From Publishers Weekly
Chagrined because she has to watch "a lot of flesh jiggle up and down a runway" (i.e., cover the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, N.J.) Samantha Adams, star reporter for the Atlanta Constitution , returns in this colorful mystery by the author of the jocular Now Let's Talk of Graves . When one of the pageant judges disappears, Adams again plays amateur sleuth on the hunch that the judge is a homicide victim. The problem is, nobody cares if he's missing or dead. A roue, the judge was detested by the contestants he propositioned, the girlfriends he battered and the loan shark to whom he owed big bucks. The local police don't consider Sam's suspicions evidence, so she recruits her friends, a voodoo-priestess beauty contestant and an ex-football pro turned chef to prove that the judge is a missing corpse. As Miss America hopefuls strut their stuff, Sam learns that a sociopath views the pageant as a cash cow with one too many judges. Shankman's witty heroine again evinces a winning combination of grit and finesse.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Exaggeration plays a role in Shankman's novel, too, where larger-than-life characters share witty remarks and hectic background. Series journalist/sleuth Samantha "Sam" Adams journeys to Atlantic City to cover the Miss America Pageant for her Atlanta paper. At least two different parties are trying to "throw" the pageant, however, so Sam's interviews with contestants, former Miss Americas, and judges uncover some disturbing details. As Sam divides her time between investigating and her visiting New Orleans beau, constant commotion reigns. An amusing romp.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
