Add to your library
Share on Facebook
Tweet
Share on Google+
Save this on Delicious
Published: Oct. 18, 2012
Words: 66,626 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781301311330
Short description
Book 1 in the Needed Killing series. When several employees get ill from tainted potato salad and one actually dies, the university issues condolences and goes on with business as usual. But another death cannot be ignored, and university retiree James Crawford is thrust into the role of private eye. Murder, he finds, begets murder. Can he expose the killer before someone else is killed?Extended description
Book 1 in the Needed Killing series. When several employees get ill from tainted potato salad and one actually dies, the university issues the customary condolences and goes right on with business as usual.When the son of a prominent Shelbyville family demands an investigation into suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of his friend and lover, the university is forced to pay attention. Action must be taken, and the university provost knows just the man for the job.
Recent university retiree James Crawford isn’t sure he’s qualified to investigate a suspicious death, but he finds it impossible to turn down the provost’s request. Thrust into the role of private eye, Crawford finds that murder begets murder, and he is soon on the trail of a ruthless killer. Can Crawford expose the murderer before someone else is killed?
Tags
mystery, humor, cat, dog, cozy mystery, technology, fun read, free book, southern mystery, foodie, witty dialogue, needed killing seriesAvailable ebook reading formats
This book is free. How to download ebooks to e-reading devices and apps.| Format | Full Book |
|---|---|
| Online Reading (HTML, good for sampling in web browser) | View |
| Kindle (.mobi for Kindle devices and Kindle apps) | Download |
| Epub (Apple iPad/iBooks, Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, and most e-reading apps including Stanza, Aldiko, Adobe Digital Editions, others) | Download |
| PDF (good for reading on PC, or for home printing) | Download |
| RTF (readable on most word processors) | Download |
| LRF (Use only for older model Sony Readers that don't support .epub) | Download |
| Palm Doc (PDB) (for Palm reading devices) | Download |
| Plain Text (download) (flexible, but lacks much formatting) | Download |
| Plain Text (view) (viewable as web page) | View |
Reviews
Log-in to write a Review Log-in to add a Video Review
Review by:
Angela Arroliga
on March 03, 2013 :
(no rating)
Very well crafted...looking forward to more from this author
(review of free book)
Review by:
Strayer
on Dec. 21, 2012 :
I started reading this and got tired. I had to stop reading it and didn't want to. Ford is great and will carry the series well. I will look for the second book and buy it. Thank you so much for writing this. I love all the homey stuff and you do tech explanations so well. I have nothing negative to say about this book.
I flunked review 101. Or, I was sick the day they taught it.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Beverly schneider
on Dec. 20, 2012 :
Thoroughly enjoyable book, good plot and great characters (including the cat and dog).
(review of free book)
Review by:
Audrey Driscoll
on Nov. 25, 2012 :
He Needed Killing is billed as a "cozy mystery," and it's all of that. Retired university tech guy James Crawford has a delightfully relaxed, friendly narrative voice. Having spent some years on university campuses (in Canada)I could relate to the personality types and situations he describes. (In fact I've sometimes wondered why there aren't more murders in academia, given the intense animosities created by the "collegial system").
My main problem with this book is that it's very slow in spots. I don't object to slow books, but there were extensive sections here that seemed to have little relevance to the story -- detailed descriptions of Crawford cooking meals, for example, and a charming essay on barbecues. The denouement, when it comes, is perfectly satisfying. It turns our that our sleuth's grey cells were working out the mystery while he was cooking, socializing with his cat and dog and doing other everyday activities. Looking back I can see a number of details from these scenes that turn out to be clues later on, but all I could think of in these ruminative sections was "When is something going to happen here?"
The prose style is clean and straightforward, the voice and setting engaging, but the story bogs down too often. If I could give 3.5 stars I would, but since that's not possible I have to settle on 3.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Anne G
on Nov. 17, 2012 :
The first book in the Needed Killing Series is a delight. The narrator and amateur sleuth, one Crawford by name, along with his pets, Tan (a dog) and The Black (a cat), are a wonderful addition to the cozy mystery tradition. Set in the Deep South (which is lovingly, though objectively, portrayed), the novel should be well received by fans of Robert B. Parker and Dick Francis.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Dianne Gowanlock
on Nov. 11, 2012 :
A good read. I, being female, could of done without some of the 'guy' stuff, but I enjoyed how Crawford the main character reasoned his way to solving the crimes. His 'little grey cells' were being used even when the reader might think he was just floundering around.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Ann Z
on Nov. 09, 2012 :
Thoroughly enjoyed meeting James Crawford and his pals - looking forward to reading more of his adventures!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Marilyn Staffo
on Oct. 25, 2012 :
Loved this book!! Detective James F. Crawford reminds me of great detectives found in Anne George or Robert Parker mysteries!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Mike Evans
on Oct. 20, 2012 :
Great book, thanks. I just bought the next one. Now I know two people with a dog called Tan, even though one of them is fictional.
(review of free book)
Review by:
A. Smith
on Oct. 18, 2012 :
really good book you are a fantastic writer! hoping to read more! keep up the amazing work!
(review of free book)