Claire Malloy is convinced she would make the perfect juror, even when her best friend assures her she doesn't have a chance. Unfortunately, Claire isn't only dismissed, she is humiliated by the prosecutor and Claire vows to prove him wrong. Now, Claire finds herself in the midst of a sticky mess as she's trying to help Sarah Swift beat a murder charge while preparing for her first visit with her mother-in-law. Can Claire juggle everything? And did the prosecutor have the right murderer all along?
The mystery in PRIDE V. PREJUDICE is entertaining, albeit a bit convoluted. I love the quirky characters we meet, however, and the scene with the pizza delivery guy had me in stitches from laughing so hard. The interactions between Claire and her daughter, Caron, are hysterical as I can practically hear Caron's over-the-top teenage angst kicking in every time she feels remotely embarrassed. Claire's behavior in PRIDE V. PREJUDICE gives us an inkling of where Caron gets her attitude from as Claire's determination to upstage the prosecutor won't let Claire back down even when her own avenues of investigation seem weak. I wish we'd seen a bit more of Caron and her best friend, Inez, although their antics in PRIDE V. PREJUDICE are quite amusing.
PRIDE V. PREJUDICE is the twentieth book in the Claire Malloy series and wow, it feels like home diving back into Claire's world. Joan Hess does a great job at recapping the highlights of the series so that new readers can jump right in and enjoy meeting Claire, her husband and Deputy Police Chief Peter Rosen, Caron, Inez, and a whole host of other unusual but oh so entertaining characters. PRIDE V. PREJUDICE is the perfect balance of wacky fun coupled with a cozy mystery peppered with surprising twists and turns.
Claire Malloy, for as long as she can remember, has been the local bookseller and owner of the Book Depot and the widowed mother of teenage Caron, who frequently speaks in ALL CAPS. But her life has changed dramatically in recent years. Claire has married her longtime beau, Deputy Police Chief Peter Rosen. Still the owner of the Book Depot, Claire has passed the day-to-day running of it on to her very efficient employees. With Caron inching ever closer to college, there's but one thing that remains steadfastly unchanged—Claire's astonishing ability to attract, find, or even just randomly stumble across trouble. Summoned for jury duty, the prosecutor on a murder case, harboring a grudge against her husband, decides to humiliate Claire and dismiss her. Having done so in spectacular enough fashion to make the local news, Claire decides that revenge will be the next dish she serves. She hunts down the defendant in the case, a woman accused of murdering her husband, and offers to help prove her innocence. And not just because Claire wants to humilitate the prosecutor. There are only two problems. One—the defendant is looking guiltier by the minute. And two—the worst day imaginable has finally come: Claire's dreaded new mother-in-law is coming to visit and life in prison is starting to look good.
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