A real page-turner, with an ending that fails to live up to its exciting premise.
The cleaning service New Brooms has involved its owner in solving several crimes (Fear on Friday, 2005, etc.), but her latest entanglement is the nastiest and most dangerous of all.
Lois Meade takes an instant dislike to Reg Abthorpe when he asks her to clean his Uncle Herbert Everitt’s house. Herbert and his dog are gone, but it’s not clear where to. Lois can’t help but sleuth about and pick up bits of information from her staff. Those who show interest in the emerging puzzle start getting warnings in the form of dead animals left on their doorsteps. Meanwhile, Lois learns that the cruel practice of badger-baiting is going on in the woods of the Cox farm. When the reclusive William Cox goes missing and his faithful dog Rosie is found tortured, Lois forges ahead in her investigation. Her police contact, Chief Inspector Cowgill, listens but doesn’t seem unduly interested in the disappearances. With more threats and a kidnap attempt, Lois soldiers on, to the dismay of her husband Derek, who abhors both her involvement with crime-solving and her friendship with Cowgill. By visiting her customers and picking the brains of her staff, Lois pieces together a story of past wrongs that have led to some highly disagreeable developments in the present.
A real page-turner, with an ending that fails to live up to its exciting premise.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-7278-6378-9
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Severn House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2006
You can’t help but chuckle over all the disasters, but in the end the heroine catches her prey.
An Arizona accountant with a penchant for solving murders lands a fishy case.
Sophie "Phee" Kimball might lead a dull life if it weren’t for her mother, Harriet Plunkett, and Harriet’s neurotic Chiweenie, Streetman. As it is, Harriet lives near her daughter in Sun City West and has a wide circle of zany friends who’ve helped Phee solve several mysteries (Molded 4 Murder, 2019, etc.) while she’s been working for Williams Investigations along with her boyfriend, Marshall, a former police officer. While Phee’s visiting Harriet one day, Streetman dashes over to the neighbors’ barbecue grill and unearths a dead body under a tarp. As usual, the overwhelmed local police ask Williams Investigations to help—er, consult. Harriet’s main concern is getting costumes made for the reluctant Streetman, whom she’s entered in a series of contests starting with Halloween and progressing through Thanksgiving, Christmas/Hannukah, and St. Patrick’s Day. One of her friends is an accomplished seamstress who goes all out making gorgeous costumes that will beat an obnoxious lady who looks down on mutts. The dead man is identified as Cameron Tully, a seafood distributor, who was poisoned by the locally ubiquitous sago pine. At the first dog contest, Elaine Meschow has to be rushed to the hospital after she gets a dose of the same thing. The owner of a gourmet dog food company, Elaine is lucky enough to recover. After Streetman takes second place, Harriet’s team redoubles its efforts for the next contest while Phee and Marshall, who are moving into a new place together, continue to hunt for clues. A restaurant holdup and a scheme to use empty houses for hookups for high school kids add to the confusion.
You can’t help but chuckle over all the disasters, but in the end the heroine catches her prey.Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4967-2455-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
This ran in the S.E.P. and resulted in more demands for the story in book form than ever recorded. Well, here it is and it is a honey. Imagine ten people, not knowing each other, not knowing why they were invited on a certain island house-party, not knowing their hosts. Then imagine them dead, one by one, until none remained alive, nor any clue to the murderer. Grand suspense, a unique trick, expertly handled.
Pub Date: Feb. 21, 1939
ISBN: 0062073478
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Dodd, Mead
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1939
SEEN & HEARD
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