude model and a coffin in the front yard, is attracting a mob of gawkers. But soon his estranged wife comes to town to have him committed to a mental hospital.
reviewed Busy Bodies (Claire Malloy, Bk 10) on + 192 more book reviews
From back of book:

Leave it to Claire Malloy, devoted amateur sleuth and owner of the Book Depot in Baberville, to start out having tea and end up investigating a murder. When Zeno Gorgias, an avant-garde artist, moves into town, the whole neighbor hood is up in arms. His "interacting," complete with a nealrly nude model and a coffin in the front is attracting a mob of noisy gawker.

Another fun read from Joan Hess.
reviewed Busy Bodies (Claire Malloy, Bk 10) on + 153 more book reviews
This one was pretty good, although a bit predictable. The only thing I didn't understand was what they were saying about the lawn care boy at the end (You'll have to read the book to find out what I'm talking about!)
reviewed Busy Bodies (Claire Malloy, Bk 10) on + 367 more book reviews
Leave it to Claire Malloy, owner of the Book Depot in Farberville, to start out having tea with retired schoolteacher Miss Emily Parchester and end up investigating a murder. An avant-garde artist who moved into a house on Willow Street has the whole neighborhood up in arms. His "interactive art," complete with a nearly nude model and a coffin in the front yard, is attracting a mob of noisy gawkers.

Irate residents are worried about declining property values. The local mystery writer cannot meet her deadlines with the constant clatter. And when the artist's estranged wife rolls up in a limo and announces to one and all that she intends to have him committed to a mental institution, all of Farberville is in a dither.

But before the night is out, even stranger things happen: The volatile artist's house goes up in smoke, a dead body is found inside the coffin, the artist is promptly arrested for murder...and Claire Malloy, devoted amateur sleuth that she is, starts snooping where she doesn't belong.

Book Wiki

Series
Claire Malloy  10 of 17

Genres: