MOOD SWINGS TO MURDER, a Mystery by Jane Isenberg

While Professor Bel Barrett and her live-in lover Sol Hecht are strolling along Hoboken's Sinatra Drive, they literally stumble upon the body of a dead ringer for the famous but now dead singer and native son. Someone has slain an Ol' Blue Eyes impersonator, and Bel is drafted by one of the suspects to find out who. She already has her hands full with summer school classes, a mother who beats the odds in Atlantic City, a gen Xer living at home who's driving her nuts, and another who's about to make her a mother of the bride, a mother-in-law and a grandmother all at once.

" Ring the bells for Bel Barrett!...A character driven, well-written tale, MOOD SWINGS keeps a reader amused while establishing a believable mystery. Jane Isenberg masters setting the scene, plunking her characters right in the middle of New Jersey and the world of Hoboken and a community college…the Bel Barrett series keeps getting better with every book and MOOD SWINGS is the best of the lot. "

     Maria Y. Lima in Cozies, Capers, and Crimes, November 2000

" Jane Isenberg delivers a well-plotted, light mystery peopled with likable realistic characters and skillfully served by sharp wit in MOOD SWINGS TO MURDER. And Isenberg wisely does not let Bel's pending menopause take over her story. Secrets, ambitions, and revenge fuel the plot. "

     Olin H. Cogdill in the Sun Sentinel, April 29, 2001

" Isenberg has carved out a unique niche in the publishing industry. The character Bel Barrett is realistic, slightly exaggerated and often laugh out loud funny. The situations in which she finds herself are usually ludicrous but highly engaging.....MOOD SWINGS TO MURDER is the third Bel Barrett mystery and probably the best yet. It's different enough from the others to be fresh yet similar enough to be familiar. This is one heroine I hope never really grows old. "

     P.J. Nunn in The Charlotte Austin Review Ltd., December 2000

" MOOD SWINGS TO MURDER demystifies menopause as the charming lead character does everything she did during pre-menopause….The mystery is fine tuned by building on incident after incident until Bel is in danger from a killer whose identity she keeps stepping close to uncovering. The secondary characters, especially those seen through e-mail only, provide a deft touch to the plot as well as insight into Bel's 'mood swings.' Fans of ethnic amateur sleuth tales will want Jane Isenberg to provide more stories starring Bel and her brood. "

     Harriet Klausner in Bookbrowser, Whitestone, Books 'n' Bytes, and Painted Rock, December 2000

" The highly likeable Bel Barrett is by far the most fleshed out of the characters in MOOD SWINGS and accounts for much of the book's appeal. She narrates the story with a chatty …candor. "

     Christine Benvenuto in Hampshire Gazette, December 6, 2000

" In Isenberg's series, her iconoclastic, menopausal sleuth Bel and her sassy female cronies Betty and Illuminada cope with aging parents, adult children and hot flashes with humor and mutual support as they divvy up detective duties to solve murder mysteries in northern New Jersey. "

     Bonnie Wells in The Amherst Bulletin, December 1, 2000

" MOOD SWINGS TO MURDER is a delightful blend of domestic comedy and scintillating mystery. Ms. Isenberg skillfully captures the fascination and admiration that Hudson County has for Ol' Blue Eyes. "

     Tony Bromberg in Romantic Times Magazine, December 2000

" Bel's at it again! Always a treat. "

     Kathleen Swanholt in Mysterious Women, Summer/Fall 2000

" Bel is a delightful heroine, primarily because she's so human. She's grouchy sometimes, and she makes mistakes, but she's also smart, assertive and willing to work hard to discover the truth. The other characters are well-drawn and the wedding subplot works well with the murder investigation. Jane Isenberg has a keen eye for real life and its absurdities, with a wicked sense of humor that furthers the plot. "

     Eden Ambler in I Love a Mystery, November 2000

" What this third book in the Bel Barrett series has in spades is unique and colorful atmosphere. Hoboken, New Jersey is depicted as a city with small town charm and residence to a plethora of interesting characters. The hometown of "Ol' Blue Eyes" really sparkles under Isenberg's watchful eye....Bel is an interesting amateur sleuth, and a character that many may find themselves relating to. Her outlook, the way she views herself and others hits all the right notes, and I found her insightful and humorous. "

     Wendy Crutcher in The Mystery Reader

" ...Jane Isenberg is a veteran community college teacher and she writes with authority, wit, and a sure sense of her environment. She also understands the process of female aging..One of Isenberg's strengths is the clever and logical way she involves Bel in murder investigations. "

     Carl Brookins in Ed's Internet Book Review

" Menopause and murder do mix in the delightful tales of Hoboken homicide from Jane Isenberg. MOOD SWINGS TO MURDER is a must for Evanovitch fans waiting for a Jersey fix. "

     Mystery Lovers Bookshop News, Dec. 2000 Jan.-Feb. 2001

" Isenberg creates lovable, multi-faceted, imperfect people then turns them loose in the streets of Hoboken to see what happens. "

     Dawn Goldsmith in Crescent Blues Book Views

" Jane Isenberg's MOOD SWINGS TO MURDER offers a delightful tale with a plot enhanced by the rich history of Hoboken. I particularly savored the rich flavors of young and old, rich and poor, Jewish, Italian, and Hispanic that meld together to produce a wonderful dish. "

     Suzanne Frisbee in Crescent Blues Book Views

A Reading Group Guide

1. Many mysteries take place in exotic settings. Mood Swings to Murder takes place in a town long viewed as a boring blue-collar backwater and portrays it as exotic. What impressions of Hoboken does the reader take away from this novel?

2. Readers have commented on how, in the series, Bel and her family and friends spend a lot of time eating. What purposes do meals serve in this book? How do the meals Bel and her cohorts consume compare with those you have?

3. One of the classic problems authors of series cozies must solve is how to involve the amateur sleuth in the crime in a convincing way. For, as is often said, "The protagonist can't just keep stumbling over bodies." But in Mood Swings, that's just what Bel and Sol do. How does Isenberg subvert this clicheed opener so that the reader accepts it?

4. Bel Barrett relies heavily throughout the series on on-line support groups for advice and comfort. What do you think of these groups? Have you ever participated in an on-line chat group or support group? How did it work for you? How does it work for Bel in Mood Swings? For the reader?

5. There are several classroom scenes throughout Mood Swings. What do they show about Bel as a teacher? What do they reveal about the community college experience?

6. In Mood Swings, Bel is involved in both long distance parenting and in your face parenting. In your opinion, which is more difficult? What has been your experience with parenting adult children? What challenges do parents of adult children face?

7. Since cozies are generally devoid of gore and guts, their authors must find ways that are not particularly violent to reveal and catch the killers. Bel orchestrates the confession and entrapment of the killer in Mood Swings by using her ingenuity and the murderer's ambition and guilt to inspire a confession. The ending is both high camp and yet satisfying. Why? What other writers have unmasked killers this way?

8. What is the role of Lenny, Bel's first husband, in this novel? Compare and contrast him with Sol. With Raoul and Vic. Has your "ideal" man changed over the decades? Has your real man evolved with the passage of time?

9. In Mood Swings Sadie Bickoff, Bel's mother, has moved in with Sofia Dellafemina. What do you think of Sadie and Sofia's living arrangement? What are some housing options open to older women today?

10. The reader of Mood Swings moves constantly between the old and the new, the old and the young, the yuppie newcomer and the born and raised Hobokenite, and the real Sinatra and his impersonators. It's a wonder we don't all experience mood swings. How do these contrasts and changes, so prevalent in our lives today, affect us? How did they affect Louie Palumbo and some of the other characters in this book?

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