This is the third book in the Judi Westerholme series, and even though I haven't read the first 2, this one reads nicely enough on its own. This was a fabulous murder mystery with twists and turns throughout, and I will read more in future. Recommended.

Mad, Bad, and Dead by Sherryl Clark.
A dead employee. A missing child. Anonymous phone calls in the dead of night. Judi Westerholme's troubles aren't over yet...
Really good read. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author. 4*.

EXCERPT: .... it was the phone. The landline phone which hardly ever rang these days. Nobody had the number other than Connor. Something must be wrong. I leapt out of bed, caught my foot in the sheet and half-staggered across the bedroom, making a grab for the chest of drawers at the last moment. Shit. One more centimetre and I would have brained myself on it.

The phone was still ringing. I lurched out into the lounge room, heading for the noisy damn thing, praying it wouldn't wake Mia.

'Waahhhh! Juddy.'

Too late. I snatched up the receiver. 'Yes!' Poor Connor. As the local cop, he'd probably get more polite answers to his calls. Still, he was used to me. We'd been mates long enough.
Silence for a couple of long seconds.

I took a breath. 'Connor? Hello?'

'Fuck you, bitch. You're going to be sorry.'

Click. The receiver was a dead thing in my hand, so dead I flung it away from me like a smelly fish. Then I stared at it lying on the floor, looking all innocent and cream-coloured.

'Judd-eeeeee.' Mia sounded very cranky. What a great way to start the bloody day. A vicious, anonymous phone call and a grumpy three-year-old.

ABOUT 'MAD, BAD AND DEAD': Already struggling to juggle co-running Candlebark's pub/bistro along with her new childcare responsibilities, what Judi doesn't need right now is more stress. Yet, as usual, it arrives in spades: she starts receiving threatening, late night phone calls before discovering one of her best employees, Kate, shot dead in her bed.

Once again, Judi finds herself at the center of a murder investigation, as well as the hunt for Kate's fourteen year-old daughter who has been missing since the murder. Add in the uncertainty of her relationship with D.S. Heath and the fact that her estranged mother's nursing home keeps calling to urge her to visit, and Judi might finally be at breaking point.

MY THOUGHTS: Thanks Sherryl Clarke. I needed this. After a week of picking books up and putting them down, I picked up Mad, Bad and Dead and read it from start to finish in one sitting. Obviously what I needed was a good dose of Aussie 'tell it like it is'.

We all have bad days, but Judi seems to get more than her fair share. She's had a lot of changes in her life in the past year, most of them uninvited and unwanted. She's estranged from her mother, her brother's been killed and she has inherited custody of her niece, the publican she worked for was murdered, and she and three other employees inherited the pub. You could say Judi attracts trouble like an outdoor dunny attracts blowflies. And now this . . .

You may have gathered that there's a lot happened in the previous two books in the series, yet this still works well as a stand-alone. I haven't read either of the two previous books, but had no trouble picking up the story in this one.

Mad, Bad and Dead is a fast-paced story with plenty of action including a murdered employee, a missing fourteen year old girl, threatening phone calls, break-ins, arson, and - oh, yes - Judi's mother is on her death bed.

I liked Judi's character immensely. She's strong, resilient and resourceful, but she's not beyond unleashing her temper every now and then when things are getting on top of her, or drowning her sorrows in a bottle of wine. She does have a romantic interest in Heath, but long distance relationships are tricky to start with, and this one is made even trickier by the circumstances of this case.

I loved Sherryl Clarke's down to earth writing and humour. I'm going in search of the previous two books, and I'll be first in line for the next in this series.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.2

#MadBadandDead #NetGalley

I: #sherrylclarkeauthor @verve_books

T: #SherrylClarkeAuthor @VERVE_Books

#australianfiction #crime #murdermystery #mystery #smalltownfiction #thriller

THE AUTHOR: Some of my first short stories were crime fiction, and although in the last 20 years I have focused a lot more on writing children's and YA books, I've kept going with my crime writing. The first two novels are now stowed somewhere in the back of my filing cabinet!
I'm a teacher of creative writing at Victoria University TAFE. I have been writing poems and stories for over twenty-five years, and have two collections of poetry published. Perseverance really does count, I think, for all kinds of writing.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to VERVE Books via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Mad, Bad and Dead by Sherryl Clarke for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

An Aussie crime thriller set in the outback, I wasn’t aware this was part of a series and for the most part it read ok as a stand-alone. I do feel that I missed alot of what made the main characters tick and do some of the things that they did.

It was a story with a lot going on. A quick and enjoyable read. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my copy of this book to read.

This is a very good thriller set in the Australian outback in a small town. I really liked the main character of Judi, tough and determined, as well as the other believable characters. The book is well written, with an interesting plot and a steady pace. Although it is part of a series, with reference to previous events, it can be read as a stand alone. There are plenty twists and it's definitely worth the read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

A solid four star read. Great premise. Well written. Good characters. Page turner. Plenty of suspense to keep me guessing Would definitely read her next novel. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

This is my first taste of Sherryl Clark's small town Aussie outback series set in Candlebark, not too far from Melbourne, featuring Judi Westerholme. There is a lot that has happened in previous books in the series, and many events and characters are mentioned, including the death of Judi's brother that has her being mum to 3 year old orphaned Mia, but it still worked reasonably as a standalone crime read. Struggling financially in the co-running Candlebark's pub/bistro with her chef partner and close friend, Andre, along with managing her new childcare responsibilities, Judi has more than enough on her plate, and her relationship with DS Ben Heath is suffering, leaving her feeling uncertain. However, trouble arrives in spades and she begins facing disasters left, right and centre, this includes receiving threatening late night phone calls at her home, which she reports to the helpful and competent local country cop, DC Connor Byrne.

This is before discovering one of her most invaluable, reliable and hardworking employees has not turned up for work and when she goes to find out what is wrong, she finds Kate Brown shot dead in her bed and her 14 year old daughter, Emma, missing. You would think Judi would leave the investigation to the police, but no, she is right there at the centre of the murder inquiry, and the hunt for Emma. And when she least needs it, her estranged mother's nursing home keeps calling to urge her to visit, particularly as her mother is dying, a last chance to see her alive, something a reluctant Judi will do anything to avoid. Judi's life is placed in danger and further complicated with hitmen on the loose, arson, trying to get to the bottom of what Emma is keeping secret, and the possibility of corruption in the police force.

It is barely surprising that Judi on occasion bursts under the pressures she faces, her first priority at all times is the safety of Mia, and this places limits on what she is willing to do for a grieving and despairing Emma who desperately needs help, but does not trust the police. This is an engaging and entertaining crime read that I very much enjoyed, it is held together by the character of Judi, a courageous and resilient protagonist that grabbed my interest, I really felt for her as she is bombarded by one thing after another. A great Aussie series. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

I did enjoy reading this book. I liked the main character, there was plenty going on, the pace was okay, and there was plenty to keep me guessing, good book. Well worth a read.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Oldcastle Books for an advance copy of Mad, Bad and Dead, the third novel to feature Judi Westerholme set in the fictional Australian country town of Candlebark, Victoria.

Judi is getting threatening phone calls and doesn’t know why. The one of her employees, Kate Brown is late for work. Judi needs her to help her run the local pub so goes to chivvy her along, only to find her murdered in her bed and her teenage daughter, Emma, missing. Running a faltering pub, looking after her three year old orphaned niece and now a murder investigation, not to mention her estranged mother being close to death, no wonder Judi is feeling the strain.

I enjoyed Mad, Bad and Dead, even if it is the first novel in the series I have read and it makes copious references to past events. Fortunately there is enough recap to feel up to date and make the novel work as a stand-alone.

This is a high octane novel with a relentless pace and too many events to count. It is told in the first person from Judi’s point of view so the reader gets up close and personal with the toll these events take on her and her strength in confronting them. I think she is one of the best drawn characters I have read in a while. She’s tough and resourceful but has no hesitation in calling out poor behaviour or lashing out if the situation requires it. She even, very occasionally, lets the situation get on top of her.

I don’t even know where to start with the plot, which covers a gamut of crime, including but not limited to hitmen, murder and arson with a whiff of police corruption as the cherry on top.

I thought from the description that this would be a humorous novel, but the author mostly plays it straight. It is eventful and keeps the reader wondering about what is coming next, but it lacks that spark to be be truly engrossing. Still it’s entertaining in a light hearted way.

Mad, Bad and Dead is a fun read that I can recommend.

A bit of a slow burner as you tried to piece the pieces together but once that happened what a great read it was.

Well written with a fast paced and gripping storyline and well developed characters. This book was twisty and unpredictable and I couldn't out it down. I loved it.