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Ruby Milk (Penny Wade Mysteries Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Lucy English (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 57 ratings
See all formats and editions
Gems and jazz, love and murder. The best of Boston with accidental sleuth Penny Wade.

When social worker Penny Wade meets her new client, Dani Martin, she thinks her job is to help the sixteen-year-old cope with her mother’s sudden death. But Dani raises some troubling questions about how Anita Martin died.

The police call it an accidental death. After all, people die from anaphylaxis every day. Dani is convinced her mother was murdered. Where was her always-handy EpiPen? Who was with Anita when she ate a pastry contaminated with nuts?

When a second murder victim turns up, Penny risks her life to uncover the disturbing truth about Dani’s family, whose illicit connections reach from the back alleys of Boston’s art world to the underworld of India’s gem trade.
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Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 3
    Penny Wade Mysteries
  2. Print length
    274 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    November 30, 2015
  6. File size
    803 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

This is an excellent book, well-written, fun to read, and gives excellent insight into the life of an adventurous social worker. I loved it! I am looking forward to the next book in this series.
Reviewed for The New Social Worker by Marian Swindell, Ph.D.

5 stars!
I was sucked into Ruby Milk after the first few pages. Lucy English has a talent for capturing a situation in just a few words. I have never been to Boston, but I found myself picturing the scenes subconsciously. On occasion, I felt as if I was trotting along beside Penny as one of her friends. Lucy English has written a great book. Ruby Milk has all that is needed in a mystery novel: family intrigue, hidden riches, mysterious deaths, lust and greed. Lucy English is a new author and I look forward to her next book.
-Reviewed By Mike Dixon for Readers' Favorite

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B017ZV34BS
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ (November 30, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 30, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 803 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 274 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1519301073
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 57 ratings

About the author

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Lucy English

Lucy English

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Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

I'm a practicing sociologist and a former sociology and criminal justice professor.

As a writer, I often feel more like a reporter, following and reporting on the adventures of my characters. Sometimes they throw me totally off track, but I've learned that if i trust them, the stories write themselves. When I fuss about my characters doing crazy stuff, my thirteen-year-old son says "mom, you're in control of your characters." My son is wrong.

It recently occurred to me that while my characters exist for me, I don't exist for them. So it sort of begs the question of who's real!

The adventure continues.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
57 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Giventime
5.0 out of 5 stars Recommend to social workers looking for a fun read!
Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2017
Verified Purchase
As a Clinical Social Worker I loved this book. My hopes in picking it up were quickly realized, but I had several added pleasant surprises. First, I was taken back to a time when I was a younger social worker struggling with the issues of boundaries. I had to laugh several times when Penny was caught off guard as she navigated the thin line between enough and too much. As social workers, this line can become a little messy. It was nice to read the genuineness of this character's struggle. Penny often oversteps the boundaries of the professional, but it makes for a really good read. We have all been tempted to take on the role of sleuth in our careers, it was fun to follow Penny as she jumped right in.
The development of the characters added credibility to the story, and though the intention was not for the book to become a self study, I did find myself reflecting on my own professional development. There are so many examples of social work conundrums in the story, and Lucy does a great job of navigating them. At the same time she does not allow the reader to wallow in the difficulties of our modern life and labors. So many books with a social work theme are dark and depressing. This book attends to the problem, but is refreshing. I enjoyed the added complexity of relationships in the story, but admit to wishing the story had a few fewer characters for me to recognize as the story unfolded.
I recommend Ruby Milk to readers who are interested in mystery, but not seeking to become steeped in gore and body parts. The story line is intriguing and made for a great weekend read. I look forward to the next and the next and hopefully the next in the Penny Wade Mysteries. It has been a long time since I just sat down for any length of time to finish a book, but this book grabbed my attention and carried me along until the last page. Well done Lucy English. I look forward to reading more as Penny grows professionally and as you grow as an author.
2 people found this helpful
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Renee Lake
4.0 out of 5 stars Chick Lit Accidental Mystery
Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2016
Verified Purchase
I don't normally like to read mysteries, but this was good. ...The book was fun and an easy read that I enjoyed. The main characters had depth and charm. From 16 year old Dani who is sure her mother has been murdered to Penny Wade the case worker assigned by social services.

There are a few pg-13 style sex scenes and a bit of a romance that lends this book not just in the accidental mystery category but also a bit of chick lit.

This story is an accidental detective story primarily, however, with the fact that Penny is a social worker her investigating Dani's mom's death seemed right to me. No one else wanted to help this girl and a social worker is who she would turn to.

I liked this more than a thought I would. It was obvious the author did her own research into the different government departments (like social services) and convincingly wrote about Boston's art scene and the India Gem Trade. Simply put; she put a lot of time and hard work into writing this.

Four stars instead of five because there were some grammar, narrative and formatting issues, but I tend to over look those. I mean I self publish and have an editor for my own work and still things get missed. I don't like solely to judge a novel on this, especially when I liked reading it. Plus I find these sorts of issues in professionally edited books sold at Barnes N Nobles. This novel could stand right along side in the Mystery Section as far as I am concerned.

Also, I love the cover.

This novel does end on a small cliff hanger, put I enjoyed the way the story wrapped up. Writing a review on a mystery is hard! I don't want to give away anything. All I can say is read this book and check it out for yourself.
One person found this helpful
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Wendy R
5.0 out of 5 stars A fast-paced and well-written mystery!
Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2015
Verified Purchase
Pugnacious social worker Penny Wade makes her sleuthing debut in this absorbing new mystery by Lucy English. Ruby Milk finds Penny plunging headlong into danger to save her engaging teen client, Dani Martin, from the treacherous adults who surround the teen following the suspicious death of the girl’s mother.
Penny leads us on a fast-paced journey into the Indian gem trade, via the streets of historic Boston, where she not only seeks a murderer, but also stumbles through her love life, wrestles with a painful past, and frequently seeks the sanctuary and advice of her circle of good friends, who are all quite entertaining themselves.
English really has created a captivating heroine in Penny Wade, who proves to be as feisty and resourceful on the job as she is vulnerable and wounded in her private life. She’s no stranger to heartbreak or trouble, and she’s a fierce advocate for the innocent. Readers will find themselves pushing and punching right along with Penny as she fights for justice in this whirlwind of a novel.
Ruby Milk charmingly draws its title from a bit of Indian folklore, found deep in the heart of the story, which winds its way to its conclusion without ever stopping to take a breath. And check this out- as an added bonus, the author offers readers an expanded experience by inviting us to follow some of Penny Wade’s interesting friends on Pinterest. It’s a great way to stay connected while waiting for the next installment to come out. I normally am not a mystery reader, but the Penny Wade Mysteries definitely have me hooked. I strongly recommend this book.
2 people found this helpful
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Tom Huening
4.0 out of 5 stars It was a good mystery novel
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2017
Verified Purchase
"Good first novel" doesn't due Ruby Milk justice. It was a good mystery novel, period. I especially liked the social content woven into a captivating story that I read in two sittings. Example? Penny Wade, "I didn't know what it was like to loose a wonderful mom, but I know what it was like to long deeply for one. You can get money later in life, friends, success, skills -- there were all sorts of things a person could create for themselves in adulthood, but not a childhood with a loving mom."
Interesting background on fair trade, corruption and child labor.
All in all a good read with some romance, mystery and intrigue. I've ordered the next two in the Penny Wade mystery series.
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