KNOCKOUT MOUSE

Bill Damen has left behind the “miasma” of Silicon Valley biotechnology to pursue a more fulfilling career as a documentary filmmaker. In this debut entry of a proposed series, Bill’s girlfriend Jenny becomes an unlikely murder suspect after a guest dies at one of her dinner parties, apparently from an allergic reaction to the shellfish Jenny serves. Sheila Karros and her friend Marian Roos, both scientists at LifeScience Molecules, were invited as possible dates for Bill’s best friend Wes Garzon, ladies’ man extraordinaire whom Jenny has targeted as a matchmaking project. (A less promising prospect is Jenny’s beautiful business partner Fay Ming, also a dinner guest.) Wes is drawn to pretty, tomboyish Marion, leaving Bill to entertain the winsome Sheila. He finds her vulnerability touching and attractive. When Sheila turns up dead, Bill investigates, both to clear Jenny’s name and do right by the fragile scientist. He, Jenny, and Fay search Sheila’s apartment and discover that someone has stolen her hard drive. Bill considers other party guests possible but long-shot suspects. He focuses on Lifescience, where everyone he talks to smiles and stalls. The deeper he probes there, the less friendly Sheila’s colleagues become. Before long, they’re spewing threats and sending thugs to intimidate Bill. He knows he’s on the right track. But who at Lifescience is responsible? How did they do it? And how can he prove it?

Breezy first-person narrative and an abundance of banter add up to a quick, entertaining read, and a solid series kickoff. Eleventh-hour revelations make a final solution logical—if not organic or satisfying for the armchair sleuth.