Kirkus Reviews QR Code
A BODY TO SPARE by Sue Ann Jaffarian

A BODY TO SPARE

by Sue Ann Jaffarian

Pub Date: Nov. 8th, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7387-1886-6
Publisher: Midnight Ink/Llewellyn

Even a trip to the carwash can bring Odelia Grey (Hell on Wheels, 2014, etc.) into contact with sudden death.

Most people keep a jack in their trunk and maybe a flashlight or some jumper cables. Trust Odelia, known to friend and foe as “the famous Corpse Magnet,” to watch the folks at Twinkle Clean discover a dead body folded neatly behind her rear seat. This latest corpse is particularly troublesome, since it belonged in life to Zak Finch, son of wealthy Chicago businessman Alec Finch. Zak was kidnapped eight years ago, when he was only 15. Although his parents paid $2 million in ransom, he was never returned. His posthumous reappearance in Odelia’s car earns the plus-size paralegal the scrutiny of both Detective Andrea Fehring of the Long Beach Police Department and FBI Special Agent Gregory Shipman, not to be confused with Odelia’s hunky spouse, Greg Stevens. Keeping Odelia on the right side of the law turns out to be a family affair that requires help not only from her husband, but from Clark, her ex-cop brother, and Grace Littlejohn, her inquisitive mom. And that includes extended family. Not only does soon-to-be-retired Dev Frye of the Newport Beach police force lend a hand, but hit woman Elaine Powers, aka “Mother,” turns up at Grace’s condo, packing heat and munching banana bread as she nudges Odelia toward Zak’s killer.

Jaffarian explores both the dark side and the sunnier side of family ties in the 10th installment of her signature series.