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Judy Nedry
Author, Blogger, Theatre Critic
AVAILABLE NOW!
blackthorn
With blackthorn staff
I draw the bound
All malice and bane
I thus confound.
— Unknown
My Books
Blackthorn
AND THEN, A BODY
Blackthorn is the first gothic thriller by Judy Nedry. In this modern-day gothic novel set on the scenic Columbia River Gorge, Sage Blackthorn revisits demons from her past and confronts a multitude of new ones when she returns to her childhood home to solve the mystery of her brother’s death.
the man who wasn’t there
BLISTERING HEAT ISN’T GOOD FOR GRAPES … OR PEOPLE
James Ryder has it all. A founding pioneer of the Oregon wine industry, he has the stately good looks of a gentleman farmer, the perfect family, an ample bank account, and the prestige of owning one of Oregon’s oldest and most respected wineries. His youngest daughter has taken up the torch to become the second-generation winemaker at Ryder Estate.
The Difficult Sister
MURDER IN THE MIST
The Difficult Sister is the second mystery/suspense novel from Judy Nedry featuring Emma Golden. This latest adventure takes Emma and her friend, Melody, to a remote, southern Oregon coastal town to search for Melody’s missing, ne’er-do-well younger sister, Aurora. However, they quickly both realize that at the very least, Aurora is in some sort of major trouble and may even be dead.
an unholy alliance
WHAT WINE PAIRS BEST WITH MURDER?
An Unholy Alliance introduces Emma Golden, a self-styled has-been who is invited to write a book on her beloved Oregon wine country, and manage a bed and breakfast for a friend. All seems ideal until Emma encounters her verbally abusive ex-husband, Dwight McCourt, shortly after settling in at the B&B. She discovers that she still harbors unresolved feelings for him.
Book Reviews
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Overall – a really interesting book and something a bit different from my usual crime fiction reads. The sideshow with Emma’s involvement in her friend’s troubles helped fleshed the story out and give it more meat on the bones and added to my overall enjoyment. I’m looking forward to Nedry’s second book – The Difficult Sister (I could say that’s something I know all about, but that would be mean, so I won’t……oops, already have)
An Unholy Alliance
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The Difficult Sister is not the cozy you might expect given that it involves two fifty-something women on a trip to the Oregon Coast. This second mystery by Judy Nedry is darker and edgier than its description suggests.
The Difficult Sister
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Stuff, as they say, happens. Bullets fly. People die. Evil happens. There will be mud, "one slow sucking step after another". We are a long way from almond croissants and that gives The Difficult Sister an intriguing, palpable edge.
The Difficult Sister
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This third of the EG series didn't disappoint. Again, we are treated to a core group of independent women who are the centerpiece of this latest mystery. It is refreshing to read such a book, especially in these days of vapid "chick lit". The Oregon wine country serves as a compelling setting for this mystery; with an insider's keen sense of history and detail, it comes alive as a fascinating subplot.
Man Who Wasn't There
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Expecting a pleasant time with old friends and acquaintances, Emma finds herself again dealing with death. From the moment I began this book to the final paragraph, I was unwilling to put it down.
Man Who Wasn't There
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This mystery was great fun to read. I enjoyed visualizing the Oregon wine country. Emma is a very real character and I feel I know her. The dialog is well done and the book moves along at a good clip.
Man Who Wasn't There
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Thoroughly enjoyed this book and the prior one, A Difficult Sister. Emma feels like someone I've known and I'll miss her until the next book. The pace of action suits me and kept me reading late into the night. Loved the Oregon setting - I lived there many years and the descriptions triggered lovely memories. Highly recommend.
Man Who Wasn't There
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The author is clearly talented. The first-person narrative is intriguing all the way through because her character is interesting.
The Difficult Sister
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The first of what is now a trilogy that follows a recovering alcoholic writer, Emma Golden, who is working on a book about the wine industry in Oregon (where the author was also an early vintner). Nedry's main character is an accidental detective chasing down the murderer of a showy new winery owner, who isn't a nice person. Emma is funny, pushy and not afraid to step on toes. Light and entertaining.
An Unholy Alliance
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An unlikely murder occurs at the most prestigious annual gathering of the Oregon wine industry. Emma Golden, a woman of a certain age with an uncanny ability to solve such crimes, goes to work in this third book of the eponymous series by Judy Nedry. Nedry, a longtime wine writer, and resident of the Willamette Valley, brings the Oregon wine world to life in vivid detail as the backdrop for Emma's sleuthing. She also tells a suspenseful story.
The Man Who Wasn't There
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My favorite part was the main character, Emma Golden. She is a middle-aged divorcee who acts as a real person would act. She is put out by a friend volunteering her to help a sick acquaintance but she is busybody enough to try and figure out who killed the acquaintance's husband. This is the first book in the series that I have read but I will look for the others so I can spend more time with Emma.
Man Who Wasn't There
Theater Reviews
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French royalty, forbidden passion
Queen Marie-Therese (Crystal Ann Munoz) is having a difficult time in the French court. She was hauled from Spain to marry King Louis XIV (Chris Murray). Deemed the ugliest member of the court, she is spurned by the palace elite. She is lonely and spends her days gambling. Her husband Louis is a boor. His […]
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A Frank Sinatra kind of Christmas
This holiday season, Broadway Rose Theatre Company takes a deep dive into the music of the legendary Frank Sinatra with Christmas My Way, a Frank Sinatra Holiday Bash. Unlike most Portland area theatrical productions these days, Broadway Rose offers a video streaming event featuring four singers and a three-piece combo. Two of the singers are married, […]
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A weekend (and more) of theatrical events
Throughout the last 10 months, Portland-area live theatre has struggled as much or more than any other segment of our economy. And yet, as a body and singly, theatres carry on, stretching their creativity to bring in-home audiences a variety of productions great and small. The holiday lineup is here–an abundance of streaming events for […]
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“…and out of control”
When Charlene (Ayanna Berkshire) writes, “He was throbbing and out of control,” she is not talking about a man who just hammered his thumb. No, Charlene, a single mom with two teenagers, is a talented screenwriter who pens feminist erotica screenplays for a small film company. She’s on deadline, with only 14 pages to go, […]
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Of witches and tomcats
Alice sleeps with a man she does not know. Her mother Joan owns an old cat, and curses when her neighbors are cruel to her. Betty does not want to marry. Susan doesn’t want to be pregnant. Born out of the women’s rights movement of the 1960s and ’70s, this play with music is […]
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Weekend opening – Love in the Time of Pinatas
The hilarious and deliciously biting play Love in the Time of Piñatas will be presented as a virtual staged reading on October 24 at 7:30 p.m. as part of the PCS Remix: Play Readings series. Written and starring Baruch Porras Hernandez, and directed by Richard A. Mosqueda, the live event will be followed by the release of […]
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Mlima’s Tale – powerful and moving
Mlima is one of the treasured “big tuskers” elephants in a Kenyan wild animal preserve. Protected by the government, he roams freely for the 50-plus years of his life until he is felled by poachers. His huge, blemish-free tusks are then smuggled out of the country while public relations wonks attempt to do damage control […]
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The Moors: Savagery and Moor Hens
In a lonely mansion on the English moors ca. 1840s a Moor Hen bangs into the parlor window with a resounding thump. Agatha (Dana Millican), her younger sister Huldey (Jen Rowe), and A Mastiff (Paul Glazier) turn their heads toward the window. (Something must be done about those infernal birds.) They are awaiting the arrival […]
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Aspiring author + reticent rich man = a fun musical!
A lonely orphan, a mysterious benefactor, a nine-point plan. Broadway Rose Theatre Company is now streaming its onstage production of the two-person musical Daddy Long Legs. The program is available for streaming through October 25 and stars real-life couple and NEWLYWEDS (!!!) Malia Tippets and Joe Theissen. Based on Jean Webster’s 1912 novel, which inspired […]
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Mark your calendars for upcoming local theatrical events
As the Season of the Un-Season launches, Portland-area theatres are coming online with exciting new offerings–enough that I expect to be kept busy with all the goings-on! Mark your calendars now. You won’t want to miss the following: Portland Center Stage Portland Center Stage’s PCS Remix: Play Readings series kicks off with a reading of […]
A Writer’s Life
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Book Report 2020
I can’t tell a lie. 2020 a very good year for reading. I read 90 books–thanks almost entirely to the public library which steadfastly and efficiently delivered ebooks to my Kindle and audiobooks via Overdrive. Listed below are my favorites of last year. Whiskey When We’re Dry by John Larison. If you’re in the mood […]
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January 2021 Newsletter
Dear Ones, How I have missed you all! I was AWOL for a bit waiting for the Christmas Miracle in our family and participating as witness, grandmother, and scribe in the Labor and Delivery wing at OHSU. And then it happened. After nearly 24 long hours, Julian Peter Fair was born at 7:16 a.m. on […]
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November 2020 Newsletter
The world has changed again in the brief time since my last newsletter. On Labor Day, September 7, the hot winds began blowing in western Oregon–you know, like those ones California has endured since forever. And then, wildfires erupted the length of the state. If y’all live around here, you know what I mean. Several […]
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Are you ready for scary times on the Southern Oregon Coast?
Suspense, terror, girl power, and romance await those of you who have not yet read my second book in the Emma Golden Mystery Series, The Difficult Sister! Now through September 30, The Difficult Sister is on promotion and deeply discounted to $1.99 (reg. $6.99) for the ebook and $9.99 plus shipping (reg. $16.99) for the paperback. When […]
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September 2020 Newsletter
Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everything That’s how the light gets in –Leonard Cohen Get ready to READ! September came roaring in with a flurry of […]
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August 2020 Newsletter
The summer of our discontent OK, all y’all, it’s been a while. We’ve all had plenty of the pandemic. As if that weren’t enough, my dear Portland, where people take this Black Lives Matter thing pretty seriously, was invaded by a plague of a different sort. Masked men in camo who grabbed quietly demonstrating people […]
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April 2020 Author Newsletter
And yet, amongst the cracked cloudline of an evening’s cast, I focus on a single strain of light, calling me forth to believe in a better morrow. –F. Scott Fitzgerald during the flu pandemic of 1919 From my bunker to your bunker I am writing another newsletter. There is not a lot of news, per […]
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March 2020 Author Newsletter
Love in a time of plague It has been difficult to summon the energy to write a newsletter. No, nothing is wrong here. It’s just been so very hard to find words. Things change every day, there are more restrictions and scary warnings. It feels like a chapter from a dystopian novel. And, in fact, […]
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February 2020 Author Newsletter
Greetings from Tucson, Arizona! After a week in Tucson, I’m starting to relax. Abandoning Portland this time of year has become a necessity. Today, we walked in rainy 57 degrees–a good 20 degrees more than I’ve been accustomed to. It’s been mostly sunny, and I feel more like myself. After months of financial finagling, I […]
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BLACKTHORN ebook available this weekend for just 99 cents!
The reviews are in, and my latest novel Blackthorn has fared well under the scrutiny of readers. If you have been putting off ordering your Kindle copy of Blackthorn, wait no longer. For the next 7 days, the book is deeply discounted from its $6.99 regular price. Starting today, February 7, Blackthorn will be featured on a “countdown deal” […]
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Get ready for the Fertile Ground Festival
The Portland-grown Fertile Ground City-Wide Festival of New Works directed by Nicole Lane kicks off its 11th annual festival next week beginning on Thursday, January 30 and continuing through Sunday, February 9. Portland is a city bursting with prolific playwrights, abundant actors, innovative dancers, talented designers and adventuresome producers. Over the past ten festivals, Fertile […]
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So many books, so little time…or Part II of the sometimes semi-annual book roundup
Thank HEAVENS for audiobooks! Not only have they spared me endless hours of listening to news too dreadful to contemplate while driving, but also they make it possible for me to read several more books per year! In 2018 I read 48 books. In 2019 I read 73. My pleasure in reading has gotten a […]