Writers of the Purple Sage - Hardcover

Smith, Barbara Burnett

3.34

94 ratings by Goodreads

9780312113520: Writers of the Purple Sage

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312113528 ISBN 13: 9780312113520

Publisher: St Martins Pr, 1994

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Judge Volney Osler was a respected, well-liked resident of Purple Sage, Texas - or at least that's what most people thought, right up to the day he was murdered. Unfortunately for aspiring writer Jolie Wyatt, the murder was an exact copy of one she had outlined in her novel-in-progress. And who should have fought with the judge right in the middle of town the day before but Jolie?
Eager to deflect suspicion from herself, Jolie, a relative newcomer to the small town, begins to investigate, focusing reluctantly on the members of her writing group and the assistant chief of police, all of whom had access to her manuscript and knew about her unusual murder method. In the meantime, she still has to contend with a typically contrary teenaged son, her continuing job search, and confusion over her relationship with her ex-husband, rancher Matt Wyatt. A small town keeps its secrets close, but Jolie perseveres in digging, only to discover more than a few people with reason to kill the judge - and maybe herself as well.
With humor and flair, first-time novelist Barbara Burnett Smith has introduced an engaging new sleuth, and readers will applaud the appearance of smart, sassy Jolie Wyatt.

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From Kirkus Reviews:

Aspiring mystery writer Jolie Wyatt has finally hit it big with an unpublished manuscript--but only because somebody has used her murder method (a pin tipped with nicotine, a weapon even more deadly than an unfiltered cigarette) to dispatch Judge Volney Osler, the patron saint of Purple Sage, Tex. (pop. 5,000). The local police and Jolie herself both dismiss the coincidence as impossible, but assistant chief Andy Sawyer, who gave Jolie technical assistance with her story, thinks she must be the killer (though presumably an unusually dumb one), while Jolie figures it's got to be somebody else who read the manuscript--one of the other women in her writing group. So, when she sets out to dig up dirt on the revered Judge Osler, it's no surprise that she uncovers an ancient land swindle, an abortive romance, a vindictive sentencing, and hints of second-generation political chicanery--all leading back to the pals who've been supporting her while she's been struggling through drafts of the sadly misnamed Murder for Fun and Profit. Though Jolie gets off a few good lines (she introduces herself rather winningly as a recent victim of ``divorce, America's most effective diet plan''), there's not enough going on here to keep you awake unless you're as much like Jolie as her first-novelist creator seems to be. -- Copyright �1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly:

The second book this fall with a title punned from Zane Grey (see Joe R. Lansdale's Writer of the Purple Rage, reviewed above) is a neatly crafted debut set in the town of Purple Sage, Tex. Narrator Jolie Wyatt, a fledgling mystery writer, has lived there for three years, drawn from Austin by her now defunct marriage. A writers' group she has started is full of colorful women-and then full of suspects after a venerable judge is murdered with a ploy taken from Jolie's novel-in-progress. Her novel and a recent altercation with the judge draw suspicion to Jolie, who sleuths to exculpate herself. Her investigations lead her to focus on a number of the writing group's members, including a newspaper reporter with a secret; a woman whose father killed himself long ago after selling land to the judge; and another whose youthful indiscretion with marijuana put her in the deceased's courtroom. While solving the murder, Jolie grows to understand her struggles with independence, allowing her to decide whether to return to Austin. Despite the self-consciousness of novice Smith's writing about a novice writer, the story is briskly told, the characters well rounded and Purple Sage promising as a rich setting for future tales from this talented newcomer.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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