Though Boyarsky adds nothing to currently raging debates about sexual assault, readers whose appetites for he-said, she-said...
A third appearance for Nicole Graves, now a rookie investigator for an LA firm, revolves around a virginal student’s accusation that she’s been raped by her Christian college’s star athlete.
Though she didn’t say anything for two months after she had sex with quarterback Doshan Williams, Mary Ellen Barnes is talking plenty now. Fortified and financed by Women Against Rape, she now says Doshan forced her, and she wants to tell her story in a Santa Monica courtroom. Until she doesn’t, maybe because Nicole’s provided limited protection from the paparazzi who stalk Mary Ellen, maybe because she doesn’t want to be cross-examined about such intimate details by George Goodman, Doshan’s attorney, maybe because, as she tearfully tells Nicole one night, she’s lying through her teeth, turning a consensual encounter into an accusation of rape at the behest of an anonymous blackmailer who’s threatened to ruin her life, complete with a steamy online video, if she doesn’t. Which story Mary Ellen has told is the truth? Before Nicole can investigate, her charge runs off and is soon found murdered when the tide under Santa Monica Pier reveals her inadequately buried body. End of story—or it would be if Doshan weren’t promptly arrested for Mary Ellen’s murder, leading Nicole, who’s repeatedly promised her fiance, architect Josh Mulhern, that her involvement with this unsavory case will end, to probe more and more deeply into the facts, leaving Josh outraged and fans of the series (The Bequest, 2017, etc.) utterly unsurprised. Now that the author has sprung her best surprises, her moves become less fast-paced, more conventional, and less compelling, and the mystery isn’t so much wound up as allowed to run down.
Though Boyarsky adds nothing to currently raging debates about sexual assault, readers whose appetites for he-said, she-said haven’t been sated by the spate of recent #MeToo headlines are invited to prolong their engagement just a little bit longer.Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-61153-254-8
Page Count: 220
Publisher: Light Messages
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
Despite its caloric restrictions, Fluke’s 11th cozy is a tasty treat.
A new fitness regimen allows Hannah Swensen (Carrot Cake Murder, 2008, etc.) to exercise her ingenuity along with her abs when she finds a dead body in the local health club’s Jacuzzi.
Hannah isn’t used to having her suitor, Detective Mike Kingston, give her amateur investigations his blessings. But then, she’s not used to having to eat skinless chicken breasts night after night instead of feasting on the treats she and Lisa Beeseman serve up daily at The Cookie Jar. So even though her diet and exercise plan—undertaken in a last-ditch attempt to fit into the Regency dress she ordered for her mother’s book launch—is a drag, her newfound freedom to probe the death of fitness instructor Ronni Ward is a treat, not in the least because Ronni’s demise puts paid to her shameless flirting with every man in sight. Not only Mike, but Hannah’s sister Andrea’s county-cop husband Bill and Lisa’s local-cop husband Herb are barred from the official investigation because they were just too close to the victim. In fact, Norman Rhodes, Hannah’s second-string beau, may be the only man in Lake Eden Ronni hadn’t tried to bed. His immunity to Ronni’s charms, along with his own charming modesty, raises his stock in Hannah’s eyes, and before long the two of them are whipping up Bonnie Brownie Cookie Bars in his custom-designed kitchen while watching security tapes to see who might have taken Ronni for her final swim.
Despite its caloric restrictions, Fluke’s 11th cozy is a tasty treat.Pub Date: March 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7582-1022-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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Fluke’s latest puzzler boasts 25 recipes and even more surprises.
A cruise may be romantic for Lake Eden’s Lutheran minister and his wife, but it’s murder for Hannah Swensen (Gingerbread Cookie Murder, 2010, etc.) and her pals.
Now that his childhood friend Matthew Walters has taken over his pastoral duties for two weeks, Rev. Bob Knudson can finally take his bride Claire on a belated honeymoon. Grandma Knudson’s willing to look after Matthew, just as she did when he and his cousin Paul stayed in Lake Eden as a teenager. And she’s even willing to keep an eye on Pete Nunke’s mynah, who’s staying in the rectory while Pete recovers from back surgery. Of course Hannah keeps Grandma Knudson well stocked with Butterscotch Bonanza Bars and Nutmeg Snaps from The Cookie Jar, her coffee shop. But when one of Hannah’s visits ends with the discovery of Matthew’s body face down in a piece of Red Devil’s Food Cake (recipe included), she leaves Grandma Knudson in the care of Clara and Marguerite Hollenbeck to stalk a killer. Hannah’s partner Lisa Beeseman entertains customers with tales of the grisly find while Hannah enlists sisters Andrea and Michelle to question potential suspects. They even stop at the skuzzy Eagle roadhouse to question Lenny Peske about the dollar coin he gave Lisa as a tip. Hannah’s main partner-in-crime-prevention, Norman Rhodes, on the other hand, has seemed strangely preoccupied ever since his ex-fiancée, Beverly Thorndike, joined his dental practice. Will Claire and Bob’s idyllic adventure spell romantic disaster for Lake Eden’s premier sleuth?
Fluke’s latest puzzler boasts 25 recipes and even more surprises.Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7582-3491-9
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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