Crime and Clutter (Friday Afternoon Club Mystery Series #2)

by Cyndy Salzmann

Book Overview

A storage unit, a 1963 Volkswagen minibus, and tattered letters...reveal shattering secrets from the '60s. It's been a year since Mary Alice lost her father -- the father she never really knew. Now... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1582296448
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Howard Books
• Length: 270 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.7" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Tasty Reading!

Fans of Cyndy Salzmann's recipe-laden fiction will enjoy this second installment in her Friday Afternoon Club mystery series. Mary Alice seems to lead a charmed life on the outside, yet her past contains secrets that threaten to destroy her self-worth. It's been a year since she lost her father - the man she never knew. Now she's stuck cleaning out his life's accumulations from a storage unit. The Friday Afternoon Club comes to the rescue, as they help Mary Alice confront her past, which involves digging through her dad's cluttered 1963 Volkswagen van. Using flashbacks, Salzmann takes readers on a well-researched journey back to the turbulent counter-cultural hippie revolution. She offers readers the chance to explore the angst-filled Vietnam era in the light of the Gospel. With over 50 easy-to-prepare recipes included, Salzmann's book is a tasty treat, one you'll want to keep beside you in the kitchen! --Christian Women Online Book Buzz

Ingrigue with decorating will please wives and mothers everywhere

Chronicling the events of life in the Friday Afternoon Club, especially those in the life of Mary Alice who happens to be keeping a secret from her friends, Crime & Clutter is the second installment in Cyndy Salzmann's series of mysteries, and follows suit according to its predecessor. When Mary Alice's friends find that her missing father has left a 1963 VW minibus behind, they search it for clues, and try to deal with the ensuing confrontation with counterculture. With slow, careful development of plot, and characters reminiscent of the authors of the Sweet Potato Queens series, Salzmann wins the hearts and laughs of women who read Crime & Clutter. By far, what stands out about Salzmann's book is the interspersing of recipes that tantalize the palette of her readers, while drawing them into the story at every turn. Salzmann's readers will surely empathize with Mary Alice, who is forced to face some difficult clues regarding the life of her father, and also with her friends in the Friday Afternoon Club, who want to get to the bottom of things, but also help their friend. Previously willing to put her questions on hold, Mary Alice is brought on the ride of her life by the other members of the Friday Afternoon Club, who take her on a trip for the truth. Crime & Clutter is full of vivid, realistic characters who have flaws and freely acknowledge them. Mary Alice, the dynamic domestic diva, is no exception. Readers of Cyndy Salzmann's first Friday Afternoon Club mystery, Dying to Decorate, will appreciate and enjoy this second installment in her mystery series. Salzmann's amusing return to the world of women attempting to balance intrigue with interior management will surely please wives and mothers everywhere who can appreciate a good mystery and enjoy laughing along the way. - Meg Tepfer, [...]

Friends, Memories & Love

What woman wouldn't love to have five friends who are always there to support, push, comfort, encourage, love, and share chocolate ? Crime & Clutter , the second installment in the Friday Afternoon Club mystery series by Cyndy Salzmann, allows the reader to get to know these six women who are unlike any others you are likely to meet. Crime & Clutter has something for everyone, relationships, mystery, food, morality, and history. It takes these six friends on a journey back to the turbulent 1960's with a poignant tale that links the past to the present in the life of one of the friends. I found these characters very real with their all too human strengths and weaknesses. The book was the perfect companion for a Sunday afternoon, just enough mystery to be interesting, just funny enough to keep the feeling light, just enough reality to cause a tear or two and enough forgiveness to make one's heart sing.

A Recipe for a fun read!

What do you get when you mix together friendship, family, a little mystery, a little scrapbooking, and really mouthwatering recipes with just a smidgen of religion? "Crime and Clutter" Cyndy Salzmann's 2nd Friday Afternoon Club Mystery. No dead bodies or murders here, rather an intersting look at the 1960's woven neatly with the results in the present. Many of the anti-war sentiments are relevant now-this book does give pause for thought. The friends in the Friday Afternoon Club each have their own strengths and weaknesses and challenge each other to use the strength and admit the weaknesses as they guide each other through this journey of life. At times I cried while reading it, at times I laughed at out. The recipes! Whoduthunkit- "Fried Twinkies" "Hippie Chai" and "Homemade Peanut Butter"! I know where this book is being kept--with the cookbooks! The book arrived on my doorstep yesterday and I put aside 10 other books to read it today- it just looked that yummy.

Fun, Friendship, and great recipes

The Friday Afternoon Club is back and funnier than ever. The six women who form the club have no secrets from each other, so when Mary Alice, their own domestic diva with the storybook background starts behaving in a strange manner, they go into full snoop alert. After some serious prodding to come clean, Mary Alice reluctantly admits the candy box sweet story she has told about Denny, her father, is a lie. She has invented the tale to cover the fact that he abandoned Mary Alice and her mother, to become a hippie, a rebel with a cause, a slave to the sixties counterculture. Now Mary Alice has a storage unit full of Denny's possessions to sort through and she's dreading this trip through the past. The club members volunteer to help, and as they sift through the clutter, they unravel the mystery of who Denny really was and what happened to him. Cyndy Salzman does a good job of capturing the flavor of the sixties. As usual the Friday Afternoon Club is about friendship and fun, laced with an engaging mystery. And speaking of flavor, check out the recipes, particularly the BBQ Ribs. a fun read from the git-go.