Death of a Garage Sale Newbie

by Sharon Dunn

Book Overview

Solving a murder mystery is much more than the BHN bargained for What could Ginger the baby boomer, Kindra the college student, Suzanne the pregnant mother of three, and Mary Margret the silver-haired... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1590526899
• ISBN13: 9781590526897
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: Multnomah Books
• Length: 298 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Loved it!

I didn't think anything could top Sharon Dunn's Ruby Taylor series, but she did it! I loved DEATH OF A GARAGE SALE NEWBIE. A good mystery, characters so real I felt like they lived next door, believable character struggles, and enough chuckles throughout to keep a smile on my face for days after I turned the last page. I can't wait for the next one.

Shopping for a Murder

Ginger, Kindra, Suzanne, and Mary Margaret all love garage sales. To them, there's nothing more satisfying in life than finding a really good bargain. Clearance racks and midnight sales are their best friends. When one of the group doesn't show up at her own house for a meeting and turns up dead, the other three turn their bargain hunting skills into crime solving ones. Their detective work introduces them to new friends and very suspicious characters. Combing for clues becomes as easy as searching for cheap prices. The Bargain Hunters Network soon uncovers past secrets that want to stay hidden by those that will kill to stop them. I love going to garage sales. Those are some of the best places to get really good deals on clothes, old records and best of all, books! I also like shopping for a good bargain. So I immediately connected with the characters in this book with their bargain hunting masterminding. I loved Sharon's Ruby Taylor mysteries so I was really looking forward to this book. I wasn't disappointed at all. I felt the mystery to be played out very well. The BHN members had to use their shopping skills to discover all the clues. Thus the reader went along for the ride with each member as they searched for reasons of Mary Margret's death. The characters are really fun to read. I liked the side stories about Ginger and her husband, and Tammy and her son. I felt that Kindra and Suzanne weren't fleshed out as much as Ginger, so I'm hoping that the next few books will focus more on them. I found Kindra to be an interesting character as she is much younger than the other characters and she is the type of character that one would wrongly judge by appearances. Her speech about Christian stereotypes, I felt, was dead on accurate. I also hope that Arleta will become a BHN member as I enjoyed her character as well. Once again Sharon Dunn has written an excellent book, a great read for old fans and new readers. If you enjoy cozy mysteries or shopping bargains this book is recommended for you.

What a wonderful story. The characters are as real as they get and the friendships so believable!

Review by Karen Higson What could be better than a bargain? Well that would be sharing the Gospel and the fun with your best friends and helping others to learn to save money at the same time, all the while being a Christian example to those you meet. That's what Ginger, Kindra, Suzanne, and Mary Margret do. They shop together at garage sales, the mall, and, well, most anywhere there is a bargain. I guess that's why they call themselves the Bargain Hunters Network (BHN). Often they will shop garage sales on their own and meet after to share with each other the great deals they have found. That is what was supposed to happen on this Saturday, except Mary Margret didn't show up, and the meeting was at her house. Ginger was alarmed to walk in and find the house in disarray, knowing Mary Margret would never--and I mean never--leave such a mess; on top of that, she would never be late without leaving a note. Something was very wrong. Dead wrong! And they soon found out that that was the case--Mary Margret was dead. Murdered or an accident? That depends on who you ask. The girls in the BHN are convinced it's murder, but the local police have ruled it an accident, and the evidence is disappearing. As the BHN team up with a local female officer they begin to piece together the clues that Mary Margret left for them in the form of a basket of garage sale finds. What they find leads them on a dangerous journey full of death threats, adventure, and a good dose of humor. The mystery goes back some twenty years, and they uncover more than what they bargained for. Tag along as Ginger ,Kindra, Suzanne, and newcomer Arleta track down the truth as well as they would any Garage Sale treasure, to find the murderer and find themselves in the process. What a wonderful story. The characters are as real as they get and the friendships so believable! I was captured from the start and couldn't wait to find out "who done it." See if you can keep up with the action--you won't regret the time spent on this great read. I love to find books with a fresh story line, and this one certainly fits the bill. I'll be looking for more from Sharon Dunn!

Death Can Be Entertaining!

Psst. Like cozy mysteries? Then you love Sharon Dunn's new novel, Death of a Garage Sale Newbie! This is book one is a series Sharon is called the Bargain Hunters mysteries. Four unlikely friends. An empty-nester, a mom of 3 with another on the way, a college girl and a silver-haired real-estate agent have found common ground in their quest to budget and save money. When one of them turns up dead and the police sweep an obvious murder under the rug and call it an accident, the three remaining members of the Bargain Hunters Network take it upon themselves to go all CSI on the case get to the bottom this. Along the way, you'll find funny and endearing characters facing real life issues like distance in marriage and raising a quiver full of kids. I found myself laughing on nearly every page as the ladies wove their way in and out of trouble in hot pursuit of what happened to their beloved friend. Speaking of that point, another thing you'll find is an deeply developed mystery that spans years in the making. Clues are dropped from the opening scene and when the truth is revealed, boy is it a whooper! This is the first book I've read by Sharon Dunn, but I can guarantee it won't be my last. According to the last page in the book, the sequel comes out January 08. Need a laugh? Snatch up a copy of this wonderful, quirky tale of coupons and capers. It's good medicine.

Chick-Lit Mystery with class!

I took this book with me when I went with some friends to spend the day lazing in the sun on top of a ruined castle. We found a nice spot on the thick grassy wall overlooking the moat and forest. One friend dozed off while the other did cartwheels and ate pistachios, but not at the same time. In any case, my peals of laughter echoed down the valley again and again, and each time I had to explain to my friends just what was happening at that point in the story. They spent a lot of time frowning, scratching their heads, and declaring me to be crazy. Me, not the author, you'll notice. Need I say I enjoyed this book immensely? The concept of a garage sale hobby is familiar terrain, and it's been taken one step further with the Bargain Hunters' Network. Four women in vastly different life situations, yet bound together by friendship and the passion for chasing good prices. But this is more than just chick-lit. There's plenty of danger and excitement - there's a serious political conspiracy, a clumsy lawyer-turned-burglar with the girlfriend who learned how to break and enter from watching TV, a mechanical elk, a shopping-mall showdown, and a couple of elderly ladies who use guns, pepper sprays, lightswitches, and rouge powder to resist the villains. And there's certainly plenty to laugh about, as you've noticed from my experience atop the castle. Whether it's a three-year-old having a conversation with a robber in the middle of the night, or her mother making frantic phone calls while giving birth, or the skater dude giving the old man advice for his marriage, it is all just delectable. Good enough to eat. "Death of a Garage Sale Newbie" is a treasure I will hold close to my heart. It's a murder mystery with a more personal touch than most, as the victim is a close friend of the women who end up finding the killer. The tale twists and turns incredibly and relies often on girl power and the potential for goodness hidden even in the bad guys. Ginger, the central character, goes through a tough period in her marriage as the plot unfolds, and it's a lovely side story to watch her efforts, so very human, and the way her friends support her. This victory marks the end of the story for now, but I've heard there's more to come in this series... bring it on!