From Publishers Weekly
In Johnson's sparkling eighth cozy (after 2004's
Taking the Wrap) starring Mandy Dwyer, the Denver dry cleaner and amateur sleuth observes a colorful, feminine wardrobe transformation in her previously no-nonsense customer, Ardith Brewster, just before the 40-something woman turns up strangled. Ardith had mentioned a natty new boyfriend she met at Mandy's open house, so Mandy searches her database of customers for possible suspects. Meanwhile, the police connect this murder with three earlier area homicides. Mandy's investigation generates a long list of potentially lethal Lotharios—including her boyfriend, PI Travis Kincaid—all with a penchant for carefully creased blue jeans. An oddball cast of characters including Mandy's ditzy clerk, her mother (married six times) and Betty the former bag lady provide humor, and an attempt on Mandy's life brings the action to a head in an imaginative showdown.
(Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Mandy Dyer, owner of Dyer's Cleaners, is horrified when she discovers bank loan-officer Ardith Brewster has been murdered. Ardith had recently shared with Mandy the fact she met her new, mysterious boyfriend at the Dyer's Cleaners open house. When Mandy discovers that a second woman, murdered in a similar manner, was also a customer of the cleaners, she searches her records, trying to find a link between those attending the open house and the men who were at her cleaners when the two women were there. With the help of her plant manager, Mack, who feels it is his job to protect Mandy, and a formerly homeless, eccentric employee named Betty, Mandy tracks down the killer. In the midst of her investigation, Mandy must also deal with her mother, who has come into town to orchestrate her stepcousin Laura's wedding, much to Laura's dismay. Details about the dry-cleaning business, family relationships, humor, and well-developed characters add to this amiable cozy, the eighth in the series.
Sue O'BrienCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
