BUBBLES UNBOUND

In an era of pluckier-than-thou females, a nitwit heroine could be a welcome change. Enter Bubbles Yablonsky—a breath of fresh air, most of it between her ears. Bubbles has all the requisites: a working-class pedigree, a mountain of debts, an overbearing mama, a rebellious teenaged daughter, and an obnoxious ex. And, because she had the foresight to get knocked up at the tender age of 17, she’s still on the sunny side of 40, with golden blond locks and a drop-dead gorgeous figure. But when it comes to supporting her loyal family, Bubbles’s gig as a hairdresser just doesn’t cut it, and she’s already flunked every course but one at the local community college. Journalism’s her last chance, and so desperate is she to snag a job at the Lehigh News-Times that she allows the night editor to send her out to cover a would-be suicide at the Fahy Bridge. Naturally, Bubbles manages to knock him from his precarious perch, and naturally, she also manages to rescue him. But on the way home, she and sexy photographer Steve Stiletto run across an even bigger scoop: a body in the park, flattened by an SUV. At the wheel, passed out drunk, is Merry Metzger, wife of steel magnate Henry Metzger, pillar of Lehigh society, and president of the local MADD. Bubbles can’t wait to file her story. The only problem: the Range Rover, Merry, and Stiletto have all disappeared.

More irony and less spandex would make Strohmeyer’s new sleuth better company.