SUGAR AND SPITE

Statuesque, 40-something, Georgia born Savannah Reid, dismissed from the San Carmelita Police Force (Cooked Goose, 1998, etc.), now runs the Moonlight Magnolia Detective Agency, often enlisting the services of’ Dick Coulter, her one-time partner, still on the force, along with ex-FBI agents John Gibson and Ryan Stone. The office, in case you were wondering, is capably handled by youngish Tammy Hart. When Dick’s greedy ex-wife, Polly, is found shot to death in his trailer with his gun, he’s arrested and charged by Savannah’s old enemies Lt. Jeffries and Chief Hillquist. Once Savannah, with the help of lawyer Larry Bostwick, has sprung Dick from jail, she musters her little gang to look into every aspect of Polly’s life and to explore the origin of the poniard found beneath her body. The search takes them to the annual Medieval Faire; to a gypsy encampment; to a small-time hood named Snake who becomes the second corpse; and, finally, thanks to the latest technical gizmos, to the high-level, big-stake movers and shakers once safely in the background’sweet revenge for our heroine. Despite a heavy emphasis on high-cal snacks and some equally sugary sentimentality, Savannah’s fifth outing is fresh, breezy, and believably plotted: the best of the series to date.