Tuesday, March 1, 2011

On the Nickel-Maggie Toussaint

On the Nickel
Maggie Toussaint
Five Star, Apr 6 2011, $25.95
ISBN 9781594149542

In Maryland, accountant Cleo Jones worries about her Mama’s recent behavior, which culminated with Police Detective Britt Radcliff recently arresting her for vehicular homicide in a hit-and-run. Mama's enemy Erica Hodges was killed in the parking lot of the Trinity Episcopal Church where they both attended. She refuses to offer any alibi for where she was the night of the death and why her headlight is busted.

Cleo breaths a bit easier because sexagenarian mama will become a ward of the state and she will not have to place her in an assisted living home. Single mom Cleo raises her two teenage daughters Charla and Lexi while thwarting the advances of her former husband Charlie and trying to break par with golf pro Rafe Golden.

The second Cleopatra Jones amateur sleuth (see In for a Penny) is an engaging tale as Cleo tries to break par, figure out what Charlie wants as he sent his alimony check early, and resolve Mama’s geriatric crisis. Although the older boomers like mama and her friends make being sixty the new eighty, fans will enjoy this fun whodunit.

Harriet Klausner

No comments: