2012 New England Book Festival, Honorable Mention
Grayson Street had been a quiet residential neighborhood for the six years that Janet Connors had lived there. Now, a widow for three years, she is taking in a tenant, a former acquaintance who needs temporary housing while her own place is being remodeled. When Franny shows up, she has a dog she has forgotten to mention, and things go down hill fast after that.
Who is suddenly getting into the house?
Or is it sudden at all?
Have these things been going on all along and Franny and her dog are just the catalysts that expose them?
And what is the handsome neighbor’s part in all of this?
The antics over the dog and the familiar angst of raising a teenager are laughable; the fear that builds up in just a day is far from humorous.
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“The story was great and I read the book in two sittings. There is romance, mystery, zany friends, murder, a horrid dog and an entire mother-daughter story all in one place. Nice read! It is all there.”
–Carolyn, Belfast
The Summer of the Disco King is captivating. Jane Harvey Meade is a talented writer, being able to describe the surroundings and the actions within the story without confusion. She holds your attention throughout various situations, and does not
allow you to figure out who the culprit is until the last pages. That, in itself, is a big talent. She certainly is an exceptional new writer, and I look forward to reading her other books that she now has on sale.
—Verna Cox (writer,illustrator,artist and craftsman)
Verona Island, Maine
Book review by Bill Bushnell of Kennebec Journal
Bucksport author Jane Harvey Meade declares that her debut mystery novel will appeal to women of all ages, but she is wrong. Surely female readers will like this story — but male readers will enjoy it, too.
THE SUMMER OF THE DISCO KING is Meade’s first novel, a well-written, light-hearted mystery that successfully combines suspense with romance and humor. The main character, Janet Conners, is sort of an adult Nancy Drew high on estrogen and Dubonnet wine.
Janet Conners is a 40-year-old widow raising a 15-year-old daughter. To help make ends meet she takes in a boarder, a casual friend named Franny who brings an annoying rat-dog, untidy habits, strange behavior and heaps of trouble into Janet’s home.
Within days, Janet catches Franny in several blatant and puzzling lies, an intruder sneaks into her house, a prowler scares the daylights out of her and a police officer acts very oddly. Then, add the mysterious people living in two boarded-up, seemingly abandoned old houses nearby, and an elderly neighbor’s quiet warning that “He’s killed them all now,” and Janet is truly creeped out.
In some very funny scenes Janet quaffs Dubonnet as she not-too-subtly watches and lusts after her handsome and hunky next door neighbor, tries to figure out her moody and smart-mouthed teenage daughter, and wonders who the Disco King really is as he cruises by her house in a vintage convertible.
What Janet doesn’t know is that several murders may have already occurred, and that there is a deadly criminal conspiracy swirling around her, all carefully hidden behind deception and polite behavior.
Several well-placed clues may help the reader solve the mystery before Janet figures it out, but no matter, getting there is all the fun.
(http://www.kjonline.com/reallife/happening/BUSHNELL-ON-BOOKS.html)