Mary Welk Books

A Deadly Little Christmas packed a big wallop. Something Wicked In The Air has as much of a wallop, if not more. The descriptions of the Renaissance Fair were so good that I felt like I was wearing the costumes with them and the story line had me in its grip from the first page to the last. I love both the familiar characters from the 1st book and the new ones introduced in this book, especially Maddie, the chiefs wife. I also loved the ladies at the Home for Gentle Women. I am waiting impatiently for the third book in the series and I feel certain that it will be going out of the park!! Mary write faster!!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Welk's first novel, A DEADLY LITTLE CHRISTMAS. Her second book continues the adventures of Caroline Rhodes, RN, and Professor of History Carl Atwater in the town of Rhineburg, Illinois. Once again, Ms. Welk captures the essence of small town living with her descriptions of the place and the people. Anyone who has roots in rural America will recognize the pomposity of local politicians like Mayor Teddy Schoen, the reclusive lifestyle of characters like Branch the gardener, and the indomitable strength of elderly folks like Alexsa Stromberg Morgan. Chief of Police Jake Moeller, his antique dealer wife Madeline, and the little gypsy girl Bricole are welcome additions to the Rhineburg family, as are those wacky residents of the Rhineburg Boarding House and Home for Gentle Women. My only wish was that we could have heard more from the Archangels, those guardians of civilized behavior at Bruck University. Hopefully they will shine in Ms. Welk's next novel in the Caroline Rhodes series. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a cozy mystery with a strong plot and continuous action. For those who enjoy a taste of the past, the descriptions of the Renaissance Faire are an added treat to an already great story.

You've got to love a mystery where the prime suspect's name is Littlewort. Anyone who's attended college will recognize the type: an eccentric know-it-all professor who's despised by all his colleagues. Ms. Welk aptly describes the university setting and the various types of characters who work there. I enjoyed her description of the Renaissance Fair with all the pomp and pagentry surrounding the knighting ceremony. Most of all, I enjoyed how she wove a diverse group of characters into a fast paced plot that was both realistic and entertaining. Not having read Welk's first book, I now intend to do so.

Mary Welk does it again. SOMETHING WICKED IN THE AIR is a perfect follow-up to the explosive debut of Mary Welk and her fantastic characters (A DEADLY LITTLE CHRISTMAS, Kleworks, 1998. In this new adventure of Caroline Rhodes and her "sidekick" Carl Atwater, the tiny college town of Rhineburg loses its much-loved, but also much-underestimated postmistress to a murder over what? A runestone? Throw in the rantings of an eccentric literature professor, the antics of a spoiled rich kid, and the mystique of an ancient gypsy fortune teller, and you have the makings of another first-rate tale from this new voice to the mystery scene. Centered on the college's Renaisance Fair, the story is fast-paced, funny, and keeps the reader wanting to come back for more. Let's visit Rhineburg and good ole Bruck U. again soon!

Something Wicked in the Air is a wonderful and worthy successor to A Deadly Little Christmas. Nurse Caroline Rhodes is persuaded (or should that be railroaded?) to help investigate the death of Rhineburg's long-serving post-mistress. She calls on her good friend, Professor Carl Atwater of Bruck University, for assistance. Suspects are thick on the ground, including the obsessed and wonderfully named Professor Littlewort, taciturn gardener Charlie Branch, and handsome bad boy student Sid Burke. Throw in some of the colourful Rhineburg residents, especially the lovely ladies of the Rhineburg Boarding House and Home for Gentle Women, and mad Madeline, the Police Chief's wife, and you have a recipe for murder, mayhem and mirth. All this is set against Rhineburg's annual Renaissance Faire, the Festival of Knights, a medieval extravaganza that is so wonderfully described you want to join in the jousting and carousing. At any rate, I could almost smell that barbecue.

Caroline and Carl are such great characters, it's a pleasure to know them. If I was an accident victim, I would be relieved if Caroline were my ER nurse. If I were a murder victim, I would definitely want her to investigate my death. I'm already enrolling my children at Bruck University, and can't wait for my next dose of life in Rhineburg.

Mary Welk doesn't just gives readers a holiday blast, she adds explosives to it. A Deadly Little Christmas is that most fun read that combines Christmas cheer with a ruthless killer and a registered nurse reluctantly moonlighting as detective. Full of festive details juxtaposed merrily against cold-blooded murder, this an enjoyable page-turner. Merry reading!

Mary Welk's Deadly Little Christmas is one of the very best books I have read in a long, long time. You get absorbed from the first sentence and it just gets better from there until the last sentence. It is full of twists and turns and really keeps you wondering what's next. I can't wait to find out what happens to Caroline and the group next. I would advise anyone to RUN, DON'T WALK AND GET THIS BOOK NOW.

From the time that Caroline Rhodes was introduced to the solving of the mystery, I was kept in suspence the whole way. Every page brought along new information and kept me guessing about who the murderer could have been. Wonderfully written and a great accomplishment for the author. Bravo! I can't wait to read the next one.

This tale will keep you guessing til the very end. Finally, a believable and likable heroine, a goodly touch of humor, and well woven subplots - and all just in time for the holidays! (This one I'm wrapping up for me.)

I love to read a mystery with a Christmas theme, and I wasn't disappointed by this one. The plot was intriguing, and the characters grow on you until you don't want the book to end. I hope Caroline and Carl return very, very soon! Also, the language was clean enough that I could give this book to anyone without worrying they'd be offended. That's a rare thing in a book today.

This book introduces a very enjoyable series, I will be watching for more of them!

Mary Welk writes the way we live! I love words, and her descriptions and prose set the scenes so well, it's as if you are a part of the story. I especially liked the language between Carolyn and her son in this story. The mystery moves along quite well, and once I got started reading I didn't want to stop for bed. This is the first of Ms. Welk's books that I've read, but not for long.

As author of the Caroline Rhodes mysteries, Mary V. Welk garnered a unusual variety of accolades, including finalist in the 1996 Hemingway First Novel competition and a 2000 Readers' Choice Award for Best First Mystery for A DEADLY LITTLE CHRISTMAS. Her SOMETHING WICKED IN THE AIR received a Readers' Choice Award in 2002 as Best Traditional Mystery. She has been reviewed by the Chicago Sun Times, Mystery Scene Magazine, Romantic Times Magazine, and many others.

Rhineburg, Illinois boasts a terrible college football team with an unusually hot-headed coach; a college president who is desperate for money; a small town banker with dubious business practices; and Caroline Rhodes, ER and college nurse, part-time sleuth, and soon-to-be grandmother. All of these paths collide when the football team and a rodeo fight over the new stadium. Equipment clad football players engage in fights at the local brew pub, which escalates into a gender picket line, with the men on one side in favor of the team and the ladies on another in favor of the rodeo. When a particularly nasty football player is found dead in a bull pen and Caroline's son Martin is the primary suspect, she puts her sleuthing talents to work, utilizing her friend Carl the college history professor and some of the town's most interesting characters. Of course this all happens during Halloween, to set a scene of goblins and mayhem:

"'I lost my hat in the wind,' Carl grumbled. 'I didn't want my head to get soaked, so I put on the Halloween mask I bought to scare the kids with.' Half way out of his jacket, he stopped to eyeball the nine women huddled around the table. They were staring at him as if he'd gone completely mad. 'Hey! I'm not the only crazy one around here,' he bellowed, gesturing at the outfits they were wearing. 'Take a look at yourselves in the mirror. At least I had a good reason to look foolish.'"

Mary Welk's folksy, yet well-crafted style of writing makes this a first-rate mystery. She develops an unusual and interested plot, includes plenty of well-defined characters, and her use of language and circumstance all add up to an griping tale with bulls and bull-headed men running around everywhere. Caroline is a no-nonsense sleuth with lots of personality.

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

A clever mystery which takes place in a town divided by the coming of a rodeo on Homecoming weekend. Tempers flare, ER nurse, Caroline Rhode's son is a prime suspect in the murder of the college football hero and she needs to get to the bottom of it. Characters are so well done they make you angry at their actions at times. The clues are there for you if you can pick up on them and you find yourself surprised at times. Totally enjoyable!

The fourth in the Caroline Rhodes series finds the part-time ER nurse smack dab in the middle of a feud between the college football team and a group of female rodeo riders. Caroline's son is on the football team and has several run-ins with one of the players who ends up dead. It doesn't help that Martin doesn't have an alibi. Caroline has become a bit of an Icon in Rhineburg, Illinois. Not only do more residents note that crime had been on an upswing since Caroline's arrival, but they also know who to turn to when the crime needs solving. Carl, Caroline's trusted friend and a history professor, is back assisting with philosophical rhetoric and good common sense. Although this is a cozy that can be read any time of the year, the fact that it takes place during Halloween should encourage one to nudge it up on your TBR pile for a cozy fall read.

I was looking for something to entertain me, and The Scarecrow Murders did just that.

The storyline is believable, the characters are likable, and the setting is great. Can you imagine someone wanting to hold a rodeo on a college football field when there's a big game coming up? But there's a lot more to the people involved than meets the eye. Mary Welk has done a great job bringing these two worlds together. And Caroline, the no-nonsense protagonist, will keep you on your toes.

I'm looking forward to reading more from Mary Welk.

To Kill a King is an engaging mystery. The medical backdrop is as fascinating as it is convincing. It is obvious that Mary Welk knows what she's writing about. Caroline Rhodes is a keeper-an interesting and insightful sleuth. This book is for anyone who loves mysteries, but especially those who have an interest in medicine, hospitals, and ERs. This was my first Caroline Rhodes mystery, but it won't be my last!

The fact that this is a self-published book is obscured by the way the author has created her own publishing company. The Klew- in Kleworks is just Welk spelled backwards. The fact that it's self-published may explain why it's so seriously flawed. It begins with a death scene in a prologue. The reader goes through most of the book before finding out what -- if any -- connection that scene has to the rest. The first 90 pages of the book is an account of the infighting between doctors and nurses in the ER of a Chicago hospital. There is no mystery to solve until p. 92.

Welk seems to have little understanding of plotting or pacing. The dialogue is stilted. Her characters rarely "say" anything. They "mutter," "comment," "retort," etc. One character has a "nervous tick" (p. 112). We're aren't told if her flea is any more relaxed. There are two policemen involved. One is Dom, the other is Tom. References to earlier books in the series are too numerous. A good editor might have saved this book, but it would have taken a stupendous effort.

When Caroline Rhodes returns to her native Chicago to help out a friend for the summer she finds the job and the weather to be murder. In the midst of a heat wave, a murderer goes on a spree in the temporary ER at Ascension Medical Center. Mary Welk keeps her readers wanting more by including many of the gang from Bruck University of Rhineburg. Welk lives up to the reputation she is building as an excellent whodunnit writer in this third outing for Caroline Rhodes, RN, and her portly sidekick Professor Carl Atwater. Keep us laughing, crying, . . . and guessing the culprit Mrs. Welk!

I love Mary V Welk's books and this one is no exception. This time nurse Caroline Rhodes is back in her old home town of Chicago. When she again stumbles across a body, her friends from Rhineburg and her family help her to catch the murderer. If you are looking for really wonderful characters that you look forward to visiting again and again then this is the book for you. The mystery is good and the characters are so real you feel like you know them. Be sure to read the first 2 books A Deadly Little Christmas and Something Wicked in the Air.

TO KILL A KING is The third installment of Caroline Rhodes, the first was "A DEADLY LITTLE CHRISTMAS " the second was, "SOMETHING WICKED IN THE AIR "

This was my first Caroline Rhodes mystery and at times I was lost when there was a mention of Rhineburg and things that happened there, That is why I feel that the books should be read in order.

Caroline gets a cry of help from her best friend Molly O'Neal, so Caroline returns to Ascension Medical Center to help her friend out. Caroline has no idea what she is getting herself into. Two days after Caroline arrives, Angela Horowitz is murdered in her apartment. A few days after that, there is another murder; this time Mac Guffy is found hanged in one of the emergency rooms. Molly is soon arrested, and Caroline will do what ever she can to clear her friends name.

TO KILL A KING is an expeditious, cheerful read that flows through in a timely manner. Best of all it is filled with credible, amiable characters. The author puts her nursing background to good use; she is able to get the hospital setting and politics that go along with the running of a hospital just right. Thanks Mary for an admirable read.

Pam Stone