The Staggerford Murders and The Life and Death Nancy Clancy's Nephew - Softcover

Hassler, Jon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0452285402 ISBN 13: 9780452285408

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2004

Synopsis

Filled with his trademark humor and warmth, Jon Hassler’s The Staggerford Murders and The Life and Death of Nancy Clancy’s Nephew offer a welcome return to the town that has captivated readers for years.

In The Staggerford Murders, residents of the Ransford Hotel "solve" the nine- year-old murder of esteemed Staggerford citizen Neddy Nichols and the disappearance of his widow, Blanche. Hassler’s wry humor is in full force as this wonderful tale unfolds. In the more poignant and bittersweetThe Life and Death of Nancy Clancy’s Nephew, elderly W.D. Nestor finds his loneliness dispelled by his friendship with a young Staggerford boy, but it is a sudden visit to his one hundred-year-old Aunt Nancy that provides the peace he has always been looking for.

About this title

About the Author

Jon Hassler is the author of twelve novels, two short story collections, a volume of novellas, and two works of nonfiction. He is Regent’s Professor Emeritus at St. John’s University in Minnesota.

Reviews

Hassler, best known as the bard of the northern Minnesota town of Staggerford and its endearingly wacky inhabitants, returns to his home turf in the first of these two novellas. Nine years ago, someone killed Edward "Neddy" Nichols, and his wife, Blanche, disappeared. Now their daughter, Penny Jean Nichols, has written a letter to the local paper asking for help getting to the bottom of the unsolved mystery. Three of Staggerford's citizens—Grover, the desk clerk at the decrepit Ransford Hotel; Dusty, a retired garbageman who lives at the Ransford; and Dusty's nephew Ollie, an itinerant preacher who also resides in the hotel—discuss Neddy's murder at length. Most of the action consists of frantic back-and-forth storytelling, which is amusing but will be appreciated more by longtime readers of the series than newcomers. In the second, unrelated novella, Hassler slows down, telling the story of W.D. Nestor, an elderly, lonely turkey farmer who has endured a long life filled with love for his wife, some small pleasures and much grief and pain. The spare, uncompromising tale will remind readers that Hassler isn't solely defined by smalltown romps, quirky characters and cornball humor.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0452285402
• ISBN 13: 9780452285408
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 198