Lucky Stuff by Sharon Fiffer

First Line: "I'm so sorry," she whispered, as she struggled to close the lid of the wooden trunk.

Picker and private investigator Jane Wheel is well and truly in transition. Officially divorced, she's faced the fact that she must sell her house-- and to do that, her realtor has made her see that all those antiques and collections must be packed up and taken elsewhere. Rootless for the first time in years, Jane goes home to Kankakee, Illinois, only to find the entire town in an uproar.

A little-known comedian who calls himself Lucky Miller is in town, staging a so-called comeback. It's all part of his plan to break into the big time. Deeply suspicious of the man and all the money he seems to be throwing around, Jane's mother Nellie hires her to investigate Lucky. Wondering why she gives a hoot, Lucky also goes to Jane to find out what Nellie's up to. In the midst of all this snoop and counter-snoop, one of Lucky's crew members dies, hours after claiming that the comedian tried to kill him. What on earth is going on, and why is it happening in Kankakee?

Sharon Fiffer's Jane Wheel mystery series has been a favorite of mine since the first book. Fiffer has a way of describing collectibles and antiques that makes me want to hop in the Jeep and head for the nearest estate sale. After drastically downsizing my own hoards, I always enjoy getting a collections fix through Jane. It also doesn't hurt that I'm familiar with the Kankakee area, and the books make me feel as if I've gone back to the old homestead.

Being a witness to Jane's packing up years of collections was painful, and I was shocked that she seemed to take it so well. I should have known that the author had a few surprises up her sleeve. It is a testament to Fiffer's talent that I worried about Jane's stuff throughout the book, even though the mystery surrounding Lucky Miller is a true puzzler. For once, Jane is flying almost completely solo on an investigation. Her partner, Bruce Oh, makes very few appearances, and even her best friend Tim is busy with other commitments. No, Jane is working alone and has the most contact with her parents. Since her relationship with her prickly, no-nonsense mother, Nellie, has always been problematic, this enforced closeness adds yet another layer of interest to this book.

A Jane Wheel mystery is always a three-pronged pleasure for its mystery, its collectibles, and its wonderful cast of characters. Lucky Stuff is no exception, and now I find myself in the unenviable position of waiting for Jane's next adventure.

Lucky Stuff by Sharon Fiffer

ISBN: 9780312643034

Minotaur Books © 2012

Hardcover, 320 pages

Cozy Mystery, #8 Jane Wheel mystery

Rating: B

Source: Purchased from BookOutlet 

Backstage Stuff by Sharon Fiffer

First Line: Jane Wheel couldn't sleep.

If divorce weren't staring her right in the face, Jane could probably sleep the night and day away. But lawyers are wanting detailed lists of income and expenditures, and she's finding it much easier to learn how to check in with her son Nick on Facebook, Twitter and text messages than it is to sit down and compile everything the lawyers want.

Fortunately her best friend Tim knows just what to do to get Jane out of her doldrums. Not only is there a mansion on the outskirts of Kankakee, Illinois, that's stuffed to the rafters with treasures that need to be sorted, tagged and priced before the estate sale, Tim has also unearthed a play written by the mansion's former owner. He's directing and starring in the murder mystery and needs Jane's help with props and the like. But when the show's carpenter dies under suspicious circumstances, Jane becomes convinced that someone definitely doesn't want the show to go on-- and that someone might even be willing to kill to stop it.

These Jane Wheel mysteries are among the select few that I tuck away, knowing that if I'm in need of a guaranteed good read, Jane won't let me down. Backstage Stuff reinforced my belief in Jane Wheel and her creator Sharon Fiffer. In this seventh book in the series, Fiffer used misdirection (in the form of multitudes of creepy ventriloquist's dummies) brilliantly to keep part of the plot from being revealed too soon.

As good as the mystery was, it's always Fiffer's characters that get the lion's share of my attention. Jane has been quietly evolving throughout the series. She's being forced to change more quickly now due to her impending divorce, but she can still describe Bakelite and vintage kitchen linens in such a way that my hands start to tremble with my own desire to find such treasures. I also like to see how Jane is learning more of the art of being a private detective through her work with Detective Bruce Oh.

And-- as always-- Jane's mother Nellie continues to be one of the most contrary characters in crime fiction. Nellie does everything on her own terms. If you're lucky, you might get an explanation for something once every couple of decades, but mostly you're going to be out of luck. Nellie doesn't explain, she doesn't apologize  (in fact she can make you want to strangle her), but when all is said and done, this tiny cantankerous woman demands-- and gets-- my respect. Normally a character as mean-spirited as Nellie would be tossed on the scrap heap of my disdain. That she continues to garner my curiosity and respect is a mark of how skillful Fiffer is at her portrayal.

In fact, I could go on for paragraphs about Sharon Fiffer's characters in the Jane Wheel series because they all feel like family. If you like excellent puzzles to solve, vintage treasures to discover, and characters that make you feel as though you've come home, do what I do: open a Jane Wheel mystery.

Backstage Stuff by Sharon Fiffer

ISBN: 9780312609795

Minotaur Books © 2011
Hardcover, 304 pages

Cozy Mystery, #7 in the Jane Wheel series set in Kankakee, Illinois
Rating: A
Source: Purchased through PBS Marketplace.

Scary Stuff by Sharon Fiffer

Title: Scary Stuff
Author: Sharon Fiffer
ISBN: 9780312387785
Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2009
Hardcover, 304 pages
Genre: Cozy, Private Investigator, #6 Jane Wheel mystery
Rating: B+
Source: Purchased from Bookcloseouts.

First Line: Jane Wheel, gripping the arms of the uncomfortable seat, closed her eyes.

Antique picker Jane Wheel loves old stuff that was never meant to be in a collection-- old aprons and tea towels, orphaned Bakelite buttons, other families' photos... the list is endless--and she's good at it, reselling her estate sale finds to other collectors and adding to the treasure-filled rooms of her own home. These days, she's really a P.P.I., a Picker Private Investigator, because she is also an associate to a private detective. Bakelite buttons and secrets: Jane Wheel is good at finding them both.

Making a rare visit to her brother and his family, Jane was intrigued when Michael told her about the three times he was accused by strangers of cheating them on eBay only to realize they'd gotten the wrong man once they'd taken a good look at his face. Jane agrees to look into it for her brother and returns home to Illinois.

When she's back in Illinois, one of her parents' friends is attacked, and suddenly Jane has two cases, both of which seem a little too close to her loved ones.

Jane grew up in Kankakee, Illinois, and then moved to Chicago where she became a high-rolling advertising executive, got married and had a child. When she decided to put her power suits into storage and start picking, she found herself having much more contact with her childhood best friend and her parents. But even though she spends most of her time in a much more rural setting, she's a bit too much of a city girl:

Country driving always made her nervous. All of these look-alike county roads, numbered or lettered, and no one around to answer any questions about directions. No landmarks, unless you consider the livestock, and one couldn't very well turn at the two cows or go straight past the trotting horse. Jane much preferred the anonymity of a city street to the isolation of the country road.

I've been a fan of Sharon Fiffer and this series since I read the first book, Killer Stuff. Having to wait three years for Scary Stuff was entirely too long, so when I finally managed to track down a copy, there was no way I could let it sit on a shelf.

It doesn't disappoint. There are enough treasures and picking in this book to make me start salivating and wanting to start collecting again. The two cases involving mistaken identity and the attack on a family friend are meaty and kept me guessing. More than anything else, I loved spending time with the characters again. Jane is such a blend of strength and insecurity, and Fiffer isn't afraid to shake up her private life.

Fiffer is also one of the very few writers who can have an extremely annoying character in every single book in the series and not make me want to rip out my hair. Jane's mother, Nellie, is about as exasperating as they come, but the more backstory Fiffer gives her, the more understandable she is. Now, by book six, Nellie has become a force of nature, and sometimes I can even chuckle and shake my head at her behavior, as in this scene:

When Jane had asked the typical childhood questions of her mother-- How did you meet Dad? What was it like when you went to school? Et cetera-- Nellie had refused to participate. Her answers ranged from "I don't remember" to "What's the difference? Who cares?" Michael always said their mother missed her calling. She should have been with the CIA.

Involving plots, an interesting career, characters with depth whose paths are sometimes surprising and rocky, a sense of humor... all reasons for you to pick up a Jane Wheel mystery when you're in the mood for picking with bite.

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