Wilder Rumors

by Molly MacRae

Book Overview

Lewis Wilder thinks he's found an uncomplicated life when he becomes curator of the history museum in Nolichucky, Tennessee, a tiny town snoozing in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1594145555
• ISBN13: 9781594145551
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Five Star (ME)
• Length: 259 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Painted Prose

I liked Wilder Rumors by Molly MacRae. I especially enjoyed the painted prose. The author paints prose on a page and the result is beautiful. An example of what I mean by painted prose is, "The rest of the meeting traveled the typed agenda without detour until the last item." At first I struggled when I sought to read this novel as a typical mystery thriller and hoped for page turner. The more I slowed my reading pace the more I enjoyed this novel. The writing is excellent and something to be relished. When the pace quickened and the bad guys in the mystery were about to be identified I was glad that I didn't rush to the conclusion.

A new mystery author to read...and anticipate new works!

Granted, I live in the area where Molly has set this story and therefore find it especially entertaining, but her writing should appeal to anyone who loves mysteries, particularly those set in small towns with "normal" but very interesting characters. My favorite type of writing is the combo of excellent prose with humor (if possible)and a good plot. "Wilder Rumors" has that combo. Molly is no overnight success; she has been writing plays and other works for a while. All of that practice has been brought to a peak with this book! I hope she's working on another one...I'm trying to wait patiently.

fun Blue Ridge Mountains cozy

Lewis Wilder is elated with being the curator of the Nolichucky Jack History Museum in the Tennessee side of the Blue Ridge Mountains because the job allows him to do what he enjoys most: researching old documents and artifacts. Meanwhile three things complicate Lewis' sedate lifestyle. First a burglar called the Fox is stealing antiques from the townsfolk; monthly anonymous envelops with $200 inside for the museum keeps arriving; and finally there is Marilyn Wooten of Blue Iris Books & Crafts. All three converge on Lewis because Marilyn, who he likes, is the niece of Sheriff Glaser who believes the WILDER RUMORS that Lewis is stealing and selling the antiques which in turn is where the $200 comes from. However, his situation turns bleak after meeting Don Sherrill who donates to the museum a nineteenth century bird pipe just before he was murdered. With only Marilyn and his estranged Aunt Katherine who raised him in nearby Stonewall, Kentucky believing he is innocent, Lewis has his work cut out for him because the evidence including a public argument with Sherrill and the pipe hangs Lewis. Lewis makes this a fun regional police procedural as his need to keep his past secret and his love of historical artifacts get him into deep trouble as the townsfolk assume he is a foxy thief when the evidence points towards him as a murderer too. His estrangement with his Aunt does not quite come across as lucid as the audience might like, but his trouble with the law does. Fans of a fun Blue Ridge Mountains cozy will enjoy hiking along the Wilder side of the investigative trail. Harriet Klausner