Reviewed by Jeanne
Helen Hawthorne has held a lot of dead end jobs in her time—it’s
a long story, but involves an ex-husband who wanted alimony—but she’s settled
into being a private eye. This time around, she was just touring a wonderful
historic home when a woman in an art group dies suddenly. It appears to be natural causes at first, but
Helen one of the woman’s friends insists Annabelle must have been poisoned and
hires Helen to investigate. Helen goes
undercover as an aspiring artist to try to discover who had motive, means, and
opportunity.
Meanwhile, Helen’s new husband Phil has a case of his own,
involving a thief who targets upper floor condos and who may have murdered one
of the residents.
Viets has done several series, but the Dead End Jobs series in one of my favorites.
As Helen takes on new temporary positions, I learn about what it takes to be a
salesperson, telemarketer, etc. And yes,
Viets really did work all of these odd jobs in real life, so she knows her
subjects!
I also thoroughly enjoy the south Florida setting and the strong
supporting cast who all live at an older apartment building with a spritely
landlady. I love mysteries, but I also
like well-developed characters who change and grow as a series progresses. I may have figured out whodunit before the end
of the book, but the journey was a pleasure—helped along, I have to say, by
Phil’s hare-brained scheme to catch a thief which had me giggling as I walked
on the treadmill. The mix of interesting characters, well-considered plots, good locations, and a dollop of humor is just up my alley.
Sadly, this was the last in this series so I would advise
starting with an earlier book. In order:
Shop Till You Drop
Murder Between the Covers
Dying to Call You
Killer Blonde
Just Murdered
Murder Unleashed
Murder with Reservations
Clubbed to Death
Killer Cuts
Half-Price Homicide
Pumped for Murder
Final Sail
Board Stiff
Catnapped!
Checked Out
The Art of Murder
Viets is the author of several different series, so be sure to check them out!
