Genre: Mystery
Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book (Audio Book Available)
ISBN #: 9780425244586
Berkley Publishing
304 Pages
$7.99; $7.99 Amazon
November 1, 2011
⭐⭐⭐
The bookstore where Molly Pink works is planning a huge party where the identity of a popular author will be revealed. But before the author appears, another person disappears: the husband of Molly's neighbor. When a suicide note arrives it seems the husband has jumped off the Catalina ferry. Molly smells something fishy -- and she's soon hooked on unraveling another mystery.
✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽
Molly Pink is a widow who works at a local bookstore as an events coordinator. She's trying to put together an event nearing Christmas that involves a local author -- one who's identity thus far is unknown. His vampire books are best sellers, and everyone is chomping at the bit to discover who he is. None more than Molly's coworker Adele, who's convinced it's her boyfriend, William, a childrens' author.
But when Molly's next-door neighbor disappears leaving a suicide note, his wife Emily is devastated. But then it's discovered that the man was running what appears to be a Ponzi scheme, taking money from others; some of those being Molly's friends and involving someone even closer to her. While her boyfriend, homicide detective Barry Greenberg, tells her to stay out of the investigation, she knows she won't, and she and her best friend Dinah decide to do a little sleuthing on their own. Now if they can just get the store event up and running on time, and catch a killer, then maybe their lives will go back to normal -- or not...
This is the fifth book in the series, and I think they've pretty much "evened out." That is to say, Molly has found her niche, and there's not so much a love triangle, which I absolutely abhor. The other thing that always grates on my nerves is the 'evil nemesis,' and I think (hope) Adele has come to her senses and will stop hounding Molly all the time.
The mystery was pretty decent, and kept us wondering throughout the book who the murderer was (because we know eventually there will be a murder). It kept Molly and Dinah hopping, and even though Barry thought they were off the mark, there was another unexpected clue that kept them on the trail.
When the ending comes and we finally find out who the killer is, it does come as a bit of a surprise, which is actually a good thing. It's also pretty much a surprise to find out who the author of the popular books is, and that's another good thing. Still, the ending left a bit to be desired, urging us to read the next in the series (and I hate cliffhangers).
More on Betty Hechtman's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/betty-hechtman/
No comments:
Post a Comment