Acquire Today Mad As The Dickens (Laura Fleming, #7) Fashioned By Toni L.P. Kelner Published As Publication Copy

awaiting the arrival of their first child in Boston, Laura Fleming's husband Richard is asked by Vasti, Laura's cousin, to direct a production of A Christmas Carol in Laura's hometown of Byerly, North Carolina.
As the play is rehearsed, furniture salesman Seth Murdstone, playing Scrooge, is murdered, With a killer on the loose, it's up to Laura to catch him, Boring and silly at the same time, I didn't like any of the characters, got sick of the main character talking about being pregnant, and the plot was ridiculous, It was also very slow, another big sin because there was so much repetition, I had to force myself to finish it and was glad it was over, A murder mystery with lots of personality, If mysteries were my steak and potatoes this one would be near the top of my list, As it stands, it was an enjoyable read that did not let me get bored, I was also constantly entertained, Funny. Love her humor. This is the first book I've read by Toni L, P. Kelner, and I can't believe I have waited so long to read this series, I found this book very enjoyable and humorous in parts,

Laura Fleming is five months pregnant, and she and her husband ,Richard, are summoned from Boston to Byerly, the thoroughly Southern town where Laura was raised by Laura's cousin Vasti.
Vasti is in charge of a Christmas production of Dickens' A Christmas Carol and in desperate need of a director, Richard, a professor of Shakespeare, has long dreamed to direct a theatre production even if it is Dickens instead of his beloved Shakespeare.
When Laura and Richard arrive in Byerly, they find a motley cast, and nothing short of a miracle will whip them into shape before opening night.
As if that's not enough, a practical joker has been playing tricks during rehearsal, the worst of which is stealing all the toilet paper from the restrooms, beyond cruel to a pregnant lady.


Disaster strikes when furniture salesman Seth Murdstone, who plays Scrooge in the play, is discovered dead backstage, and it is soon apparent that Scrooge didn't die of natural causes.
Laura's friend, Junior Norton, the chief of Byerly police, is on vacation for the holidays, and the investigation is handed to the second in command, Mark Pope.


Together, Laura and Junior soon feel Pope is making a mess of the investigation and start asking questions around Byerly, It is no secret that Seth was a moonshiner, and they wonder if that might be at the heart of the investigation, In addition, Seth's sons are in line to inherit as well as Seth's unclaimed illegitimate son, Motives abound. It appears that even innocent seeming Mrs, Gamp has a motive to kill Seth, and the practical jokes are beginning to turn nastyand very dangerous,

With the help of Laura's quirky aunts, Laura and Junior launch into the investigation, The play, meanwhile, is thrown into chaos, The family has decided that Seth would have wanted the play to continue since the cause is to raise money for the burn hospital that tried to save the life of Seth's badly burned grandson, Barnaby, who eventually died of his wounds.
But without a Scrooge, there need to be drastic shifts in the cast, and Richard has his hands full, so Laura and Junior are on their own.


This mystery was a delight to read, from the Southern charm to Laura's quirky family and the antics at the play.
Definitely a thumbs up! This was really an enjoyable, quick read! The characters were adorable, story entertaining! Off to find more of her books! Laura and Richard Fleming should be getting ready for the Christmas holiday in their Boston home especially with Laura five months pregnant.
However, her cousin Vasti from Byerly, North Carolina pleads with the Flemings to come visit her and neither one can say no, Vasti wants Richard, a Shakespearean professor at Boston College to direct the production of A Christmas Carol, Richard is eager to take up the challenge, During a rehearsal, Seth, the actor portraying Scrooge is found bludgeoned to death, Laura teams up with Junior, the town's chief of police, who is on forced vacation, to find the killer before he can do any more harm.
MAD AS THE DICKENS is a down home regional mystery starring a cast of eccentric characters that add atmosphere to the story line.
The trials and tribulations of a five month pregnant woman will bring smiles to the faces of those reader who were pregnant as well as their spouses.
A great read well worth your time, Cute little mystery book from a series of mystery books that involved Laura Fleming, A new cozy for me, October,
By Ellen Rappaport Florida
This review is from: Mad as the Dickens Superior Collection Paperback
This was my first Laura fleming mystery but definitely not my last.
In fact I've just orderedmore in this wonderful series, Thankfuly this author intends to continue writing which is just what the doctor ordered!
Laura Fleming, known to friends as Laurie Anne, is very pregnant and on a short vacation with hubby Richard Fleming.
Richard is the director of "A Christmas Carol" and currently stressing out over rehearsals, At home in Boston Richard is an English professor, They make their home in Boston but are spending time with family and friends in Byerly, North Carolina,

Richard knows that Seth Murdstone is not meeting the qualifications of the character of his role as Scrooge, Everyone else involved in the play seems to notice the same thing, Then, out of the blue, Seth is found off stage, . . dead and not from a heart attack, Seth has been murdered by someone, but who and why
Laura and her long time friend, Junior Norton, are determined to get to the bottom of this murder.
. . but where to start. Junior's Father, Andy, was formerly the chief of Police, Since his passing Junior took over his duties on the police force with Trey, her brother, as a p, t. deputy. That is until Mark Pope replaced Junior,
This down home mystery takes on twists and turns including many I didn't see coming, Tim Topper is an example of that and he brought a new dimension to the story, Seth's two sons', David and Jake, are shaken by their fathers' death, especially since Jake just lost his son Barnaby in a hideous fire.


There are many family members which the author does a good job at introducing and not overwhelming us with, We are never left on the sidelines in solving this crime, Well written and worth adding to your list of cozies, I was browsing at the used book store a little while ago and thought

I'd look for some Christmas fluff to pass the time during the holiday season.
This looked like a silly little cozy mystery, so I got it, It was just awful! Here are some reasons why:

How old is this author It seems to be a trend that either the author is advanced in age or is so out of touch with popular culture, but insist on making younger heroines of their books.
I lost count of how many times Laurie made some comment that made her sound like she was,

Laurie's pregnant Did you forget If you did, Kelner will remind you approximately everyth word,

This story was SO BORING, Nothing happened. Laurie talked and thought. She talked to Junior. She talked to Richard. She talked to her baby, In case you forgot that she's pregnant, There was no real action anywhere,

The writing was just bad, On one page alone, the author starts the first paragraph, "The first thing I thought to do was, . . " Then two paragraphs later, she says the exact same thing again, No, it's not the FIRST thing!

The cover art First, the edition I have is a MMPB that's not available on Amazon.
It's got two carolers in slightly oldfashioned coats and hats singing carols while a dead person lies face down in the snow, There are so many problems with this, AThere was no caroling in the book, BThe person that dies died inside and not in the snow, Which they make a point of saying doesn't happen very often in Alabama, especially at Christmas time, CIf they're going for "Dickensian carolers" they dressed them all wrong and there are ELECTRIC LIGHTS ON THE TREE ABOVE THEM,

So, yeah. Never reading this author again, Ever. This was a fun read I guess but I did start to get annoyed with how many times Laurie Anne talked about being pregnant.
plus her husband picked the stupidest times to quote literature, Also she wasn't a sleuth she basically bumbled about talking about how pregnant she was and kept eating every scrap of junk in sight until the killer happens to confess, yet have a heart of gold.


it was silly, This one was a fun, quick read, Laura is pregnant and solving mysteries at Christmastime, What could go wrong This mystery seemed a little more convoluted and dialogueheavy than previous books, Also, while it was fun to see Laurie Anne pair up with Junior to investigate the murder, something about their teamwork just didn't have the same pizazz that Laura has with Richard or Thaddeus.
Still, I was kept guessing, and despite a few shouldhavebeenobvious hints along the way, I didn't figure things out before the end, Mystery books are my THING, Upon finishing this book, my love for thrilling and mysterious books grew, And its all because of Toni L, P. Kelner!!! A cozy mystery set around a rehearsal of A Christmas Carol, It's late in her series but it looks like it'll be worth reading one of the earlier ones, Toni L. P. Kelner is the author of the Where are they now mysteries and the Laura Fleming mysteries, She was awarded theMystery Series Award from Romantic Times Book s Career Achievement Awards for Best Author for the Laura Fleming series and and her story Sleeping with the Plush won the Agatha for Best Short Story of.
Kelner has also been nominated for the Anthony, the Macavity, and the Derringer awards, You can find out about her on Facebook sitelink , Twitter ToniLPKelner or her official website sitelink, Toni L. P. Kelner is the author of the "Where are they now" mysteries and the Laura Fleming mysteries, She was awarded theMystery Series Award from Romantic Times Book s Career Achievement Awards for Best Author for the Laura Fleming series and and her story "Sleeping with the Plush" won the Agatha for Best Short Story of.
Kelner has also been nominated for the Anthony, the Macavity, and the Derringer awards, You can find out about her on Facebook sitelink , Twitter ToniLPKelner or her official website sitelink, sitelink.