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Hatful of Homicide |
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| Hatful of Homicide by Barbara Jaye Wilson Avon Books 256 pages, August 2000 ISBN 0380803569 Reviewed by Diane Gotfryd Read our author interview Hat maker and vegetarian Brenda Midnight is all alone on a dark, deserted street in a bad neighborhood in New York City. She’s carrying a hatbox stuffed with fifty thousand dollars in cash. But is she worried about being mugged? No! Brenda is positive that she’s been lured out by her friends for a surprise birthday party in her honor. When a limousine pulls up, she is ready to act surprised. And when the driver steps out and demands the cash, Brenda hands it over with a smile. But a quick peek though the open door reveals - not her giggling friends - but a figure bound in duct tape. The limousine speeds away, leaving Brenda with another mystery - the fifth in this series. The author has succeeded in writing an entertaining cozy set in one of the largest cities in the world. Brenda and her tight cluster of friends have big city quirks and dialogue, and are as busy as beavers, just like real Manhattanites. But just as Jerry Seinfeld’s friends had their own little microcosm in the popular television sitcom, Brenda’s buddies circulate in a territory they’ve made their own. Even the police precinct they visit becomes small scale. The characters are a hoot, especially the stockbroker-turned-transvestite, and the dialogue is fun and fast. Even if the plot would not pass muster in a serious mystery genre, in Brenda’s madcap way it all makes sense. As a newcomer to the series, I didn’t have the background to appreciate the apparently on-and-off romance Brenda has with an actor. In this book, his character is rather dull. A HATFUL OF HOMICIDE is a fun read - the kind of book you’d give to a friend stuck in the hospital, perfect to read on a plane or between darker, more cerebral books. |
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