MURDERED, MY SWEET by Joan Lowery Nixon

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Nixon, Joan Lowery. Murdered, My Sweet. New York, NY: Dell Yearling, 2004. ISBN 0440419883

PLOT SUMMARY

While Jenny Jakes and her mother, Madeline Jakes, are visiting San Antonio, Texas for the birthday party and reading of Madeline's distant cousin's will (even though he is still alive), someone murders the son of the birthday boy. The family looks to Madeline the mystery writer to solve the case, just like on that TV show with the female mystery writer, alluding to Murder She Wrote. Jenny alone seems to understand that writing mysteries does not translate into solving them. She enlists the help of a bellboy, Carlos in saving her mother's reputation and solving the murder. Carlos also becomes a love interest for Jenny.

As another character is murdered, the stakes seemingly get higher and the story more unbelievable. This addition to the storyline is meant to cause urgency and drama and yet falls very short at doing so. The ending is predictable and sappy. And they all lived happily ever after.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

While normally a fan of Joan Lowery Nixon's writings, this book is not up to her normal high standard. The dialogue is very stiff and boring. No one talks the way the characters in the book do. Madeling Jakes, Jenny's mother is so inept she is unbelievable. The plot development is overly simplified and boring. It was very difficult to finish the book. I would not necessarily recommend this novel to any YA reader. It may be more suited to a Juvenile fiction level, but even at that there are much better offerings in the mystery genre at any level. My advice is to watch Murder She Wrote. It is more entertaining.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

School Library Journal (September 1, 1997) "The whole complicated setup reads like a poor episode of Murder, She Wrote. This is less than adequate fare for an author of Nixon's caliber. Follow Jenny's advice: refer mystery-loving teens to Sue Grafton or Mary Higgins."

Booklist (September 1, 1997) "Combining vacation and family business, Jenny Jakes and her mystery-writer mother set out for San Antonio for the will reading of a millionaire cousin, who owns a candy company. But before even a word is read, Cousin Arnold's son is murdered, and the entire family is in danger. Since Jenny's mom is a mystery writer, all involved assume that she will solve the crime. Only Jenny knows that her mother can write a good mystery but won't have the analytical reasoning necessary to solve the real thing. Another solid Nixon mystery without too much violence and lots of suspense. Young teens will delight in Jenny's deft cover-up of her mother's detective deficiencies and the touch of light romance."

Kirkus Reviews (June 15, 1997) "Nixon treats the San Antonio setting as a place readers know, dropping names without describing the place; meanwhile, the characters simply chase around inside the hotel. For savvy mystery-lovers, the detective work is sloppy: The murder scene isn't sealed off, the real detective puts up with contemptuous witnesses, and he allows Madeline (and Jenny and Carlos) in on his investigation. That no one thinks to protect Logan, a character who announces that he knows all and is then murdered, is irresponsible."