Not just murder, but rape, too, as Cuban-American Miami Daily News staffer Britt Montero (Nobody Lives Forever, 1990; Contents Under Pressure, 1992), on the trail of the Downtown Rapist who's attacked half a dozen women in public restrooms, provokes him into sending her illiterate threatening letters and a cow's severed tongue (a Santer°a curse, according to her Aunt Odalys) before her inevitable trip to the ladies' room. In the meantime, the corpses keep on coming: three-times ``self-made widower'' Dieter Steiner gets electrocuted—whizzed to death, actually—Emerson Creech, long suspected of killing his niece, is a victim of sexual asphyxia; Paul Eldridge, missing since 1987, turns up inside his submerged Chevy Malibu; and contractor Sam Farrington nearly becomes a permanent fixture in his latest project. All this, plus Britt's frustrated determination to reopen the decades- old case of little Mary Beth Rafferty, whose body was discovered by a suspect whose name was never revealed—and who's now the heavy favorite to be elected governor. As many loose ends as you'd expect from such a full slate; but peerless crime reporter Buchanan lays out the main plotlines with a master's hand, never forgets that her magnetic reporter-heroine is her biggest story, and swirls the high-octane cocktail with a zillion anecdotes, most of them zingers.
Pub Date: Feb. 3, 1994
ISBN: 1-56282-802-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1993
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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