Fabulous, I loved every single page of this book and, as a matter of fact, this was a one-stand reading.

I am reading everything I can find by this author now. The book was well paced and I enjoyed the protagonist very much. Will be looking forward to more in this series.

Send in the Clowns is a book which I have had on my Kindle for quite a while and never really felt in the mood to tackle. This is set in the 70s, a time period I lived through, and that holds a certain appeal to me. It is part of the Country Club series of mysteries. This is a lighter humorous mystery with quirky characters and a very specific setting in time and place. Ellison Russell exemplifies that rarefied country club existence, yet manages to be likable, friendly and even down to earth. The mystery is well done with enough suspects to choose from to keep the reader guessing. Enjoyable lighter mystery read.

This is the second book in the Country Club Murders series that I've read and I loved it as much as I did the 3rd book (which was the first one I read).

Ellison Russell is a strong, funny and smart female character who knows her own mind and loves her family. I always enjoy getting back into her world to see how she develops.

I enjoyed the mystery as it involved killer clowns and I love me some killer clowns (Pennywise being my favourite obvs) in a book!

Will be keeping my eye out for the rest of the books in this series as I need to read them all and have them available for re-reads when I need a strong female character to give me a boost.

*Huge thanks to Julie Mulhern, Henery Press and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own*

Send in the Clowns is the fourth Country Club Murders book by Julie Mulhern, and she keeps coming up with great stories that entertain. Ellison Russell is a recently widowed mother, who found out her husband was not only cheating on her, but was rather kinky at that. She is a member of the County Club set and does not need to worry about money at all. She seems to find more dead bodies than anyone should, so much so, that she has memorized Detective Anarchy Jones home phone number.

In this story, Ellison rushes off to the local Haunted House when she finds out that her daughter's friends came home without her. Paying her admission, she heads off into "The Gates of Hell" to find Grace, but instead finds clowns, two to be exact. The problem is, not only is Ellison afraid of clowns, but one of the clowns has just killed the other one. Is this part of the show. When Ellison realizes she has blood on her coat and hands as well as the dying clown speaking to her by name, she realizes this is really happening and the other clown is now looking at her. It turns out that the murder victim is the black sheep of a family that Ellison knows, and his sister is one of Grace's best friends. He has returned to town as his 25th birthday draws near and he is about to receive a healthy trust fund. Once again, Ellison is put in a position that she needs to find the murderer. Not only does she feel responsible as she found the body, but she knew him and she is worried about the other clown coming after her or Grace.

This story has everything you expect from this series. There is a murder where Ellison finds the body, there is an exploration of family dynamics, humour (Mr. Coffee is her best male relationship), tongue in cheek descriptions of the Country Club set and of course, romance. Ellison is still being pursued by two very eligible bachelors. Anarchy Jones the detective and Hunter Taft the well connected lawyer. Ellison is still not ready for a relationship with either man due to her trust issues as well as liking her new independence, but it does not stop her kisses and the tingling she gets from both of them. This is a fun part of the story that I look forward to in each book. Ellison is a great character. She is tough, strong, independent, loyal, loving and supportive to her family and the kind of person I would love to have as a friend. I love the setting in the 70s. I lived it and this hits so true, it also adds a different touch to this cozy series. A great series that I would recommend to cozy mystery readers as well as anyone who loved the the 70s.

This is a great series, full of well developed characters and enough twists and turns in the mystery to keep me guessing all the way to the end. It's Halloween and Ellison is in search of her daughter, Grace, who hasn't returned from the haunted house. What she does find? a menacing clown and another clown...dead. Then missing. Then back again. Back into the thick of it, Ellison seems to attract crimes and crime scenes. Add parents who want her to find the right man, one who will take care of her, as it should be circa 1970, several love interests to juggle and another murder to unravel, this, the fourth book in this delightful cozy series, met all of my standards for an outstanding mystery series.

I was not able to get into this book despite trying.

Send in the Clowns (The Country Club Murders #4)
by Julie Mulhern (Goodreads Author)
Kindle Edition, 238 pages
Published October 25th 2016 by Henery Press


Goodreads synopsis:
Haunted houses are scary enough without knife-wielding clowns. Especially murderous knife-wielding clowns. So thinks Ellison Russell, single mother, artist, and reluctant sleuth.
Now death wears a red nose and Ellison is up to the blood-stained collar of her new trench coat in costumes, caffeine, and possible killers. Who stabbed Brooks Harney? And why? Money? Jealousy? Drugs?

With Mother meddling, her father furious, and her date dragged downtown for questioning, turns out Ellison's only confidante is Mr. Coffee.

***

5 stars

This is book four in the Country Club Murders series.

When Ellison’s daughter doesn’t return from her trip to the haunted house, she decides to pay the venue a visit. And of course, in true Ellison style… she finds a dead body! She can already hear her hyper-critical mother cringing.

She is repeatedly asked to stay out of Anarchy’s investigations but she just can’t stay away when she feels her input could help crack the case.

Another great offering from a wonderful author. Definitely check it out.

If you love all those cop shows from the 70’s, cop shows in general or anything that is mystery related. You will love this. Check it out.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

I’ve read all of the books in this series and each one is as great as the last. The series is set in the 1970’s with Ellison Russell as the reluctant sleuth. It isn’t that she wants to keep finding dead bodies, it just keeps happening.

Ellison, who is not quite 40, is one of the privileged country club set. She wants to break out of the mold and has become a successful painter. She is also being actively pursued by two different men, one who is part of her set (and a lawyer) and the other is from a different class which makes him even more appealing (not to mention he is the homicide detective who keeps popping up to assist with those dead bodies.)

Ellison witnesses a murder and once again becomes embroiled in a murder mystery. She also has to cope with her parents being too involved in her life and, at the same time, trying to keep a hand on her teenage daughter’s activities without turning into someone who over-parents (such as hers.)

The book is so funny. Even the creepy murder scene at the beginning has funny elements (but maybe not if you are way too creeped out by clowns.) I always enjoy sitting down to read one of Julie Mulhern’s books and will look forward to (I hope) many more in the future.

I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley.

Ellison is finally growing into being an independent woman and wants to fight her own battles. I love the complexity of the mystery and the setting but I hate clowns. What I don't like is the love triangle.

Witty mystery with a seasonal twist. Lots of fun with this series!

Ellison Russell shed her philandering husband. She seems to make a bad habit of finding bodies, so her friend, Detective Anarchy Jones, is not surprised when she calls him to say she has found another body at The Gates of Hell, a local Halloween haunted house. But when he arrives, the body is gone. However, this clown died in Ellison's arms and there was another clown in the room as well. She recognizes the dead clown as a local boy who ran away several years ago after being in and out of rehab for his heroin addiction. Now Ellison must call on all her savvy to question her country club friends as well as the clown's widow and sleazy brother. Charming setting in 1970s Kansas City, along with a protagonist who is struggling to learn her own place in the world, without a husband and without depending on another man.