Written by Joan Hess
SUMMARY:
First published in 1992, this 239-page St. Martin’s Minotaur Books paperback reprint was released in 2003. Like the other entries in this series, it’s a first-person narrative by bookstore owner/amateur sleuth Claire Malloy.
Dragging along Caron (her self-absorbed teenage daughter), Claire Malloy leaves Farberville, Arkansas, for a weekend stint becoming acquainted with her late husband’s relatives. This awkward family reunion is being held at the dilapidated Malloy Manor estate, deep in the rural Louisiana bayous.
As guests for matriarch Justicia’s 80th birthday, Claire must fend off sexual advances from her lecherous brother-in-law, Stanford, as well as meeting an assortment of greedy Malloy cousins. Enigmatically spoken of is a second brother-in-law, the late Miller, that Claire never knew about. There’s also rumors of a vengeful Civil War-era family ghost haunting the manor.
The downcast vibe continues at dinner that night. After her cantankerous mother-in-law taunts the existence of yet another new will, Claire confirms little love is lost amongst Justicia and her openly scornful heirs. Come midnight, a cackling Justicia goes for an inebriated joyride in her motorized wheelchair across the swampy estate. Her family soon discovers that Justicia has suffered a fatal accident.
Given some odd discrepancies that go unexplained, Claire suspects that Justicia’s demise wasn’t a convenient fluke. More specifically, she thinks someone is willing to kill and perhaps kill again to expedite a long-awaited inheritance.
Note: The book contains some profanities and implied racial bigotry. An Asian racial slur also appears on page 30.
REVIEW:
It’s an unfortunate case of Claire Malloy treading shallow waters. Make no mistake: Death By the Light of the Moon reads like a cliché checklist for Southern-fried cozy mysteries. From the get-go, its dubious credibility resembles an old Scooby-Doo episode: “A Night of Fright is No Delight,” where several Southern-themed stereotypes are played to the hilt.
Hence, this superficial caper from Joan Hess serves up a buffet of witty insults, as it struggles to be even a middling bedtime read. For instance, Claire’s narrative, upon occasion, unnecessarily inserts obscure adjectives or adverbs that leaves one wondering ‘so what exactly does she mean?.’
To no one’s surprise, Claire is the most likable, most relatable, and indeed most credible character, in comparison to her bigoted in-laws (as if the Malloy clan lives in some mid-19th Century time warp). Shrewd family attorney Rodney Spikenard later on is another plus, as his presence is a refreshing contrast to the Malloys. As for Caron’s contributions, Hess sensibly relegates her off-screen for long stretches, as even a little of the character’s standard-issue teen angst played for laughs goes a long way.
Otherwise, all readers get is a cynic’s festival of ‘bayou buffoons’ (extending to the police, local townsfolk, etc.), with few semblances of realism. Notably, an old-school custom where the Malloys constantly defer to one other by title as “Cousin (insert name),” will grow tiresome long before even the third chapter. Doses of snarky humor at least serve as some compensation for this underwhelming murder-mystery.
While Claire’s deductions (and, ultimately, the case’s solution) come off as semi-plausible, the simmering racial undertones oozing from Death By the Light of the Moon leave a disappointingly sour taste. Above all, one can’t really dispute that Hess isn’t bothering to score originality points with the novel’s unimpressive plotting.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES:
An eight-page preview hypes a more recent Claire Malloy mystery novel: Damsels in Distress.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 3 Stars
