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Charlotte MacLeod
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The Grub-and-Stakers Pinch a Poke Kindle Edition

by Charlotte MacLeod (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 out of 5 stars 126 ratings
The curtains almost close on an actor in this cozy gardening club mystery featuring amateur sleuth Dittany Henbit and her husband, Osbert Monk.
  When Jenson Thorbisher-Freep announces an amateur theatrical contest, the women in the Grub-and-Stake gardening club race to join in. They enlist Osbert Monk as their playwright—not only is he married to their club leader Dittany Monk, but he’s famous the world over as Lex Laramie, bestselling novelist of Westerns. Taking the legend of Dangerous Dan McGrew as his inspiration, Osbert delivers a rough draft faster than the Pony Express. Now all the Grub-and-Stakers have to do is cast it. To play McGrew, Dittany picks town cad Andrew McNaster, who has recently improved his manners in an attempt to woo Osbert’s aunt, Arethusa. The gunslinger’s performance gets a bit too real on opening night, though, when his prop bullets are replaced with real ones, and claim the toe of a fellow thespian. Is McNaster as nice as he pretends to be? Or has he taken his part too close to heart, and decided to become very dangerous indeed? 
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  1. Book 3 of 5
    The Grub-and-Stakers
  2. Print length
    273 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    MysteriousPress.com/Open Road
  5. Publication date
    November 6, 2012
  6. File size
    4.4 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“The screwball mystery is Charlotte MacLeod’s cup of tea.” —Chicago Tribune   “Charlotte MacLeod does what she does better than anybody else does it; and what she does is in the top rank of modern mystery fiction.” —Elizabeth Peters, creator of the Amelia Peabody series “The epitome of the ‘cozy’ mystery.” —Mostly Murder

About the Author

Charlotte MacLeod (1922–2005) was an internationally bestselling author of cozy mysteries. Born in Canada, she moved to Boston as a child, and lived in New England most of her life. After graduating from college, she made a career in advertising, writing copy for the Stop & Shop Supermarket Company before moving on to Boston firm N. H. Miller & Co., where she rose to the rank of vice president. In her spare time, MacLeod wrote short stories, and in 1964 published her first novel, a children’s book called Mystery of the White Knight.  In Rest You Merry (1978), MacLeod introduced Professor Peter Shandy, a horticulturist and amateur sleuth whose adventures she would chronicle for two decades. The Family Vault (1979) marked the first appearance of her other best-known characters: the husband and wife sleuthing team Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn, whom she followed until her last novel, The Balloon Man, in 1998. 

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B009S33JS0
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ MysteriousPress.com/Open Road (November 6, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 6, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4.4 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 273 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 126 ratings

About the author

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Charlotte MacLeod

Charlotte MacLeod

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Charlotte MacLeod (1922–2005) was an internationally bestselling author of cozy mysteries. Born in Canada, she moved to Boston as a child, and lived in New England most of her life. After graduating from college, she made a career in advertising, writing copy for the Stop & Shop Supermarket Company before moving on to Boston firm N. H. Miller & Co., where she rose to the rank of vice president. In her spare time, MacLeod wrote short stories, and in 1964 published her first novel, a children’s book called Mystery of the White Knight.

In Rest You Merry (1978), MacLeod introduced Professor Peter Shandy, a horticulturist and amateur sleuth whose adventures she would chronicle for two decades. The Family Vault (1979) marked the first appearance of her other best-known characters: the husband and wife sleuthing team Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn, whom she followed until her last novel, The Balloon Man, in 1998.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
126 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Stacy Robbins
    5.0 out of 5 stars Humorous and fast paced
    Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    PG Wodehouse and Agatha Christie meet in this wonderful series. Thoroughly enjoyable as is everything by Charlotte Macleod. Definitely a must read.
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  • Felicia
    5.0 out of 5 stars fun and well written as are all her works
    Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Charlotte Macleod will be sorely missed. Having completed my collection of her mystery books, I'm on the lookout for her short stories. This series is light, fun and well written as are all her works.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Nana Honey
    4.0 out of 5 stars An author that I enjoyed years ago, but whose books are hard to find.
    Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I enjoyed the books by Charlotte MacLeod, who also wrote as Alisa Craig, many years ago, but had not seen any of her works in print for decades. This situation with many authors from the past is why I finally bought a Kindle Paperwhite, and I have recently purchased all of the Madoc & Janet Rhys books, as well as a few others from the other series that she wrote. My only complaint is that these books for Kindle are almost always as expensive as getting an actual book, but sometimes the individual books will suddenly be only $2 or $3, instead of $8 or more, and then I try to get them before the price goes up again. I always thought that the whole idea for developing e-readers was to give people the chance to buy book downloads for less than a physical copy would be, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Sellers of e-readers might stop to consider that for an e-reader to be cost-effective, the books should be priced accordingly, especially for these older books. Another good idea, that took off and then people got greedy, and here we are again.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Janice Glines
    5.0 out of 5 stars but I love all her books
    Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Alas Charlotte MacLeod is no longer with us, but I love all her books. I've re-read this once since buying it because it's that much fun.
    One person found this helpful
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  • H
    5.0 out of 5 stars love it
    Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Charlotte MacLeod was a very creative and clever mystery writer. Her characters are so likable. I wish she had been able to live and write longer.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Linda
    3.0 out of 5 stars THE GRUB-AND-STAKERS PINCH A POKE, Alisa Craig (Charlotte Macleod), 1988
    Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2017
    From the publisher:
    "Lobelia Falls was abuzz about the Scottsbeck drama competition. The Grub-and-Stake Gardening and Roving Club intended to win it with a dramatization of "The Shooting Of Dan McGrew". The house lights went down, the footlights went up... and someone tried to make opening night the leading man's final curtain!"

    This is the third book in the Dittany Henbit Monk & Osbert Monk series, but the first I've read, although I have several of them in hardback book club editions. I enjoyed her other series much more than this one, mostly because it is not easily read, and I do the majority of my reading at night, when I'm tired. I can't readily explain why this was too "wordy" except to say that 15 words are used to say something that could have been related with 5. And the names! (Except I did enjoy "Andy McNaster" the villainous innkeeper.)
    One person found this helpful
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  • Robert Brucato
    5.0 out of 5 stars HappyTrailsTucson
    Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    The Grub & Stakers series is one of my favorite. Well-written and fun to read!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Nash Black
    4.0 out of 5 stars Thesbians Unite
    Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2012
    Early in her career the late Charlotte MacLeod wrote under the penname Alisa Craig. They hallow all the trademark signatures of a McLeod: witty and absurd delivered with geat style. The perfect escape venue for a light fluffy mystery higlighted with deep chuckles.
    Dittany Henbit Monk and all her friends united to stage a play written by her husband, Osbert, "The Shooting of Dan McGrew." Their goal is to win a collection of theatrical memorabilia, but someone is desperate to kill off one of the leading men.
    Make sure this volume is part of your collection.
    Nash Black, author of SANDPRINTS OF DEATH
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • emma
    5.0 out of 5 stars Formidabel, fürwahr!
    Reviewed in Germany on December 9, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Im letzten Band haben die Mitglieder des Garten-und-Bogenschießvereins von Lobelia Falls ein Museum aufgemacht, jetzt geht es darum, eine bedeutende Sammlung dafür zu erwerben. Nein, nein, nicht einfach kaufen, sondern gewinnen - in einem Wettbewerb für Laientheatergruppen. Zum Glück gab es früher mal eine solche in ihrem Dorf, so daß es nicht allzu schwierig ist, ein Stück auf die Bühne zu bringen.
    Eine Leiche gibt es nicht, aber viele Mordversuche, die so schnell wie möglich aufgeklärt werden müssen, um Leben zu schützen.
    Sehr empfehlenswert - auch wenn hie und da ein Fehler in der Übertragung vom analogen Buch zur digitalen Form Wörter verstümmelt und das Verständnis erschwert.
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