The sixth and newest novel in the Josie Marcus Mystery Shopper series delivers exactly what her fans are looking for: a breezy murder mystery, on the light side, with just the right amount of danger, humor and romance. Josie is still single, raising her 10-year-old daughter with the help of her 68-year-old mother, with both of whom she shares a home, and dating Ted, a hunky local vet. [A shih tzu named Stuart Little and a tabby named Harry complete the household.]
Josie, who works for Suttin Services, has been assigned by her boss, “Harry the Horrible,” to mystery-shop a lingerie store in a high-end shopping mall, an “undercover underwear adventure.” Job done, and within minutes of leaving the shop with her friend, Alyce, they discover the dead body of a woman they had just encountered in the store and with whom they had gone to high school – someone known to have engendered the enmity of all with whom she came in contact. This naturally leads to a wide array of suspects. The police, however, arrest Laura, the store manager [another of several old high school acquaintances Josie encounters during the course of the book]. But Josie feels a particular obligation to this one.
Josie, knowing that Laura has a daughter who is having a difficult time with her pregnancy, and convinced that she is innocent, vows to do whatever she can to find the real murderer. She’s told “Leave the investigating to the pros.” But she continues, reasoning: “People tell me things because I don’t look important or official. The police have to read people their rights or follow department procedure. They can’t knock on doors and ask questions like I can. Nobody’s afraid of me. They tell me things.” In so doing, of course, she manages to put herself in some dangerous situations, but that’s par for the course.
The book is a delightful addition to the series, and is sure to win Ms. Viets new fans, and it is recommended. [There is an excerpt from a new entry in the author’s Dead-End Job Mystery series, “Pumped for Murder,” due out in hardcover in May, at the conclusion of this one.]
