Stella Crown rarely takes a break from managing her Pennsylvania dairy farm unless it's to take a spin on her Harley, but in the midst of the Christmas season she treats herself to a new tattoo. Halfway through the sitting at Wolf Ink, her tattoo artist and his wife, Mandy, disappear into the back room. Stella, whipped, dozes off and, when she awakes and they've not come back, she drives home. Before long, the police arrive to inform her that Mandy has been discovered dead behind the tattoo parlor, while Wolf is nowhere to be found.

Angry and guilt-stricken that she hasn't protected her friends, Stella--something of a suspect herself--sets out to assist the cops and rescue the missing Wolf. And to ask, where is their young son, also missing?

With the help of another tattoo artist and an old flame who's arrived at the farm, Stella dives into the world of tattooing, where she finds not only a close-knit and knowledgeable community, but also an underworld of back alley hacks, stolen designs, and violent patrons, plus some looming and controversial state legislation.

Stella, stymied by more suspects than answers, is dragged yet again into a realm full of greed and danger when all she wants is to be left alone to run her farm and figure out the rest of her life. But first she must do everything in her power to get Wolf back where he belongs.

Reviews

*Starred Review*

While Stella Crown is getting a new tattoo, her tattoo artist is called into the back room by his wife, Mandy. Exhausted from managing her Pennyslvania dairy farm, Stella falls asleep. When she wakes up, the tattoo parlor is empty, so Stella goes home. Later that evening the police arrive to tell her that Mandy Ls dead, and Wolf, the tattoo artist, is missing. Describing the polar opposite worlds ot the tattoo parlor and dairy farm, Clemens writes about a woman comfortable in both but unable to handle her own emotions. If only caring about people were as easy for Stella as riding a Harley or hooking

up a milking machine. Featuring fast-paced prose and welt-drawn characters who are mostly good people who help each other, Clemens's mystery also paints a complete picture ot the hard work that goes into farming while educating the reader on the rules and regulations governing the tattoo business. The third entry in Clemen's Stella Crown series (after the Agatha Award-winning When the Cows Come Home. 2004, and Three Can Keep a Secret, 2005) won't disappoint fans of the first two books. Strongly recommended. -- Jo Ann Vicarel, Library Journal (July 2006)

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Whatever you do, don't get on the wrong side of Stella Crown--she might bury you up to the neck in cow manure on her Pennsylvania farm, have you run down by a squadron of bikers on Harleys, or get you tattooed.

The art of skin decoration plays a large part in "To Thine Own Self Be True," Judy Clemens' third entry in her superlative series about Crown, which gets stronger from book to book and is unlike anything else being done in the genre.

This one starts with Crown halfway through an addition to her tattoo collection (the title quote from "Hamlet" is one of them, although it needs retouching after a bad skid on her Harley) in honor of her ongtime farmhand and friend Howie, killed in the last book. But the couple who run Wolf Ink are suddenly called outside as a snowstorm starts, and they don't come back, leaving Crown baffled and somewhat angry, until it turns out that murder is involved.

Clemens' plots grow naturally, like a healthy heifer, and in each of her books we learn something new about dairy farming and the human experience. It might not be anything we needed to know going in, but knowing about it seems as normal as a glass of milk with our Christmas cookies. -- Dick Adler, Chicago Tribune (8.6.2006)

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"Bikers and tattoos have something of an image problem, but Clemens's fun and surprising third Stella Crown mystery (after 2005's Three Can Keep a Secret) goes a long way toward improving that image. Shortly before Christmas, Stella, a Harley-riding Pennsylvania dairy farmer, is getting a new tattoo at Wolf Ink, when the tattoo artist, Wolf, interrupts their session and takes off with his wife, Mandy. Stella falls asleep, and later leaves in a huff with only half a tattoo. Then the cops show up at Stella's door to report that Mandy has been found outside the tattoo parlor, frozen to death after being hit on the head. Wolf, who has disappeared, is the chief suspect in the murder, but the net expands to include shady fringe tattooists (who ink underage kids and "forget" to change needles) and legislators who wish to close down the whole industry for the sins of a few. As Clemens waxes poetic about tattoos, readers will view this subculture in a brand new light. (Aug.)" --Publishers Weekly

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"Clemens brings tattooed biker and dairy farmer Stella Crown back for her third unconventional adventure. Treating herself to a new tattoo for Christmas, Stella is at Wolf Ink, where her friend Wolf and his wife, Mandy, are amusing her with stories as they create the new design. Suddenly, they get a phone call and disappear. Stella dozes off and awakens to find them gone. She goes home and later, the police arrive to tell her that Mandy is dead and Wolf has disappeared. Feeling guilty, Stella tries to assist the police in their search. Since she was the last person to see them, she is also a suspect. An old flame, Nick Hathaway, arrives for a visit and ends up stranded during a severe snowstorm, providing distraction and assistance in her search. Clemens offers readers an intriguing story that takes them inside the world of tattooing and gives them a taste of daily life on a dairy farm. That may seem like an odd combination, but Clemens makes it work, thanks to abundant wit, well-developed characters, and a vividly realized rural setting." --Booklist

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"While Stella Crown is getting a new tattoo, her tattoo artist is called into the back room by his wife, Mandy. Exhausted from managing her Pennyslvania

dairy farm, Stella falls asleep. When she wakes up, the tattoo parlor is empty, so Stella goes home. Later that evening the police arrive to tell her that Mandy is dead, and Wolf, the tattoo artist, is missing. Describing the polar opposite worlds of the tattoo parlor and dairy farm, Clemens writes about a woman comfortable in both but unable to handle her own emotions. If only caring about people were as easy for Stella as riding a Harley or hooking up a milking machine. Featuring fast-paced prose and well-drawn

characters who are mostly good people who help each other, Clemens's mystery also paints a complete picture of the hard work that goes into farming while

educating the reader on the rules and regulations governing the tattoo business. The third entry in Clemens's Stella Crown series (after the Agatha

Award-winning Till the Cows Come Home, 2004, and Three Can Keep a Secret, 2005) won't disappoint fans of the first two books. Strongly recommended" --Library Journal Starred Review

Clemens lives in Ohio.