ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY GLUE GUN
by Lois Winston
Think your domestic life is troubled? At least you’re not suspected of murder.
When Anastasia Pollack’s husband Karl drops dead in Vegas, her comfortable lifestyle comes to a screeching halt. Karl was a secret gambler who lost all their money, leaving her with two teenage sons to educate. Karl’s mother, a nasty, unrepentant Bolshevik, and her unpleasant bulldog have been living with them since her apartment house went up in flames along with her life savings. It takes only the arrival of her own much-married mother and her cat to make Anastasia’s life a living hell. The only bright spots are her job as crafts editor for a women’s magazine and the quick rental of the apartment over her garage to a handsome and famous photographer. A late night at work leads her to the dead body of Marlys Vandenburg, the hated fashion editor who probably slept her way to the top. Now she reposes in Anastasia’s office, slain by Anastasia’s glue gun. The last straw is threatening phone calls from a thug who claims Karl owed him $50,000 he demands Anastasia pay up. Realizing that the police rate her their top suspect, Anastasia gets angry and decides that the only way to avoid jail time is to solve the crime.
North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum. Funny, gutsy and determined, Anastasia has a bright future in the planned series.