Peggy Lee is not having a good day. It starts with her
being late to a lecture on African Violets because she runs
her bicycle into the side of a Saturn. Fortunately there's
no harm done and the spike in her blood pressure has little
to do with the accident and a lot to do with the handsome
driver. When she returns to her shop, The Potting Shed, she
discovers the body of wealthy womanizer Mark Warner lying
dead in the window display.
After spending hours going over her discovery of the dead
man with the police, Peggy wants nothing more than to spend
a quiet evening at home. An obviously mistreated dog the
size of a small horse ends that dream by showing up in her
back yard. While Peggy has never considered herself a dog
person, there's no way she's going to allow animal control
to take the pooch away. The high point of her day is
discovering that her new neighbor, a vet, is also the
driver of the Saturn she crashed into earlier.
There's an almost endless list of suspects in the death of
Mark Warner and heading that list is someone working for
Peggy. Sure that no one in her employ could murder anyone,
she's determined to find the real killer before the local
homeless man, or one of her employees, is convicted of the
crime. Along the way, Peggy starts dating the vet, deals
with an irate pet owner, acquires a dog, and encounters a
cyber-stalker who knows way too much about what's going on
in Peggy's life and her investigation not only into the
Warner murder, but also another murder in a nearby town
that may or may not be related.
Joyce and Jim Lavene have crafted an outstanding whodunit
in PRETTY POISON, with plenty of twists and turns that
will keep the reader entranced to the final page. Peggy
Lee is a likable, believable sleuth and the supporting
characters add spice, intrigue and humor to the story.
While reading, I was sure there was no way they could bring
all the loose ends together in a satisfying and believable
conclusion and was pleasantly surprised when they did just
that. Well, except for not revealing the identity of
Peggy's cyber-stalker, and I believe they've given readers
a clue or two to his (or her) identity. I can't wait to
read the next story to see if I'm right!
It's another busy fall day for Peggy. A quick café lecture
on African violets is followed by a minor bike accident
involving a good-looking Saturn driver. Upon returning to
her shop, Peggy discovers one of the wealthiest men in town-
-and one of the biggest philanderers--sprawled face down
across one of her seasonal displays, apparently beaten to
death with a garden shovel.
When the cops pin the murder on a local homeless man, Peggy
must rake through evidence and dig up secrets to root out
the real killer.
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy