From Publishers Weekly
Hess's trademark humor shines in her ninth mystery (after Poisoned Pins ) to feature Claire Malloy, bookstore owner in Farberville, Ark. Claire's friend Luanne is having an affair with dentist Dick Cissel, a possible suspect in the recent death of his second wife. Luanne, who hopes Claire will investigate and turn up a more likely suspect, overcomes her friend's reluctance by finding a needed summer job for Claire's daughter Caron--at a bird sanctuary run by the Dunling Foundation. Claire's doubts about Dick's innocence increase when she learns that his first wife drowned during a midnight swim--in the same lake where the second wife was blown to smithereens while driving the damaged Dunling Foundation boat. Captain Gannett, the local sheriff, shares Claire's doubts but resents her meddling in his investigation. Claire continues her probe, spurred on by the murder of the handyman in charge of the Foundation's boat, and is thrown in jail by Gannett for withholding evidence. Rescued, to her chagrin, by her policeman lover Peter, she resolves to get to the bottom of the mysterious deaths by herself and ferrets out an unexpected scam and a follow-up conspiracy. Hess's low-key humor and bull's-eye dialogue are reason enough to read anything she writes; solid plotting and deft characterization make this latest doubly rewarding. Mystery Guild selection.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Bookseller and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy returns in this ninth mystery in Hess' popular series. Still contemplating bankruptcy because of the Book Depot's lack of business, and still contending with her teenage daughter from hell, Claire is less than amused by her friend Luanne's infatuation with a local dentist, Dick Cissel, whose last two wives met untimely demises under suspicious circumstances. When Dick is dragged in for questioning in the death of wife number two, Luanne begs Claire to help. Much against her inclination, Claire joins Luanne at Dick's weekend house on Turnstone Lake. The local sheriff can't produce any real evidence against Dick, but Claire, after talking with Dick and learning more about his life, feels that Luanne may have some reason to worry about her own future. Soon Claire is following the trail of the two dead wives to the local bird sanctuary, where all the strands of the case come together. Another enjoyable comedy/mystery from the entertaining and prolific Hess, who is also the author of the Maggody series.
Stuart Miller
