A MATTER OF PEDIGREE

Meier leaves the tight-knit community of Tinker's Cove (Bridal Shower Murder, 2025, etc.) for the big city of Providence, R.I. Growing up in the Italian neighborhood of Federal Hill, Frank and Carole Capobianco could only dream of living in an exclusive condo like Prospect Place on the tony East Side. But Frank's patent for the low flow Bye-Bye Toilet earns the couple enough to offer $2 million above asking price for the remaining unit in Hosea Browne's renovated historic mansion. Unfortunately, Hosea also owns a unit in what was once his family home, and he blackballs the Capobiancos, claiming that they'd be uncomfortable among "people like ourselves." Disappointed, Frank expresses his desire to kill the "old fossil of a Yankee." His words come back to bite him when he and Carole, now living at the gracious, spacious Esplanade (which Carole actually likes much better than Prospect Place) learn of Hosea's murder. Frank is arrested, and Carole, their son and daughter, Frank's parents, and even Carole's mother, currently living in Paris, team up to find the real killer. The problem is that, even though Hosea really was a condescending old fossil, Frank and Carole are so crass and entitled that you can kind of see his point. Are the residents of the Esplanade any happier than the folks at Prospect Place would have been hearing Carole's Brittany spaniel, Poopsie, bark and whine all day? Do they just shrug when she parks her ginormous Porsche Cayenne wherever? And would Carole really have been happy living someplace without an attentive staff willing to carry her latest pair of Jimmy Choos upstairs for her? Meier's new series lacks anyone readers can connect with as closely as they do with her Tinker's Cove crew. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.