Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In Jaffarian's fun, frenzied 11th mystery featuring plucky plus-size paralegal Odelia Grey (after 2015's A Body to Spare), Odelia's mother, Grace, for whom troublemaking is as normal as breathing, is concerned that Boaz Shankleman, a fellow resident of her Long Beach, Calif., retirement community, is missing. Boaz turns out to be the front man of a long-dissolved band that the young Odelia once adored. Others soon get into the act, including Odelia's worried husband, who's away on a business trip; a jilted niece looking for comfort; a woman blamed for breaking up the band; a high-powered attorney who's also Odelia's boss; a corrupt band manager; a security guard with a shady past; an Armenian gang; a housing manager trying to get Grace evicted; and a man with a criminal background who works for good out of the view of the police. Got that? The whole thing is a fluffy mélange of danger, humor, and surprises. Don't worry about logic, just enjoy the ride. Agent: Whitney Lee, Fielding Agency. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Odelia Grey (88) temporarily surrenders her title as Corpse Magnet to her niece, Lorraine. (43) Odelias trying to stay on the straight and narrow, since her husband Gregs well-deserved vacation leaves only pets Wainwright (170) and Muffin to shield her from disaster. So when her mom, Grace Littlejohn (2), and Graces neighbor Art Franklin (2) tempt her to probe the disappearance of Boaz Shankleman, (13) another senior citizen, she politely declines. Too bad for Odelia that Lorraine, visiting California to recover from a break-up with her fianc, is only too happy to help Grandma Grace investigate. Grace and Lorraine end up in the slammer after breaking into Shanklemans condo, where they discover the bludgeoned body of Cydney Fox, recently hired to manage Acid Storm (20), the band Shankleman headlines under the name Bo Shank. (13) Reluctantly, Odelia joins her familys search for Shankleman. She goes along with Grace and Lorraine to question Acid Storms previous manager, Titan West, who ends up shot to death by the end of the interview. Now 2 for 2, Lorraine is attracting quite a bit of attention from the Santa Ana police. With her brother, former cop Clark Littlejohn, (43) threatening to haul his daughter back to New Mexico, and her husband threatening to cut his vacation short, Odelia knows shed better find Fox and Wests killer quick, before her family implodes. More corpses surely lie in wait for the heroine of A Body to Spare (2015). But its fun to see her ditzy niece share the spotlightnbsp;this time around. nbsp; Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
