Review by Booklist Review
Plus-sized paralegal Odelia Grey is minding her own business at the car wash when she notices a crowd gathering around the open trunk of her car staring at the naked body inside. It turns out the victim is a young man, Zak Finch, who was kidnapped as a teenager and presumed dead after his wealthy father paid the ransom, but he was never returned. Odelia soon finds herself being questioned by her sometime nemesis, Andrea Fehring, of the Long Beach Police Department. Odelia and her husband, Greg, along with Odelia's brother, Clark, an ex-cop, and their friend Dev, a current cop, investigate to clear Odelia. They are helped by Odelia's underworld connections, including a hit woman who has a soft spot for her. After a second murder occurs, Odelia and company piece together the events that led to the murders. Fans of G. A. McKevett's Savannah Reid mysteries will enjoy this witty series with its quirky, well-drawn characters.--O'Brien, Sue Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Odelia Grey's moniker as "corpse magnet" continues to hold true in Jaffarian's offbeat 10th mystery to feature the plus-size paralegal (after 2014's Hell on Wheels). Odelia is nonplussed when car wash employees in Long Beach, Calif., find a naked body with a taunting note in the trunk of her car. The victim turns out to be Zak Finch, the target of a kidnapping eight years before. As the police are disinclined to believe Odelia's protestations of ignorance about the man or the murder, she begins to look at the circumstances around Zak's disappearance and the troubled dynamics of his family and associates. Soon another corpse appears, as well as a spindly intruder intent on making a media splash at Odelia's expense. She begins to fear that someone she knows may be involved with the case. Although established fans are the best audience for this outing, the suspenseful climax offers some unexpected turns for everyone. Agent: Whitney Lee, Fielding Agency. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Even a trip to the carwash can bring Odelia Grey (Hell on Wheels, 2014, etc.) into contact with sudden death. Most people keep a jack in their trunk and maybe a flashlight or some jumper cables. Trust Odelia, known to friend and foe as "the famous Corpse Magnet," to watch the folks at Twinkle Clean discover a dead body folded neatly behind her rear seat. This latest corpse is particularly troublesome, since it belonged in life to Zak Finch, son of wealthy Chicago businessman Alec Finch. Zak was kidnapped eight years ago, when he was only 15. Although his parents paid $2 million in ransom, he was never returned. His posthumous reappearance in Odelia's car earns the plus-size paralegal the scrutiny of both Detective Andrea Fehring of the Long Beach Police Department and FBI Special Agent Gregory Shipman, not to be confused with Odelia's hunky spouse, Greg Stevens. Keeping Odelia on the right side of the law turns out to be a family affair that requires help not only from her husband, but from Clark, her ex-cop brother, and Grace Littlejohn, her inquisitive mom. And that includes extended family. Not only does soon-to-be-retired Dev Frye of the Newport Beach police force lend a hand, but hit woman Elaine Powers, aka "Mother," turns up at Grace's condo, packing heat and munching banana bread as she nudges Odelia toward Zak's killer. Jaffarian explores both the dark side and the sunnier side of family ties in the 10th installment of her signature series. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
