Death, Guns, and Sticky Buns (Tori Miracle Mysteries, No. 3)

by Valerie S. Malmont

Book Overview

When a quaint Pennsylvania town hosts a Civil War reenactment, only the blood will be real.... How does a once-hip New Yorker get used to living in a quaint Pennsylvania town famous for its gooey,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440235987
• Release Date: March 2000
• Publisher: Dell
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.9" x 0.8" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

A New Favorite!

I stumbled on DEATH, GUNS, and STICKY BUNS by Valerie S. Malmont by accident, and picked it up for light summer reading. Fans of the "Cat Who..." series, "Murder, She Wrote" or even Hamish McBeth could get into this series featuring erstwhile writer, Tori Miracle. Malmont writes with a plucky honesty, as her heroine struggles with small town politics, an AWOL boyfriend, and her weight in a region that loves comfort food--including sticky buns. Tori is never dressed correctly, almost destroys her friend's newspaper, and accidently blunders into mayhem and murder on a regular basis. Malmont balances humor and drama, and keeps the story moving. When a blowhard politico is murdered during a Civil War re-enactment, a series of odd and memorable characters become suspects for Tori and the reader to unravel. DEATH, GUNS, and STICKY BUNS is a highly entertaining mystery--so much so, I have bought the rest of the series for myself, and this title for my best friend as well!

Low calorie, high excitement . . .

Tori Miracle is my kind of woman. She pretty much knows what she wants, but all-too-frequently gets side-tracked before she gets there. Of course, the diet gets lost most often. But then, if you lived in Lickin Creek, home of the prized, over-sized gooey sticky buns, what would one expect. Tori has left New York City to fill in as editor of the weekly Lickin Creek Chronicle, and the small town is so vastly different she frequently finds herself in hot water, with no idea of exactly how she got there, or how to extract herself. She has a male friend, the local police chief, but he's gone away on a temporary assignment of his own leaving Tori to fight her own battles, metaphorically speaking. Of course, he also leaves her susceptible to the wiles cast her way by some of the hunky men in the area, but she manages to control both herself and them while takin' care of business.The craze of historical re-enactments has come to Lickin Creek, and a former Congressman volunteers himself to be the condemned man who is executed by a firing squad during a Civil War weekend. Gettysburg is, after all, just down the road a piece. But something goes horribly wrong, and the man ends up dead. Not only that, but valuable artifacts keep disappearing, and although it's hunt country, Tori shouldn't be the one being hunted. It takes some doing, some more sticky buns, and some deep thinking on the part of Tori as she partakes of the wide variety of small-town summertime activities, before she finds the key to the many puzzles that have been driving her nearly bonkers.This is a satisfying book on many levels - wonderful, believable characters, crisp writing, a different kind of multi-layered plot. I look forward to reading more of Tori's adventures.You even get recipes for the sticky buns!

Interesting, yet unpredictable storyline

Death, Guns and Sticky Buns is a book I recommend to anyone who enjoys mysteries and those that revolve around small towns. I haven't read the other books in this series, but I agree with the other reviewers and their interpretations. I enjoyed the variety of characters and the good humor with which they were described. The way it revolves around a small town gives the story a cozier feeling. I was also disappointed that the cats didn't have a part in the crime solving (as they do in other mystery series). It was a surprise to learn who the killer was, since most storylines are pretty predictable. I highly recommend this book.

An English Village Mystery in Pennsylvania

Tori Miracle has agreed to be the temporary editor of the Lickin Creek Chronicle while the editor recovers from surgery, to house-sit for one of the local eccentric women. (Lickin Creek seems to have more than its share of eccentrics) and is manipulated into having the Chronicle publicize the local college's fund raising efforts. Since Lickin Creek is near Gettysburg, of course the fund raiser will involve re-enactors of Civil War vintage, and of course things go wrong, and Tori is almost killed before the denouement.Valerie S. Malmont's series about transplanted New York novelist Victoria (Tori) Miracle in the small town of Lickin Creek Pennsylvania, is not really cozy. Too much happens...dead bodies abound and Tori or someone close to her, usually gets hurt. She does have cats, so maybe this is really a cozy series.Malmont's characters are not-quite-over-the-top. They are mostly just slightly off-center, but in a loving way. There's no malice in any of the good guys and it's really hard to determine who the bad guys really are.There's lots of well digested Civil War history, as there should be in a story that takes place near a famous battlefield, as well as meticulously imagined local legends that are completely believable. One has to suspend disbelief just slightly...there are really some very strange people living in Lickin Creek, but only slightly.

Cute cozy

As a favor to a friend, New Yorker Tori Miracle agrees to temporarily edit the newspaper of Lickin, Pennsylvania, a town renowned for its sticky buns. Tori becomes involved with local police chief Garnet Gachenaeur and sublets her Manhattan apartment while seeing if she can be contented with small town living. Due to a miscommunication, Garnet fails to realize what Tori did. He accepts an assignment in Costa Rica.Tori agrees to have the newspaper sponsor the local college's Civil War reenactment. However, someone kills Congressman (R) Mack Macmillian with a Civil War weapon that should have contained blanks. Because of Tori's reputation as a sleuth after solving two homicides, the college president asks the transplanted New Yorker to investigate the latest murder. Tori makes inquiries even after the police arrest a suspect because she thinks a killer is still free.The latest Tori Miracle mystery will appeal to fans that enjoy a cozy that stars a quirky delightful character. Besides the lead pastry, DEATH, GUNS, AND STICKY BUNS brings Lickin Creek vividly alive through the antics of the support cast and Tori's raised eyebrow reaction to them. The fast-paced and humorous story line provides the audience with a glimpse of Pennsylvania Dutch small town living. As with the previous tales in this warm series, Valerie S. Malmont leaves her readers with a satisfied feeling as if they just devoured a sticky bun. Harriet Klausner