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Missing Marlene |
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 Missing Marlene:A Jane Stuart and Winky Mystery by Evan Marshall Kensington Books 309 Pages, 1999 ISBN 1575664208 Reviewed by Susan McBride Nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award for Best First Mystery. Read another review of Missing Marlene by PJ Nunn Read our review of the sequel Hanging Hannah, reviewed by PJ Nunn. Jane Stuart is a literary agent working out of a small office in the tiny New Jersey town of Shady Hills. A widow with a nine-year-old son Nick, Jane hired Marlene, a college friend's daughter to be her son's nanny. Though only two months have passed since Jane hired her, she knows that Marlene is not working out. Watching Nick bores Marlene to tears. Seems she'd rather hang out at the Roadside Tavern, a seedy place by the side of the road where leather and body piercings are de rigueur. Then, one day, Marlene vanishes. Her things disappear from Jane's house and no note is left behind. Lucky break, Jane thinks, until Marlene's mom - her college pal - calls wondering where her daughter has gone. Jane does a little digging just to satisfy herself and finds that no one knows the answer. That's when the roller coaster ride begins, as Jane discovers that Marlene was into activities far more sinister than anything Mary Poppins could fathom. Did an ex-boyfriend Gil get rid of her? After all, he killed a man before. How about Roger, one of Jane's clients, an egotistical literary flop who'd been spurned by the beautiful young nanny? Suspects multiply like ants at a picnic. Though the subtitle of Missing Marlene is A Jane Stuart and Winky Mystery, Winky the cat has little to do with the actual mystery. He merely gives Jane a nudge in the right direction every now and then, but thankfully doesn't know how to type or do sign language to spell out the name of the culprit in this case. Evan Marshall, a well-known literary agent himself, provides a wonderful behind-the-scenes look and lays out a plot full of intriguing twists and turns. His second Jane Stuart mystery Hanging Hannah is newly released and I'm eager to see his sophomore effort. If it's anything like Missing Marlene - nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award for Best First Mystery - then Marshall has more than secured himself a place as a highly readable author of cozies. |
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