Death of a Trickster: 6

By Kate Borden

Book Overview

Mayor and single mom Peggy Jean Turner is up to her sleuthing tricks again. This time, Halloween has brought on a slew of strange occurrences in the quaint town of Cobb's Landing. The bone-chilling goings-on start with some actual bones being found in the Alsop forest. Then the much-anticipated pumpkin float race ends with a ghastly discovery - the murdered body of the police chief's teenage son.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425199460
• ISBN13: 9780425199466
• Release Date: December 2004
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

There Aren't Enough Stars in the New England Sky for this Book

This series is the best series I have ever read in my life! Each book keeps getting better and more cozier, even though you don't think a book can get any better than that. The book starts off when best friends, 6th graders Nicky and Charlie, are shooting spitballs and are expelled by their teacher, who is the mean wife of the mean police chief. Because they are expelled, they miss the field trip into the woods. But in the woods, a body is found... Nicky's mother, Peggy Jean, is the mayor of the small New England town. She and her next door neighbor, Charlie's mother Lavinia, are best friends. I absolutely adore the two families and their relationship. I love Nicky and Charly. I love the cozy atmosphere and the coffee and cookies. Max is an important and interesting character. He is the one who came to the depressed town and revived it into a colonial village and made it thrive. He has some very interesting people working for him. Papa Luigi and his family are also very important characters that have interesting roles. Not only is the atmosphere cozy, but the story line/plot/clues are very clever. All the clues fit together and make a very good, entertaining story. I just cannot sing enough praise for this awesome book and the entire series. This wonderful author has remarkable talent.

Pumpkin pie flavored New England sleuth cozy

Death of a trickster takes place in a New England village called Cobb's Landing where the mayor is a witty woman named Peggy. It's a small town, dressed up to resemble a colonial village, at the peak of Indian summer excitedly awaiting Halloween. This is the second book in the series and they are so addictive that I hope Mrs. Borden will keep writing as long as her imagination keeps spinning. I absolutely adored the whole feel of autumn, the chilly morning, falling red leaves, wool sweaters, Peggy and Lavinia her best friend drinking caramel apple cider, her cat Pie, the pumpkins being carves, the cakes and cookies they baked and the crisp sultry breeze sweeping summer away and setting the village up for mid fall. This book made me feel very cozy and trickled dreams of pumpkins and baked goodies, warm cocoa and reading wrapped in a warm blanket. I was sad when it was actually over and the mystery revealed as it's a short book spanning two hundred pages and can be read in a day or two but I savored it and can't wait to read the third one that is all ready out, it deals with the next holiday, Thanksgiving. The mystery begins when Nicky, Peggy's son along with Lavinia's son Charlie get in trouble at school for throwing spit balls at each other. They miss the filed trip to the Alsop woods but learn that a body has been found. As it turns out it was the school skeleton used in science classes dressed up as count Dracula. On a few more occasions pranks are following Peggy and she needs to sort out what is happening and who would do such a thing. Cobb's Landing is populated by some warm and some whacky characters. There's Papa Luigi, the owner of the woods and his son Lew, his wife Gina and their daughter Maria. The new police chief, grumpy Henry, his cold wife Carol, their bully son Roger, fellow villagers and shop and diner owners, Max an interesting character who materializes out of nowhere and no one knows what he is up to, Ian and Missy, who seem to get on Peggy's nerves as she gets close to Ian whom Peggy likes and Rob, her childhood crush who is the new police office. When a body is found at the end of the pumpkin float, no one can understand why this person is dead and why would kill them. It's up to Peggy to use her knowledge of a place she grew up in, her Mayor powers and her excellent snooping abilities. I have really enjoyed this delicious mystery but I wish the part where the killer was revealed was longer. The ending had lots of more plots twisted together but they were all explained and man o man, was I surprised! The author does a great job describing the nature, the air, the sun, the whole small town scenery and makes me miss the characters. Lately I have found myself enjoying all the new mystery books coming out from various writers as there are books about food, coffee, tea, spas and even a cute village such as Cobb's Landing. I can't wait to follow up Borden's character in her next cozy mystery. - Kasia S.

Fun, Light Small Town Cozy Series

In the 2nd book in the Peggy Jean Turner Mystery series, things are definitely looking up for both Peggy Jean (P.J.) and her hometown of Cobb's Landing, New England. The town has been turned into a colonial village, and is quickly becoming a tourist attraction. The townspeople dress in period costumes, and no modern equipment is on display in town during "town hours" (including cell phones and satellite dishes). P.J. grumbles a bit over the costume she must wear while working in her hardware store, but even she cannot complain about the renewed life and money pouring into her beloved town. It is almost Halloween, and soon pranks start occurring that raise a few eyebrows. The high school's skeleton shows up around town dressed in costume, and P.J's son is suspended for throwing spitballs. It all seems harmless until an elderly member of the town, Papa Luigi, goes missing, and is found tied up and ill in a hidden cave. More disturbing, however, is the body of the man found dead next to him in the cave. Papa Luigi cannot remember what happened, but he pleads innocence to the murder of the chief of police's son. P.J. jumps in to prove that Papa Luigi, a longtime friend of her family, is innocent, and to make sure that the Halloween festivities are enjoyed by all of the tourists that have come to save her town. This is a fun, light cozy series and I really enjoy the characters, the mysteries, and the setting. The only thing that I didn't care for was the nicknames (P.J. for a mayor's name seemed too casual), and the name "Lovey" for her best friend was a bit silly for me. Otherwise, I loved the storyline, and was intrigued by the character of Max. If you like small town cozies, give this series a try. The first book in the series is called "Death of a Tart". Enjoy!

Love this cute series

this cute series is fun and believable. Small town charm, weird and facinating characters just make it that much more of a good read. A series you can enjoy and feel good when you have finished.

A neat New England cozy

Halloween is right around the corner and people are getting ready to celebrate. The town has taken an economic upswing ever since they converted the place into a colonial village where residents dress in period costumes. Tourists stay at the restored button factory converted into an inn. Mayor Peggy Turner, who also owns a hardware store, is at loggerheads with the new Chief of Police Henry Cartwright, who she believes is impugning on her territory. Henry thinks that whoever is stealing the skeleton Buddy from the lab and leaving him dressed up in clothes so he looks like a corpse should fall under his jurisdiction, but Peggy takes care of it because she knows it is silly schoolboy pranks. When ailing elderly Luigi Alsop vanishes, Peggy organizes the search. They find him in a cave next to Henry's dead son the murder weapon near Luigi. Many folks believe Luigi killed the lad because the deceased was harassing and terrifying the older man's granddaughter. Peggy thinks otherwise and sets out to prove her assertion. This New England cozy contains a very interesting mystery because of the attitudes of the locals who pull together in good and bad times. Neighbors know they can count on one another for help (a friend in need is not a pest as it seems in most places today). Peggy as the activist mayor symbolizes all that is good in this small town. Readers will also gain a feel for life in a New England village, but it is the unusual situations that Peggy and her best friend seem to and in find themselves in that make for a fun regional tale. Harriet Klausner