Crime & Clutter, Friday Afternoon Club Mystery Series #2

The Friday Afternoon Club is made up of six midlife mothers who retreat from children, jobs, and busy schedules on Friday afternoons to devote themselves to chocolate, chat, and good times. When Mary Alice is forced to face the difficult memories of her father's abandonment when she was a baby, her friends rally around to help Mary Alice to resolve her family's long-buried secrets. Likable characters and vivid 1960s flashbacks of politically charged events take readers on a great ride. A combinaton of high-spirited mom lit and cozy mystery (complete with recipes for Homemade Twinkies and Coffee Can Bread), this second "Friday Afternooon Club" title (after Dying To Decorate) is recommended for collections where women's fiction and light mysteries are popular. Salzmann lives in Nebraska. Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Chronicling the events of life in the Friday Afternoon Club, especially those in the life of Mary Alice who happens to be keeping a secret from her friends, Crime & Clutter is the second installment in Cyndy Salzmann's series of mysteries, and follows suit according to its predecessor. When Mary Alice's friends find that her missing father has left a 1963 VW minibus behind, they search it for clues, and try to deal with the ensuing confrontation with counterculture.
With slow, careful development of plot, and characters reminiscent of the authors of the Sweet Potato Queens series, Salzmann wins the hearts and laughs of women who read Crime & Clutter. By far, what stands out about Salzmann's book is the interspersing of recipes that tantalize the palette of her readers, while drawing them into the story at every turn.
Salzmann's readers will surely empathize with Mary Alice, who is forced to face some difficult clues regarding the life of her father, and also with her friends in the Friday Afternoon Club, who want to get to the bottom of things, but also help their friend. Previously willing to put her questions on hold, Mary Alice is brought on the ride of her life by the other members of the Friday Afternoon Club, who take her on a trip for the truth.
Crime & Clutter is full of vivid, realistic characters who have flaws and freely acknowledge them. Mary Alice, the dynamic domestic diva, is no exception. Readers of Cyndy Salzmann's first Friday Afternoon Club mystery, Dying to Decorate, will appreciate and enjoy this second installment in her mystery series. Salzmann's amusing return to the world of women attempting to balance intrigue with interior management will surely please wives and mothers everywhere who can appreciate a good mystery and enjoy laughing along the way. – Meg Tepfer, Christian Book Previews.com

"Good friends, good eats, and a juicy mystery!" -- Susan May Warren, Author
"Laugh-out-loud humor -- and recipes to die for! Cyndy Salzmann serves up delightful contemporary characters and a page-turning mystery that will make you want to pull out your bell-bottoms and tuck a flower behind your ear. Highly recommended." -- Allison Bottke, Founder, God Allows U-Turns; Author, A Stitch in Time
"It's time to rejoin the ladies of the Friday Afternoon Club for more fun, friendship, and food. Once again, Cyndy Salzmann has penned a tale that will make you long for a Friday Afternoon Club of your very own. Forget the laundry, find your stash of chocolates, and escape with the lovable members of the FAC. You'll be glad you did!" -- Judith Miller, Author, In the Company of Secrets and the Freedom's Path series
"Clever, thoughtful, humorous, and more, Crime & Clutter is one book you don't want to miss! My heart broke for the cost of poorly made choices and rejoiced for the redemptive power of forgiveness." -- Gayle Roper, Author, Caught in the Middle, Caught in the Act, Caught in a Bind, Caught Redhanded
"Cyndy's books are not only fun, they're delicious! I devour the humor, and the recipes are nothing less than a waistline felony!" Lori Copeland -- Author, Yellow Rose Bride