FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
In Jill Churchill's Bell, Book, and Scandal, the irrepressible Jane Jeffry discovers that truth is not only stranger than fiction￯﾿ﾽit's far more dangerous. When real crime rears its ugly head at a local mystery convention, sometime sleuth and would-be mystery writer Jane and her buddy Shelley Nowak are delighted to be on the spot to investigate. Unfortunately, there's no shortage of suspects in a convention hotel filled with avid readers, fanatic fans, aspiring authors, rival booksellers and agents, and published pros. Now, in a setting where the usual risks run to meeting ego-bruising editors, arrogant agents, and reprehensible reviewers (plus the occasional sneaky scandalmonger or pushy, self-published storyteller), Jane and Shelley prove that while they may be amateurs in the game of detection, their status as suburban moms makes them pros at gathering gossip and ferreting out secrets and scandals￯﾿ﾽeven in the face of poisoning, head-bashing, or worse. Sue Stone

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"You can't judge a book by its cover. To look at her, one would never think suburbanite homemaker Jane Jeffry would be interested in murder and mayhem. But after all the corpses she's come across - and killers she's unmasked - she's practically an expert on the subject. Which is why, with best buddy Shelley Nowack in tow, Jane's booking down to a nearby mystery writers' convention to mingle with the brightest lights of literary crime ... and maybe drum up some interest in her own recently completed manuscript." "They're all there: editors, agents, publishing bigwigs, and famous authors like Jane and Shelley's personal fave, Felicity Roane. Even Jane's longtime honey, Detective Mel VanDyne, is a scheduled guest speaker. Of course there are bound to be some bad apples in the bunch: macho-malicious literary critic-cum-snake Zac Zebra, for example, and loudmouth Vernetta Strausmann, who self-published her despicable whodunit and successfully hawked it on the Internet." "However, what would a mystery convention be without a mystery? So one is graciously supplied when a famous ego-squashing editor keels over at the speaker's podium, undone by an anonymous poisoner. And when a much-hated book-bashing journalist is himself bashed quite nastily in the parking lot, it seems fairly certain that at least one real-life murder is stalking the proceedings. But who is he/she/them? The dirt-dishing, pseudonymous Internet gossip monger "Ms. Mystery," who's lurking around there somewhere? The local bookseller who dearly loves "Modern Golden Age" women writers? The avid reader who seems to know a bit too much about the personal lives of the famous attendees?" Jane and Shelley are on the case, ready to snoop, eavesdrop, and gossip their way to a solution. But the killer they seek is no open book ... and may turn out to be harder - and deadlier - to read than they initially imagined.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Like the previous entry in the series, The House of the Seven Mabels, Jill Churchill's Bell, Book, and Scandal: A Jane Jeffry Mystery, in which would-be author Jane and pal Shelley Nowack find trouble at a mystery writers' conference, offers only routine sleuthing. Churchill's newer Grace and Favor series (Love for Sale, etc.) has a more interesting setting and fresher characters. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Barbara L. Talcroft

It's difficult to know who exactly is the intended audience for this "Jane Jeffry Mystery." The simple plot, the vapid characters, the clich￯﾿ﾽs and slangy dialogue seem to rule out adults. Yet the main characters, a middle-aged widow with three almost-grown children and her rich, shopping-happy friend, seem odd protagonists for a young adult novel. Jane attends a mystery writer's conference with her newly completed manuscript, hoping to impress an agent. While there, she and her friend Shelley discover that an upcoming book has been plagiarized from a writer who is then attacked, while his agent suddenly collapses. In the midst of all this, Jane has several sexual encounters with her "honey," a man she hardly seems to know. In the end, no one is hurt permanently, no one is prosecuted, and Jane may have found a buyer for her book. When the main character, on seeing an ostentatiously expensive hotel suite, decides it's the most beautiful place she's ever seen and proclaims the kitchen "exquisite," you know you're in trouble and so is the author. With its minimal mystery, its muddled grammar, and its emphasis on consumerism, it's not much of a model for young adults who may be trying to understand the genre or even to write a mystery themselves. Considering the inflated price, librarians and media-center teachers would do better to spend scarce dollars on a real mystery by a real author. 2003, Morrow, Ages 14 to 17.

Library Journal

Part-time sleuth Jane Jeffry and friend Sheeley in this tale by Churchill (Much Ado About Nothing) attend a local mystery writers' convention, only to become involved in another murder mystery. After someone poisons a famous editor and attacks a renowned reviewer, Jane and Shelley take the offensive. Lightweight and fun for cozy fans. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews