WRECK YOUR HEART

Messy felonious mom, annoying newfound sister, and murder: It’s not a country song, it’s her life.

Fed up with her no-account boyfriend, aspiring country singer Dahlia “Doll” Devine convinces the landlord to let her into Joey’s apartment to retrieve her personal effects before crashing with her friend Oona, whose dogs, Bear and Lemon, greet her warmly. Next, it’s off to McPhee’s Tavern, where Doll sings for her supper to the delight of the three pub regulars whom she tags the Jims: Primary Jim, Lumpy Jim, and Silent Jim. Chicago’s an unconventional locale for a country thrush, but as her tart first-person narration shows, Doll’s an unconventional gal. Just as she’s feeling a bit more in control, her messy mom, Marisa, glamorous and self-involved and usually on drugs, shows up unexpectedly—very unexpectedly, considering she hasn’t been around since Doll was 6, two decades ago. Fortunately, Doll’s dependable former guardian, Alex, appears to pick up the pieces and back Doll up. Though not her biological dad, he’s always been there when she needed him. But things don’t get any calmer for Doll. A waiflike girl named Sicily shows up at McPhee’s with the news that she and Doll are sisters. Her description of Marisa as a caring and responsible parent wildly diverges from Doll’s experience. Joey’s found dead in the alley behind the tavern, and gruff detective Vince Aycock arrives looking for answers. Then Marisa goes missing. The murder investigation jockeys for Doll’s attention as she and Sicily unsteadily search amid other comic distractions. If it’s not one thing, it’s your mother.

A buoyant thriller with vivid characters and wisecracks aplenty.