A Case of Imagination

Madeline Maclin #1

by Jane Tesh

On this nice July morning in Parkland, North Carolina, the office of Madeline Maclin Investigations might as well have been an Egyptian hot, dusty, and dead. It doesn't help that her landlord Reid Kent, does a brisk business and briskly hits on Mac to rejoin his agency. He maintains no one will hire a former Miss Parkland as a serious PI. Mac has been friends forever with Jerry Fairweather. Jerry claims to be psychic and is, unlike his two brothers, somewhat screwy. And he refuses to claim a share in the Fairweather fortune. But he shares some good news with Mac―his Uncle Val has died and left him a house. The two friends drive out to Celosia, a half hour away, where they discover a local beauty pageant in trouble and a house just perfect for setting up shop. A Psychic Shop. The arrival of lawyer Olivia, Jerry's shark-like girlfriend, rouses both Mac's interest in the mystery at the pageant and the one in her own heart. And then comes the first murder. A Case of Imagination is Jane Tesh's playful first mystery, the start of a series by an author who admires Terry Pratchett, Martha Grimes, Carl Hiaasen, and P.G. Wodehouse.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Fiction, Contemporary, Detective, Mystery Thriller

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Jane is a 2022 Book Excellence Award Finalist for her fantasy novel, Butterfly Waltz and a 2023 Book Excellence Finalist for her mystery novel, Ghost Light.

Jane lives and writes in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, the real Mayberry. She is the author of the Grace Street Mystery Series, the Madeline Maclin Mysteries, four fantasy novels, and over thirty plays for children.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Former beauty queen Madeline Maclin is trying to live down her career by excelling as a private investigator. But when her best friend Jerry inherits a possibly haunted house in nearby rustic Celosia, Mac goes along for the ride. She's begun to suspect that she's romantically interested in Jerry, who has a lot of baggage from his family tragedy. Coerced into helping with the local beauty pageant, Mac discovers the dead body of one of the contestants.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting small town mystery.

It focused on a beauty pageant, and all of the contestants, judges, choreographer, etc.

There are no secrets in small towns.

It is also a bit of a romance. Unfortunately, I like my mysteries straight.

This was padded with too much yearning for the secondary character, getting jealous of that character's girlfriend, etc.

Uncle Val was a solitary man with quirky interests. Too nice a man.

The other people in the town took advantage of him outrageously as it turns out.

In the end there just was not a lot to like about the people in Celosia, they were too strange, too unbelievable.

I borrowed a copy from the public library.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this to be a lighthearted mystery. Not a lot of depth, but a cute easy read with a little bit of comedy

I would say to young readers or those that are looking for for a little bit of mystery , comedy and romance

[John Hutt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Formula lady PI tale. Former pageant winner turned detective and weird friend (male) arrive in small town and get mixed up in sinister happenings at the local pageant, culminating in murder. Pleasant tale, no great depth but whiles away the time.

[Christine L · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being an avid cozy mystery fan I’m always happy to find new to me authors and series. While I found these characters quaint and quirky, I found this first in the series simply okay. I probably won’t, however, continue with this series.

[Allison Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Madeline in this new series and I'm definitely interested in seeing where the story goes. The mystery was a bit convoluted and ridiculous, but no worse than some other cozies. Jerry is fun, Olivia is annoying and the new townspeople have great promise.

[Tami · Rating 4 out of 5]

great read

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well set up for continuing series, good character development & plot. I hope Olivia stays gone.

[Tasula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find this author's books a lot of fun. Farfetched they may be, and this one with a bit of thwarted love interest, but enjoyable little mysteries with amusing characters.

[Tammy Dodge · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thought I’d try a new author. The cover on my copy was different than this one. It just shows you can’t judge a book by its cover obviously. Lol.

[Rebecca Baughman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. Easy read.

[JoAnne McMaster (Any Good Book) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd like to know how this book got so many stars. The heroine is an ex-little girl beauty pageant winner, and soooo gorgeous that she cut her hair and wears no makeup so people will take her seriously as a private investigator. Really? Is being unattractive a requirement for an investigator? I hadn't heard that one. And how did she get to be an investigator? I would think that a background in beauty pageants wasn't a qualification to just go and get your license and decide this is what you want to do. I certainly wouldn't hire someone who didn't have SOME sort of background in criminal law. It doesn't take, anyway. Everyone tells her she's gorgeous all the time. And when she was older she entered another beauty pageant (she won) because she "needed the money". So after not competing for many years, she just decides to enter and win. Wow. She must have some great talent (not that I ever find out, at least as far I read), or the judges were just blown away by her 'gorgeous' looks. (FYI, I've seen gorgeous women without makeup and no one would call them gorgeous like they do this girl). How much money do local pageants pay, anyway? Not only that, almost everyone in the book is beautiful. I slogged through a third of this book before I gave up and just turned to the end to find out "whodunit". I gave it two stars because maybe it would have improved if I had read the entire thing - but I just couldn't.

[Carl Brookins · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s an interesting idea, but in the development, author Jane Tesh could have used more of her imagination. Madeline Maclin, an ex-beauty queen, opens an investigations agency. She does it in an office building practically next door to her landlord—who also runs an investigations agency. He constantly hits on her. He has plenty of business, she has none.

Madeline has a friend, a sort of free spirit, who claims to be a psychic. His name is Jerry Fairweather! Jerry has a girl friend, a lawyer named Olivia. She’s referred to as a shark , but it’s hard to see why. Mostly she seems to be ill-tempered and she pouts. Jerry and Madeline drive to a nearby town where the annual beauty pageant is about to go onstage, regardless of some local protests.

There are several other characters, of course, a murder and various acts of chicanery. Some of it is extremely inventive. A lot of the dialogue is predictable and pedestrian. The author clearly has some talent and the principal characters are likeable. There are some laughs and overall this is a pleasant enough novel, but I’d opt for checking it out of the library.

[moxieBK · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very nice, fairly quick read. Interesting cozy featuring an ex-beauty queen and her boyfriend, who’s a little bit of a wild card. I think it was this wonderfully delightful and refreshing mix of characters that really made the book stand out.

There was the landlord of her building, a private “dick,” (dick being a very appropriate word here,) who only really saw the face value of Madeline, and yet Madeline was a very smart, savvy character. A real PI who knew what she was doing, and not the same old run of the mill cozy character who just happens to stumble into a case. (Well, OK, so Madeline did just stumble into this one—but the point is that she IS a detective…not a armchair one.)

I liked it. I’m going to get the next one that comes out and continue the series. I liked cozy mysteries; it’s hard to find ones that are the typical garden variety kind. This one wasn’t.

Three stars.

[Shirley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Madeline Maclin (Mac), former beauty queen turned PI, follows her best friend Jerry to the small town of Celosia, where he has inherited a house from a reclusive uncle. Jerry, not wanting to stake a claim to his family's fortune, decides to reinvent the old house as either a psychic shop or a B&B, or a combination of both, much to the chagrin of his girlfriend. Struggling in her business, Mac is asked to discover who is trying to sabotage the pageant when the most promising contestant is murdered. While she constantly battles her feelings for Jerry, Mac is also distracted by a local charm. Between Jerry's psychic dabbling and Mac's search for clues, their loyalty and friendship never waver, although friendship is not exactly what Mac is wanting.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a mystery novel, this one was an easy to figure out plot. I liked the novel, but was a little aggitated with the writing style. The way the romance was placed within the story line didnt flow well and the story took a few off the wall, wild turns. I will say it was an alright read as a time passer. For me, I wont throughly search for the next book in the series, but I will read it if I come across it. Mostly out of curiousity to see how the author has grown in their style of writing. All in all, I have to say the characters are likeable enough, but overall the book was pieced together with no real pattern or flow. If you happen to like beauty queen mysterys or unconventional detective series, you'll probably like this one.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good start to the Madeline Maclin series. Ex beauty pageant Madeline moves to a small town in North Carolina with her old college buddy Jerry, a small time con artist who has inherited a house from his uncle. Going as far from pageantry as she can get, she wants to become a private detective, but Madeline finds it hard going. I enjoyed the characters of Madeline, a no-nonsense private eye trying more or less successfully to live down her past and Jerry, her best friend who is being dated by a goldigger after the fortune he has renounced. Sometimes the flow of the sentences seems a bit sparse for the type of book it is, but I look forward to seeing the characters grow.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most books should receive three stars, by definition most books are average. A few deserve four starts if they're really good. Five few books deserve. This was more than four but less then five, but given a five point scale, it lies on the five side, not four.

I usually put the "bad" evaluation first then the "good" evaluation, but I would be nitpicking to find "bad." It moved quickly, it did not let the "romance" part, or other less related, to clutter up the speed at which this story moved. I don't remember anything that would embarrass me while sharing with my teenage kids. She has a handful of books for me to look forward to reading.

[Adrienne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is listed under Mysteries and Thrillers.. it was neither. Ms. Tess couldn't decide whether this story was going to be a romance between the two main characters or a mystery. More than you ever wanted to know about beauty pageants.. and it leaves you unsatisfied when you finally crawl to the last page. A sigh of relief that this story is finally over... you don't care if the two main characters hook up, nor do you care who the killer is in the end. Some may try it when its offered as a free book, but don't waste your good money buying it.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story revolves around a beauty contest, which is not the most serious situation, but the fluff side is not emphasized. Madeline Maclin, the major character & detective, has escaped the pageant world only to find herself trying to discover who is sabotaging the set of the small town contest. The conversations and Maclin's insights into the characters are well done. At the end, Madeline solves the case but doesn't quite get the guy.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun read. I loved the characters. They were pretty quirky and they kept the story going. I look forward to reading more about them. It is so refreshing to find an author that lets her story and her characters stand on their own merits and not feel that they have to fall back on sex and swearing. Way to go Jane Tesh!!! Keep up the good work.

[Brenda Kirton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I don't remember how I got interested in it, but I am glad I did. Madeline is a fun character. And the killer wasn't easily guessed unless your guesses just consisted of all the characters. There was one item that made you think of this person but nothing to go with it til near the end. Can't wait to buy the next one.

[Pepper · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not finish reading the book. I just could not get into the story. It was lacing in character development and plot development. I felt like it could have been a good book but it needed more meat.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neat twist--former beauty queen is now a private investigator. Ordinarily, I wouldn't be bothered with former but Mac feels about beauty pageants as I do. Glad I've met her and will read more about her as the series continues.

[Book Concierge · Rating 1 out of 5]

Barely okay cozy about a former beauty pageant winner turned private investigator. weak plotting. Weak character development.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable. Somewhat predictable. The characters are very likable.

[Kitsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, quirky and cozy read with just a dash of naughtiness and scandal!

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

An okay read, but quite weak on plot. And the characters are rather pathetic.

[Karen ⊰✿ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I managed to finish it, but only just cared enough to. Not that interesting of a plot, or characters. A pretty bland book really - I'm glad I got it as a free download from Amazon!

[Katelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book left me wanting more mysteries by this author.