Early's Pride

Rating:
Summary: delightful investigative tale
Review: In Early, Michigan, the town counsel and the mayor argue over the merits of maintaining Pride Park as the centerpiece of the city or rezone it for commercial use. The Director of Services Rick Cameo leads the assault on changing the park to a commercial venture. However, someone must not have liked Rick's position or perhaps one of his women came unglued as he is killed in a nearby motel.

The local police assigned to the case, Newkirk and Bebout care, but homicide is out of their league. Councilwoman Geraldine Perry arranges for retired Cleveland homicide detective Brady Kincaid to work as a consultant for the Earl Eagle newspaper and its crack reporter Geraldine Pozy. The local officers are elated to have a person with Kincaid's experience to guide them on the case especially when he believes there is a link to the double murders of Gerald and Marian Sevrall, the latter a member of the council. However, even with Geraldine's help, the clues fail to add up, but Brady keeps digging because that is his nature.

Bobby Jaye Allen should feel proud of this delightful investigative tale that brings to life home in a small Michigan town during the Christmas week. The story line will hook the audience as one cannot help but like the patient sensitive Brady and the in your face yet reticent Geraldine. Though some may disagree, adding to the fun is that this pair does not walk out into the sunset together. The who-done-it fans will provide plenty of accolades to the author for a wonderful tale.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: delightful investigative tale
Review: In Early, Michigan, the town counsel and the mayor argue over the merits of maintaining Pride Park as the centerpiece of the city or rezone it for commercial use. The Director of Services Rick Cameo leads the assault on changing the park to a commercial venture. However, someone must not have liked Rick's position or perhaps one of his women came unglued as he is killed in a nearby motel.

The local police assigned to the case, Newkirk and Bebout care, but homicide is out of their league. Councilwoman Geraldine Perry arranges for retired Cleveland homicide detective Brady Kincaid to work as a consultant for the Earl Eagle newspaper and its crack reporter Geraldine Pozy. The local officers are elated to have a person with Kincaid's experience to guide them on the case especially when he believes there is a link to the double murders of Gerald and Marian Sevrall, the latter a member of the council. However, even with Geraldine's help, the clues fail to add up, but Brady keeps digging because that is his nature.

Bobby Jaye Allen should feel proud of this delightful investigative tale that brings to life home in a small Michigan town during the Christmas week. The story line will hook the audience as one cannot help but like the patient sensitive Brady and the in your face yet reticent Geraldine. Though some may disagree, adding to the fun is that this pair does not walk out into the sunset together. The who-done-it fans will provide plenty of accolades to the author for a wonderful tale.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Early's Pride
Review: Reading Bobby Jaye Allen's new book, Early's Pride is like running into old friends.
Once again we meet Joyce Fellmeyer and Brady Kincaid. Brady,a retired police detective, is chief of security at Lombardy Teachers College where Joyce's cousin Claudia Packer is Dean of Women. In Ms Allen's first book Every First Saturday these three solve a murder on campus.
When murder strikes in Joyce's city of Early, she calls on Brady to help solve the crime. Early is in the middle of a rezoning fight , with Rick Cameo heavily in favor of rezoning. When he is found murdered it throws the whole city in an uproar.
Working with Brady Kincaid is the heroine of the story. Geraldine Pozy works as a reporter for the Early Eagle newspaper and is described as a hefty young woman given to wearing flannel shirts and no make-up. But when romance enters her life in the form of a giant of a man, Lincoln Henderson , who is in the process of developing the Hotel Erin into luxury condos, Geraldine manages to lose fifteen pounds by the end of the book.
Ms Allen makes good use of Geraldine's interview with the murderer in the epilogue, to tie up a few loose ends. It did leave me wondering if the villian would get off by pleading insanity.
I was amused by the names of some of the characters ,which I had never before heard of. Mayor Korndoktor, councilman Longdorfer and officer Bebout for example. My apologies for smiling to anyone with those names. Several of her expressions were unique. Gee-zus Kee-zus, Drinkey-Winkey and Oh,Piddle-dee-dee certainly added flavor to the mix.
Having read Ms Allen's first book , I can feel the improvement in her writing style with Early's Pride. I look forward to reading her next book where I expect to meet up with Brady Kincaid once again.

Rating:
Summary: Early's Pride
Review: Reading Bobby Jaye Allen's new book, Early's Pride is like running into old friends.
Once again we meet Joyce Fellmeyer and Brady Kincaid. Brady,a retired police detective, is chief of security at Lombardy Teachers College where Joyce's cousin Claudia Packer is Dean of Women. In Ms Allen's first book Every First Saturday these three solve a murder on campus.
When murder strikes in Joyce's city of Early, she calls on Brady to help solve the crime. Early is in the middle of a rezoning fight , with Rick Cameo heavily in favor of rezoning. When he is found murdered it throws the whole city in an uproar.
Working with Brady Kincaid is the heroine of the story. Geraldine Pozy works as a reporter for the Early Eagle newspaper and is described as a hefty young woman given to wearing flannel shirts and no make-up. But when romance enters her life in the form of a giant of a man, Lincoln Henderson , who is in the process of developing the Hotel Erin into luxury condos, Geraldine manages to lose fifteen pounds by the end of the book.
Ms Allen makes good use of Geraldine's interview with the murderer in the epilogue, to tie up a few loose ends. It did leave me wondering if the villian would get off by pleading insanity.
I was amused by the names of some of the characters ,which I had never before heard of. Mayor Korndoktor, councilman Longdorfer and officer Bebout for example. My apologies for smiling to anyone with those names. Several of her expressions were unique. Gee-zus Kee-zus, Drinkey-Winkey and Oh,Piddle-dee-dee certainly added flavor to the mix.
Having read Ms Allen's first book , I can feel the improvement in her writing style with Early's Pride. I look forward to reading her next book where I expect to meet up with Brady Kincaid once again.

Rating:
Summary: Getting Cozy with Early's Pride by Bobby Jaye Allen
Review: Rezoning land use is always a big issue whether it is in small town America or the big city. It is sure to be contentious and fact that it revolves around Pride Park in this cozy mystery is a guarantee of trouble for all concerned. As the novel opens, it is just after Christmas in the small town of Early, Michigan. Rick Cameo is director of services for the small town and in so doing has gained operational control over a number of diverse departments. At the same time, his job duties and his marriage does not stop him from making the time to have a varied and active social life with a number of the women in town. He has also managed to find the time to develop a new use for Pride Park, the small town's gem. He wants to end the current zoning concerning Pride Park and turn it over to developers who will build a mixed-use retail development on the site. Theoretically, the retail development will bring badly need jobs as well as boosting the tax base. The fact that allowing this to happen would obliterate a beautiful park as well as costing jobs in the local shops forced to close is irrelevant to Rick Cameo. Plenty of folks are against the idea, but Rick knows the dirt on a number of folks as well as knowing who needs to be paid off, in addition to himself, to make sure the deal goes through.

But, before he can get the ball rolling downhill too fast to stop, Rick is found dead in his hotel room. Other than the fact that he is fully dressed as well as wet, there are few clues for the local Police to work with. While they mean well, they are clearly overmatched in this case, which is just the latest in a string off odd events and death for the local citizenry. Councilwoman Joyce Fellmeyer realizes that they need help and her old friend retired Homicide Detective Brady Kincaid would be just the man to help.

She convinces a local star reporter, Geraldine Pozy, that Brady could come in to town on a press pass and act as a consultant to the local paper while he works on the case. Geraldine is always on the lookout for a good story and sees her point. To do so would allow him to unofficially help the Police, clear the case, and provide source material for Geraldine.

Geraldine agrees as does a very bored Brady and soon the two are working the case from their perspective angels of expertise. It becomes clear that the Police effort, well meaning but woefully lacking, extends beyond this case. The death of Rick is definitely linked to other deaths as well as various odd happenings about town.

As in most cozy type mysteries, the action in this novel is very limited as compared to the traditional mystery. The novel relies primarily on character development and sleuthing through question and comparing suspects, to move the story slowly forward. The list of suspects is very long and the trail often confusing as so many of the citizens are far different than what they appear to be everyday. Despite the lack of action, the story is very entertaining and the novel is a fine example of what can be done with a cozy type of mystery.

Rating:
Summary: City's rezoning fight results in murders
Review: The pace is quickened in Bobby Jaye Allen's second published work, "Early's Pride." Pride Park in the center of Early, Michigan, is the subject of a rezoning fight and before City Council votes on the matter, a councilwoman and the city planner are murdered in separate incidents. The councilwoman was against rezoning and the city planner wanted to rzone the park to retail to allow a megamall to take over the land in question. Brady Kincaid is enlisted to visit Early to help the local, inexperienced homicide detectives catch the killers. The Fellmeyers, Joyce and her veterinarian husband, from the author's first book are important in solving the murders as is a new character, Geraldine Pozy, ace reporter for the 'Early Eagle.' We meet the mayor, city manager, and the entire City Council, all of whom have their own ideas on the merit of rezoning Pride Park. Any citizen who's ever been faced with nearby inappropriate land rezoning, also known as NIMBY -- Not In My Back Yard -- will appreciate this story. A tender romance rounds out "Early's Pride" to make a very satisfying read. Five Stars.