THE LITTLE SHOP OF MURDERS
by Susan Goodwill
Members of a struggling community-theater group become caught in a series of bizarre criminal activities.
Theater owner Kate London and her Aunt Kitty, an aged second-tier movie queen, are depositing cash collected from a theater benefit and the town Sausage Festival when a bathrobe-clad bank robber takes off with their money. The robber is Kitty’s latest boyfriend, and it’s not the first time he has robbed the bank, which is operated by his nephew. When they arrive at the robber’s apartment, they find the nephew shot dead and the apartment trashed. In an attempt to recover the money and help Kate’s dental student boyfriend Ben, who happens to be the local sheriff, Kate, Kitty and their friends become involved in a series of zany and dangerous misadventures with a motorcycle gang passing counterfeit cash. When the Treasury agents arrive, headed by Kate’s former boyfriend, sparks fly as Kate tries to fight their electric attraction; keep the puppets for the production of The Little Shop of Horrors from being repo’d before opening night; and discover the mysterious crime boss known to his none-too-bright underlings as “Coach.”
Kate’s second case (Brigadoom, 2007) will appeal to lovers of slapstick comedy but may leave others cold.