Kate Jasper and her crew of Marin County's most lovable loonies are back (after 1999's Murder on the Astral Plane), which is good news for the many fans of this sort of shrewd, zany mystery romp. Kate, who runs a business called Jest Gifts when she's not solving crimes, has just married her live-in lover, restaurant and art gallery owner Wayne Caruso, at the Marin county clerk's office, but she hasn't yet told anyone--especially not her obnoxious family. Imagine Kate's chagrin when Felix Byrne, an equally unpleasant reporter friend, shows up at a meeting of the Deerly Abused, a group of local residents keen to control the deer that munch their gardens. Felix has learned about the secret wedding, but he stumbles (literally) into a bigger story when one member of this group--who advocates blasting the doe-eyed predators with Claymore mines--is discovered dead from a crushed skull. Suspects abound: a former actress who wraps herself in layers of clothes to ward off attention; a plastic surgeon with a roving eye; an heiress with a support-group fetish; an eccentric black British postmistress; a slick Asian chef and television star--the whole Agatha Christie crew, as it were, transplanted to Girdner's fictional town of Abierto. When the local police chief turns out to be an addled elder who sings "I Feel Pretty" during interrogations, it's up to Kate to dig out everybody's hidden connections to the dead man. If this is your kind of thing, Girdner does it as deftly as anyone. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Series sleuth Kate Jasper (Death Hits the Fan) and her new husband get in trouble when they attend a support group for people dealing with deer in the garden. Someone murders a vocal deer opponent, and then deer proponents target the support group. Humorous and diverting.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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4.0 out of 5 stars A good amateur sleuth tale laced with humor, Mar 11 2000

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Murder My Deer (Hardcover)

Anyone who reads the San Marin, California local newspaper knows who the "Typhoid Mary of Death" is. She never seeks out trouble, nor does she even want to hear about homicides. However, Kate Jaspar is a magnet attracting murdered bodies. Once Kate encounters a corpse though upset, she conducts her own investigation.

Murder is the last thing Kate has on her mind. She recently married her sweetheart Wayne Caruso and wants to fully enjoy her new status. Wayne and Kate join a deer abuse support group whose members seek humanistic ways to keep deer out of their gardens. At the first meeting the newlyweds attend, the couple finds the corpse of one of the members. Everyone, even the police, hope Kate solves the case. However, she has no viable suspects and remains as perplexed and frightened as everyone else is.

Jacqueline Girdner's mysteries reflect real life where joy and elation is tempered by sorrow and death. Ms. Girdner's ability to imbue her story line with humor displays a wonderful talent, as premeditated murder is never a laughing matter. MURDER, MY DEER brings together strangers, who apparently have nothing in common, except saving their gardens. All the group members are likable and the audience hopes they prove to be innocent. These characters make the two murders seem almost surreal in nature adding to the terror to the members and the readers. Elementary that novels like this one makes amateur sleuth tales so inviting.

Harriet Klausner

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