Scumble River Murder Mystery Series Books, in Order

Featuring amateur sleuth and professional school psychologist Skye Dennison.

This is a general intro to the Scumble River Mystery series, set in fictional Scumble River, Illinois, by Denise Swanson. I will also review each book separately.

(Yes, I'm really looking forward to reading all those! --- and reviewing each. I'm trying not to go too quickly, because I'll be really sad when I'm done with the series. Of course, when that happens, I'll just start over anyway.)

So far, I've reviewed these Scumble River Mysteries on Hubpages:

(Listed in chronological order by date of publication.)

• Murder of a Small Town Honey;
• Murder of a Snake in the Grass.
• Murder of a Botoxed Blonde;
• Murder of a Chocolate-Covered Cherry;
• Murder of a Royal Pain;
• Murder of a Wedding Belle;
• Murder of a Creped Suzette.
  

I don't read fiction much, but when I do, I like it to be murder mysteries --- preferably cozy.

From the moment I picked up Murder of a Botoxed Blonde, --- the first Scumble River Mystery I ever read (though not the first in the series) I fell in love with Scumble River and with Skye.

Skye and her best friend, Trixie Frayne, get a chance to spend Thanksgiving weekend at the Scumble River Spa. Once they get there, they are joined by: a group of angry feminists; Skye's mom, (May); two student journalists from Scumble River High Gazette; Skye's brother's girlfriend, Loretta; Skye's (ex?) boyfriend's sister; and a few other locals.

Skye is not interested in spas anyway.

For one thing, Skye is chubby. That's a big plus (size) for me. I'm chubby myself. And, she lives in a small farming town in Illinois.

I was hooked.

A chubby lady detective, who is also a high school psychologist.

A farm town in the Midwest.

Skye is hopping around in the hallway in an aluminum foil wrap, trying to find out what the hideous scream was. She had fallen asleep while wrapped in seaweed with aluminum foil on top. She was dreaming she was a Thanksgiving turkey roasting in the oven, possibly due to the hot lights beating down on the aluminum foil --- plus the fact that the masseuse had disappeared.

Skye is trying to find out what the horrible scream was.

Turns out the scream was --- her best friend, Trixie, getting a Brazilian "wax."

The food was so meager they had to smuggle in chips, pop and pizza.

The spa is in an old abandoned mansion at the edge of town.

• May is Skye's mom;
• Jed is Skye's dad; ---
• Vince, a womanizing hairdresser, (definitely not gay) is Skye's brother; ---
• Loretta is Skye's sorority sister from college, and possible future sister - in - law; ---
• There's also her godfather, "Uncle" Charlie Patukis, the owner of the Up a Lazy River Motel.
• Skye's uncle, Dante Leofanti --- May's brother --- is the mayor of Scumble River.

You'll fall in love --- uh, sort of --- with Skye's family. They might be a lot like your own family, except with better food, a farm and a concrete goose out front.

Except for that one aunt, in Murder of a Sweet Old Lady. Nobody would want her as a family member.

Then, there's the Doozier family: --- Earl, the patriarch; --- his brother, Elvis; --- Earl's wife, Glenda, plus several more. They provide some good-hearted comic relief. They also frequently inadvertently provide the key to solving the mystery.

Loretta and Vince eloped, but I'm not sure when, so Loretta is now actually Skye's sister-in-law. Not only that, but Vince and Loretta are expecting a new little one any day now, in #17,Murder of a Needled Knitter.

May is very anxious for that long-awaited grandbaby to get here. As of the end of Needled Knitter, she or he has not yet arrived, though. (Although perhaps Skye and Wally are pregnant --- unless that morning sickness is a red herring?)

I'm not sure when Trixie started writing a mystery book, but I just found out in Murder of a Needled Knitter --- which I have read but not yet finished reviewing.

Trixie is the high school librarian, so that makes sense.

Perhaps the the fictional Trixie Frayne is named for the fictional detective, Trixie Belden?

There is more about "Uncle" Charlie in my review of Murder of a Small Town Honey here on Hubpages.

In that first book, the murder victim, Honey Adair, is the blood relative of "Uncle" Charlie, although Charlie does not know her very well. Charlie was Honey's only living relative.

Even though Charlie took Honey in during her senior year of high school --- after her parents died --- he was not too sad to see her leave. She was a disruptive force in Charlie's life.

Apparently she disrupted the entire high school, as well.

The disruption at high school eventually led to her murder.

I do plan to post reviews for each book in the series. I haven't even read them all yet.

But, on that sad day when I do finish the series --- which I hope will NOT be soon --- I want to just go back and start the series all over again. Perhaps in order.

:-)

The author has a little note at the front of Cherry, where she shares the Scumble River timeline. I don't know if this is the order in which she wrote them. I guess it must be. In any event, she explains that Scumble River time is a little behind regular time, so Scumble Riverites, “age more slowly”.

Another reason for me to go there!

Probably a lot of others, as well?

There's a free preview chapter of Murder of a Bookstore Babe at the end of Murder of a Wedding Belle. Each of the novels has a first chapter of the next one coming up.

That first chapter looks really good, and funny.

To find out more, go to my Hub that reviews Murder of a Wedding Belle. I include a little bit about that first chapter of Bookstore Babe.

So far, I've read Botoxed Blonde, Smart Cookie, Sweet Old Lady, Sleeping Beauty, Chocolate-Covered Cherry, Wedding Belle , and a couple whose names I'm not sure of. I'll review each in a separate hub. I'll have to first re-read the ones whose names I'm not sure of --- it was so long ago.

I'm always looking for an excuse to re-read a Scumble River Mystery.

. . . this reminds me --- I also have another book review of a murder mystery that revolves around Halloween --- from a different, but also very good, series. The book is called Decaffeinated Corpse, and is part of the Coffee House Mystery series, by Cleo Coyle.

The Coffeehouse Mystery series is, in some ways, a Greenwich Village version of the Scumble River Mysteries. A smart, funny amateur sleuth who is surrounded by friends and relatives and others who love her. Yet, she's a little bit sarcastic and critical. And, slightly misunderstood --- even by those who care the most. Also, a boyfriend who is a cop. And, a very odd love triangle.

Or, is it a trapezoid?

You decide