Mumbo Gumbo: A Madeline Bean Novel (Madeline Bean Mysteries): Amazon.co.uk: Jerrilyn Farmer: 9780380978892: Books

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Madeline Makes Her Hardcover Debut, 4 Mar 2003

By

Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Mumbo Gumbo: A Madeline Bean Novel (Madeline Bean Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Mad Bean Events is getting ready for the wrap party for this season's newest TV sensation, Food Freak. In the middle of their preparations, they get the news that the network has decided to extend the show by one episode. However, Tim, the head writer, has mysteriously vanished off the face of the earth. With a tight schedule to be met, producer Greta asks Madeline to help out writing the script for the final show. Soon, Madeline is finding more danger and mystery then she knows what to do with. Who searched Tim's office? What do the weird notes Madeline finds on Tim's desk mean? And can Madeline survive the office politics to finish the script and find out what happened to Tim? Working on a hit television show is turning out to be anything but easy.

However, it's plenty of fun for us. Jerrilyn Farmer has worked on numerous game shows over the years, so she brings realism to this book's setting that adds to the story. And this book is just as much fun as the previous ones have been. The plot is wild and twisty, but somehow works when Madeline is investigating. All my favorite characters are back, and it's always nice to check in and see what's happening with them.

A brief word about the plot. A couple small details are unclear, and it left me a little confused. I was able to talk to the author about them, and she cleared up the problem for me. She also said she'd fix the problem for future editions. Even so, it's only worth noting in passing, is fairly easy to figure out on your own (I had reached the same conclusion before I talked to her), and shouldn't effect the overall enjoyment of the book.

Fans of this fun series can rejoice in another adventure for Madeline and her friends. If you have yet to try this series, I'm jealous. I'd love to have these books to look forward to reading for the first time. It's best to start at the beginning, so pick up SYMAPTHY FOR THE DEVIL and hang on for the fun ride.

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Amazon.com: 4.2 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite so far in the Madeline Bean series, 6 Feb 2005

By M. C. Crammer - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Mumbo Gumbo: A Madeline Bean Novel (Madeline Bean Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

This amusing and absorbing mystery is also well-plotted. I wish the author would have her Madeline Bean character go to work full-time as a television writer, because the setting lends itself to comedy.

Madeline -- who owns a catering company whose business has been suffering in the post 9-11 environment -- accepts a temporary position writing for a hit television game show (based on cooking). The lead writer has mysteriously disappeared and they have been asked by the network to do one more episode. Madeline doesn't set out to try to find the missing writer, but things start happening that force her hand -- like getting attacked. She becomes convinced that there's something very wrong going on in the game show offices or among the game show staff. But which of this bizarre group of characters holds the key to the mystery? Is one of her coworkers a killer, responsible for the missing writer's death? Is the missing writer dead or in hiding or kidnapped or just off on a bender or vacation? And what does the ominous comment about Monica and Heidi dying that Mad finds on written on a post-it mean -- who are these women and are they really in danger?

This is the kind of book you can hardly wait to get back to -- Farmer creates a workplace that's funny but believable, and you get some idea of what lies behind game shows (Farmer herself was a writer for Jeopardy). I highly recommend this book.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mumbo Gumbo Good....., 1 April 2003

By Roz Levine - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Mumbo Gumbo: A Madeline Bean Novel (Madeline Bean Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Madeline Bean, caterer and events planner to the stars, is a bit concerned as she and her team work on this evening's wrap party for the mega-hit gameshow, Food Freak. The company calendar is empty; the pages are all blank. That's right, this is the last party on the schedule, and until things pick up again, she's going to have to find some part-time work to pay the bills. As luck would have it, work finds her. It seems the network has ordered one more Food Freak show, an over the top, cook-off extravaganza to end its first, number one ratings season, and the head writer, Tim Stock, has disappeared. Who better to fill his culinary shoes than our girl, Maddie Bean? Of course the grateful producer is willing to pay big bucks and big perks for two weeks work, so Maddie finds herself saying yes to the glitz and glamour of T.V. gameshow land. But in no time, it becomes obvious that something very sinister is hard at work behind the scenes, and there's a lot more cooking on Food Freak, than clever contestant questions and new recipes. And as the mysteries and mayhem hit closer and closer to home, Maddie's determined to find answers and head off disaster before the show wraps up, maybe for good..... Jerrilyn Farmer is back with another wonderful gastronomic mystery, and fans of her Madeline Bean series won't be disappointed. The well paced plot is filled with wit and humor, marvelous dialogue, vivid scenes, and a quirky cast of delightful, original characters. Ms Farmer's breezy prose is engaging, and rich in Hollywood history, fun facts, and trivia that not only entertains, but adds real credibility to the story. Add to that her indepth knowledge of game shows and the ins and outs of food preparation and the kitchen, and you have the makings of a delicious treat. Folks new to Ms Farmer's Madeline Bean and company should start at the beginning with Sympathy For The Devil to get the real flavor of this series, and read them all. For those who are already fans, it's time to kick back, open Mumbo Gumbo, and enjoy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great amateur female detective novel..., 13 April 2004

By Thomas Duff "Duffbert" - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Mumbo Gumbo: A Madeline Bean Novel (Madeline Bean Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

I finished a fun read a week or so ago. It was Mumbo Gumbo by Jerrilyn Farmer. Farmer's books involve a caterer named Madeline Bean who finds herself involved in crime mysteries not of her own choosing. In Mumbo Gumbo, she is called on to do some writing for the final episode of a hit show called Food Freak when the head writer disappears. No one knows where he took off to, but the people who write, produce, and star on the show all seem to have something to hide when it comes to his disappearance. Bean's cop boyfriend is working on some serial killings that appear to be drug-related, and the two stories start to intertwine when a body is found in an arson fire of the head writer's home. I'll stop there to avoid giving away any more of the plot...

The writing is well done and the dialog is fun. The story seemed to get a little muddled in the middle, but I'm not sure if it's because it really was or if it was taking me some time to finish the book and I lost continuity. Regardless, readers of the amateur female detective genre will enjoy this book.

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