I do believe this book was very wonderful. I liked this book. It was an absolutely fabulous mystery. Plus you just have to love Bushyhead. I liked all the many twists in the plot. The whole lesbian affair was very surprising. I loved it! Go Bushyhead! Go Jean Hager!

Arnett Walsh, an Oklahoma Wildlife Officer, is found dead in a nearby cave. The corpse was found by the daughter of the chief of the police and her friends. The police chief Mitch Bushyhead begins to investigate the murder.

Mitch quickly learns that the deceased was investigating the recent slaughter of bald eagles, animals under the protection of the Feds as an endangered species. Mitch soon has a prime suspect, the high school principal Vian Brasfield. The educator has been a major sponsor of Native American eagle dances, a type of performance that requires eagle feathers. However, Vian has vanished; his only enemy is Dane Kennedy, a political extremist and racist. It is up to Mitch to keep digging until he uncovers the truth behind the Walsh murder and the Brasfield disappearance.

MASKED DANCERS is the fifth Bushyhead mystery and, like its precursors, this is an appealing novel that is propelled forward by glimpses into the modern day Cherokee culture. Mitch is a phenomenal lead character and the support cast, especially his child Emily, addd much humanism to the tale. However, it is the brilliantly described clash between Federal statute and native custom that turns Jean Hager's latest book into a blockbuster of book.

Harriet Klausner

One of the first cozy series I have read from the beginning, I found this to be great reading. The setting of Victoria Springs, Missouri was familiar enough to be comfortable, and different enough to be interesting. The characters introduced have grown and changed through the series and have become old friends. The factual information used regarding gardening and running a Bed-and-Breakfast added to my storehouse of experience gained from reading good mysteries. The plot kept me involved throughout and made the book hard to put down. All in all, I could hardly wait for the next in the series to come out, and still enjoy each.

This outing is one of the best Iris House books. The characters are surprising and the identity of the killer is uncertain until the end because of the red herrings and side stories! It's a great book to toss in the beach bag...just don't take any handweights along!

Weigh Dead is the most recent book in the Iris House series, and Jean Hager continues to provide fun and entertainment for her audience (although I confess to loving her Indian protangonists series as much or more than Iris House. I hope to run a B&B once I retire from the 9 to 5 routine. If you haven't read her before, this book will prompt you to go back and buy the earlier books in the series.

I enjoy the Iris House mysteries very much. I did not think The Last Noel was the best outing, however. Ms. Hager redeemed herself with Weigh Dead. I cannot wait for the next installment which hopefully will include the wedding. A thoroughly enjoyable read!

I like the novel by Jean Hager. In my opinion it is interesting and realistically written. There are many dialogues so you can really 'see' the different characters and come to conclusions as to how they are. Molly Bearpaw is a likeable character. Hager shows contemporary Cherokee life through Molly's eyes. Due to Hager's knowledge regarding the Cherokeee Nation she pays meticuluous attention to geographic and cultural details. Her novel is full of local colour. Throughout the novel the author shows us Native American traditions and beliefs. Nevertheless, her novel is exciting, too. Until the very end you can never guess who the murderer is. It is like in Agatha Christi's detective novels. Hager knows how to put a good plot together, therefore I think the novel is a good one.

I am a German pupil of English in the 13th form who had to read The Spirit Caller in class in 1999. I found the novel easy to read because Hager uses a lot of direct speech and short main clauses which make it easy to understand. The characters are described with a lot of details. Those are helpful to visualize the persons. I believe the novel is exciting, because the reader is hooked by the plot. You get to know almost nothing about Talia Wind's murderer at first. The investigator Molly Bearpaw has got several suspects, but the murderer is only found at the very end. It is interesting, too, that the storyline has got several parts. Molly Bearpaw sees her father for the first time after 25 years plus the unravelling of Wind's gruesome death.

I believe this novel is very interesting. It contains elements of love, crime, Cherokee culture and a lot of mysterious details. Hager vividly describes the lifestyle and the tradions of the Cherokees. Most of the details taken from culture and geography which are used in the novel are realistically drawn and not ficticious. There are numerous dialogues which help us to understand the characters' motivations. The plot of the story is full of suspense. Until the end you never know who the murderer is. The mysterious element is provided by the ghost in the library. I believe the novel is a good one because it contains so many different topics.

Tess and Luke are finally getting married. Unfortunately, the chef is killed during the bridal shower. Since he spent most of the evening hasseling Gertie for having the temerity to expect to use his kitchen to prepare the shower buffet, she is the prime suspect. It is very entertaining to see how Tess solves the mystery, not great literature, but alot of fun.

Part of the Irish House series, this mind-boggling mystery begins with the preparations of Tess Darby's wedding to her beloved Luke Fredrik. A bridal shower is held at the Victoria Springs Country Club. From the start, tempers flare as the club chef, Julian Walker, despises anyone stepping foot in his kitchen domain-most of all the Irish House cook, Gertie Bogart. Then Julian is found murdered and the finger is pointed to Gertie. In two weeks Tess rushes to clear the name of her dear friend and cook by diving into an investigation of her own to determine who the real killer is. As the suspect list begins to grow, postponing her wedding seems inevitable.

Jean Hager has created a wonderful amateur sleuth mystery full of likely suspects that will keep you guessing until the final page. Each character is developed to the max explaining their hopes, their fears, and touching emotions. While the victim is obvious from the start, solving the murder proves to be a difficult task for even the best mystery minds. A thrilling, captivating read!

The Iris House B&B would be a great place to spend a few days. It might not be terribly relaxing, but if the stories set there are any indication, one would be treated to a beautifully decorated, very comfortable room; prize-winning cuisine; a cozy library up in the remodeled attic--and possibly a real-life mystery or two.

The previous books in this series have introduced us to Tess Darcy, the owner of Iris House, which was a surprise bequest. Not knowing what to do with it, she converted it into the B&B, and has managed to fill it with various groups of intriguing and sometimes murderous clients. Along the way, she has become engaged to the handsome Luke Fredrik, added an apartment for them to the original house, and acquainted us with her staff and family--those who still live in Victoria Springs and her father's second family, now residing in France.

Of course, there is a somewhat bumbling chief of police who really doesn't like Tess very much, and who can blame him, when she's so much more intelligent and logical than he is? Even so, Tess never comes across as a know-it-all; rather, more like a woman any other woman would be pleased to call 'friend'. Certainly, any woman in trouble would like such a friend.

As one might guess from the title, this book centers around the wedding of Tess and Luke. A bridal shower is being given at the country club, and when the officious master chef is found with his own butcher knife in his chest, everyone present takes a turn at being the main suspect. It's a near thing, though, for Gertie Bogart, the cook at Iris House. Finally, however, all the clues fall into place, and the wedding takes place as scheduled.

This reader hopes that marriage and a family do not spell retirement for Tess. At least, not until I can go spend some time there. I highly recommend Iris House for any reader of cozy mystery novels, especially, but I'm sure anyone would be made welcome!

If you've read more than a couple books on the subject of novel writing, you probably won't find anything new in this little book. It's really more a summary of the subject than a complete treatment. As such, it's OK, but don't expect much beyond that. As I read it, I was reminded of the Dan Poynter school of writing wherein the author is urged to review all the existing material on a subject and then rewrite it, hopefully with a new slant. This book might have been written in exactly that way, although I'm not sure that there is a new slant anywhere. As a brief refresher on the subject, and maybe a guide for occasional quick reference, this book can be helpful. But I really think that most readers will want to go a little deeper into the subject.

Before my first book (Death in Little Tokyo)came out, Jean Hager not only gave me sage advice about the writing life, she also provided a wonderful example of how a published writer should treat an unpublished writer. Therefore, it was with some anticipation that I received her "How to Write & Market Your Mystery Novel." I wasn't disappointed.

This slim volume is packed with Jean's pithy but professional advice. It covers the gamut from defining mystery sub-genres to marketing your manuscript. Jean has published over 50 novels, and has three successful mystery series published, so she speaks from a wealth of experience.

If you're interested in writing mysteries, Jean's book will be a valuable addition to your library. For writing, I personally value Lawrence Block's "Spider, spin me a web," his "Telling Lies for Fun and Profit" and Margaret Chittenden's "How to Write Your Novel." Jean's work will now join this group of b! ooks I recommend to aspiring writers.

Best,

Dale Furutani

The annual quilt show sets the stage for murder when a famous quilt artist and TV personality is murdered. Fun reading for quilt fiction and murder mystery fans.

Twelve-year-old Alison Hill and her family leave their apartment in the city for a three months stay at Riverside Farm in rural Oklahoma. Mr. Hill is a writer and plans to complete work on some manuscripts during the summer. Living on a farm is a new experience for Alison and her younger brother John. They find the old farmhouse looking like a "milk carton"-tall, narrow, old, and not wanted. Alison feels a bit depressed and hopes the summer away from her friends will not be as drab as she expects. However, Aliso's natural curiosity and love of mystery are aroused when she discovers a letter hidden in a window seat in her room. The letter, yellowed with age, hints that something valuable is hidden on the farm. With the help of her brother and a neighbor boy, alison methodical investigation. But clues turn up that are far more intresting than inticipated, leading Alison and her helpers into dangerous situations. Rather than spending a dull time away from her friends, Alison finds herself having the most exciting and rewarding summer she has ever had.

This is the first Tess Darcy book that I've read of her series. I have to admit I bought it because of its Christmas theme which turned out to be about putting on a Christmas pageant. The idea that a small-town church would hire someone to run its pageant seemed a little far-fetched but thats where the murder comes in. While reading the book I wondered how the main character can run a bed & breakfast with all the extra-curricular things she is doing. I did enjoy the characters and will probably read the rest of the series to get to know the characters better. I enjoyed Tess & her friends and family and I think you will too.

This was a welcome addition to the Iris House series. My only disappointment was at the very end when I expected one last twist but the characters and plot were executed well.

This story is part of a series and I had not read any of the others.The story starts in a place called Victoria Springs and I spent the first half of story wondering what part of USA this story took place.Eventually learned that Missouri was the location. Tess is the owner of a bed and breakfast and it is the slow season in February. She is helping out at the local senior center with a book group and quilting projects. A mean, difficult woman is murdered and suspicion falls on everyone,since she blackmailed people or made life difficult for them. This story starts off slow, without much information on the protaganist or her fiancee,Luke. After the murder, I became more interested and wanted to know about the lives of the seniors.This is an interesting story with references to sewing,mystery novels, and secrets hidden for 50yrs. I had many questions about the locale, the relationships of the main characters,and the lack of a detective on the police force. A story with potential,but lacking in key information.

I've enjoyed the previous books in this series, and this one ranks right up there with interesting characters and a plausible situation, but . . . .

This author apparently does not sew (or quilt). The entire premise of her mystery revolves around the use of a thimble, and it is used incorrectly in the story. (Or at least not in the way I - or any seamstress I know - has ever used one!

Non-quilters will not even notice this gaffe; people who sew will be bothered by it throughout the book.

This is the most recent installment on the life and times of the Iris House Bed and Breakfast and its owner, Tess Darcy. Once more, Tess has fallen head first into a murder, the death of Edwina Riley, an elderly quilter and possibly the most hated woman in town. Discovery of Edwina's secrets and how she collected the secrets of the town adds interest to many of the characters. The characters were well written and drew me in emotionally...I actually grieved over one of their deaths! The true killer never even entered my mind as a possibility until almost the end. Tight and quick action in this story, though I was disappointed that Edwina's house and history weren't more explored. In particular, her old and crumbing mansion and her own past, which is always looming over the story, but never really seen. Nevertheless, a very enjoyable read, hard to put down.