Murder Carries a Torch: A Southern Sisters Mystery (Southern Sisters Mysteries)

By Anne George

Book Overview

Siblings couldn't be more opposite than Anne George's hilarious southern sisters. Flamboyant, much-married Mary Alice, with her empress-sized figure and matching libido, is always on the lookout for her next rich husband, while prim, proper, pint-sized former-schoolteacher Patricia Anne is perfectly happy with her one and only, good old Fred. Yet with the sisters' penchant for stumbling upon dead bodies and matching their wits against the killers, this pair has turned solving murders info an uproariously funny partnership.

Murder Carries A Torch

Just back from vacation -- where Patricia Ann spent quality time with her married daughter Holey and Mary Alice spent money on a pair of outrageously sexy hot purple boots -- the sisters are greeted by cousin Pukey Lukey who's in a terrible state. Pukey got his nickname from his childhood addiction to carsickness, but now poor Luke's problem is heartsickness. His wife of forty years, Virginia, has run off with a housepainter/preacher.

Cousin Luke is so miserable the sisters agree to drive to the top of Chandler Mountain in search of Virginia and her newfound man of God. But no sooner do the three start snooping around the deserted grounds when Luke goes into the rundown old church and doesn't come out. Mary Alice and Patricia Anne rush in to investigate, and there's Luke -- on the floor moaning and holding his injured head. Next to him is a pretty young redhead who isn't making a sound. She's dead.

Luke is taken to the hospital; Sheriff Virgil Stuckey is called to investigate; the sisters find out the faithful are into snakehandling -- and the sheriff falls instantly in love With Mary Alice and her purple boots. But all is not heavenly at the Church Of Jesus Is Our Life And Heaven Hereafter. A venomous struggle forsuccessor to the head holy man causes some to suspect the killing is the work of the legendary Chandler Mountain Booger, the region's own version of "Bigfoot." But Mary Alice and Patricia Anne suspect there's a real live murderer on the loose and they have plenty of questions to ask -- including who killed the redhead and bopped Luke, who committed murder-by-snake, how does Luke's still-missing wife fit info the picture -- and who tossed a live rattlesnake into the sisters' very own car?

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380978105
• ISBN13: 9780380978106
• Release Date: July 2000
• Publisher: William Morrow
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.9" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Anne George's Best Ever

Murder Carries A Torch proves what I've been claiming loudly for years: Anne Carroll George is one of the country's best writers, whether she bends her talents to literary novels like This One and Magic Life, or her Southern Sisters mysteries. Whatever world she decides to inhabit, you can bet she will bring that world alive for her readers.In Murder Carries a Torch, Patricia Anne and Mary Alice are again drawn most plausibly into the most implausible circumstances, chasing a murderer through a snake-handling church in northern Alabama. The unusual religious characters are treated respectfully, the snakes are genuinely scary, Mary Alice gets a new boyfriend, and Patricia Anne is... well, the lovable and slightly acerbic Patricia Anne.The best thing about reading all of Anne Carroll George's books is that you become part of a wonderful family universe. Visiting with Patricia Anne and Mary Alice is like joining a funny, interesting, eccentric family. George parcels out personal information much the same way you would get to know friends in real life. With each new novel, the joy of small discoveries draws you more and more easily into a warm, familiar environment.For myself, I'm too impatient to wait for the paperback. If like me, you need your prescription of Anne Carroll George right now, add Murder Carries a Torch to your shopping cart. I guarantee you'll love this book.

The Southern Sister just get better and better!

Patricia Anne, Mary Alice, and Fred return from a trip to Warsaw, Poland, to visit Patricia Anne's daughter when they are greeted with a frantic phone call from cousin Luke (nicknamed "Pukey Lukey" by the Sisters because of his penchant for carsickness.) Luke has reason to be upset because his long-time wife, Virginia, has run away with the house painter. The painter is also a preacher and snake-handler, which causes no end of complications throughout the story. The Sisters accompany Luke to the preacher's church in hopes of uncovering some clues as to Virginia's wherabouts. They are greeted with a second body, which sets off the usual hilarious investigation by Patricia and Mary Alice. Reading this series of books is a bit like eating your favorite dessert. Each bite (or page in this case) is to be savored and enjoyed. I heartily recommend this delightful book and look forward to the next one.

Solid Gold for Mystery Lovers!

Anne George continues to top herself with each Southern Sisters mystery. I became interested in them initially, because I, too, had an Aunt Sister, but the lively plots and characters keep me coming back again and again. There are very few books that make me laugh out loud, but these do and in particular, her latest entry. Patricia Ann and Mary Alice get mixed up with snake-handling holy rollers and all hell breaks loose! I could not put it down and literally read all night. Don't miss this one!

Anne George Does It Again!

I love the Southern Sisters Mystery series by Anne George. Murder Carries a Torch is the seventh serving of this wonderful series. Sister and Mouse encounter a missing cousin, snake-handlers and two murders on this latest romp thru Birmingham and places nearby. Most authors get stale after writing about the same characters, but not Anne George. The seventh book is as fresh as the first. My only regret is that I'll have to wait another year before another Southern Sister Mystery comes out. I don't know if I can stand the suspense. If you are looking for a lighthearted good read with a heart, you need to read Murder Carries A Torch.

A Fun cosy

Birmingham, Alabama's Southern Sisters are tired after just returning home from spending two weeks in Warsaw, Poland celebrating the wedding of Patricia Anne's daughter. However, their idyllic breather ends even before it begins when cousin Luke "Puke" Nelson asks for their help. Apparently, Virginia, Luke's wife of forty years, left him for a house painter, Holden "Monk" Crawford. Reluctantly Patricia Anne agrees to accompany her more enthusiast sibling Mary Alice in finding the runaway.Mouse and Sister as Patricia Anne and Mary Alice are more commonly known trace Virginia and Monk to a remote church on Mount Chandler. However, instead of finding the runaways, the Southern Sisters find the corpses of two murdered people, neither being Monk or Virginia. As they continue their inquiries, Sister and the local Sheriff seem stuck on one another. Ultimately, they locate a dead Monk, but they still have not found the missing Virginia.Fans of the series will fully enjoy the seventh cozy in the Southern Sisters series. MURDER CARRIES A TORCH centers more on Mouse's humorous asides with the reader about the excessive behavior of Sister than on detective work. Still, that should not surprise fans of the series, as that is the essence of all the novels.Harriet Klausner