AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY DEATH

by Susan Dunlap ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 2, 1984

Perky, slightly paranoid divorcee Vejay Haskell has left a high-pressure career in San Francisco--to take a job as a meter-reader in the tiny river town of Henderson. One of her friends is Frank Goulet, another refugee from the big city; he owns a local bar. But Frank, who has some secret schemes brewing, winds up dead on the barroom floor--with Vejay his last known customer. So the mild questioning, with unsubstantiated suspicions, of the police send our heroine into a frenzy of sleuthing activity: Vejay slogs from suspect to suspect, from antique-dealer Madge to realtor Skip to aging flower children Patsy and Paul (who rent river canoes)--plus the hospitable Fortimiglio family. (Young Chris F. served with Frank in the Navy.) And eventually, while the river approaches its annual flood tide, Vejay's relentless quizzing reveals Frank to have been a small-time Satanic figure. . . a blackmailer/burglar/manipulator who pushed one of his victims too far. Despite the solid picture of a town in the grip of flood: a tepid debut, with an overwrought heroine, lifeless characters, and a cluttered plot.

Pub Date: July 2, 1984

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1984

Categories: FICTION