Received through PaperBackSwap.com.

Book Description
Sophie Katz has just offered a man $12,000 for his services . . . Is she desperate or just meshugeneh?

Considering the kind of disasters that usually befall the half-black, half-Jewish mystery writer, probably both. Because the last time Sophie saw sexy P.I. Anatoly Darinsky, he practically danced a jig when she waved goodbye--a normal reaction for a man who'd nearly bought the farm trying to protect her from her own foolishness. What are the chances he'd agree to take incriminating pictures of her sister's philandering husband? Or that he'd let her tag along--you know... for research?

But when her brother-in-law turns up dead and her sister becomes the prime suspect, Sophie's priority is finding the real killer. With or without Anatoly's help. Her brother-in-law's secret life yields plenty of suspects, but the San Francisco police aren't taking any of them seriously. So Sophie does what comes naturally to her: she stirs up trouble (to lure the killer out, of course).

But if her crazy plan works, will Anatoly be there to protect her this time?

This was a fun read, and I enjoyed all the characters. I'd forgotten the specifics and other character details since I'd read Sex, Murder, and a Double Latte, but it was fairly easy to get back up to speed. And though there were references to incidents which happened in the previous book, not knowing the specifics wasn't detrimental to the story, it simply gave you a little more insight into some of the characters.

Someone has shot Sophie's brother-in-law, Bob, and the prime suspect is none other than her sister Leah. Sophie will do whatever it takes to prove her sister's innocence, so she hires Anatoly, a hottie PI whom she thought was trying to kill her in the last novel, to work with them.

Sophie's friends are a hoot... Dena owns a sex shop and is very open and vocal about all things sexual, Marcus is a gay hairdresser, Mary Ann is fairly down-to-earth and probably one of the pegs that holds the group together.... Dropping Leah, an ethnic Martha Stewart, and her "devil-in-disguise" 18-month old son Jack into this mix keeps the banter lively and flowing.

The mystery to try to figure out who killed Bob and why is deep and difficult to figure out. But with Sophie and Anatoly on the job, with no help from the police thank-you-very-much, they're sure to get their man (or woman)! I was kept in suspense right up until the very end.... I like when a mystery is able to keep me guessing and on my toes the whole way through.

This book is reserved for kislany, who won it in the Mysterious Mysteries Swap back in September. However, Noumena, who reads super quick, asked if she could read it first and then quickly send it along to Kis. So that's what'll happen. I have one other book for Nou here that I'm 3/4 of the way through (since it's short stories, I've been reading it between books), so I'll send both to her shortly.

RELEASE NOTES:

Kislany won this in the 9/22 Mysterious Mysteries Swap on BookSwap Live. But Noumena12 would like to read it first (she reads really fast) and then she'll send it off to Kis.

Mailed 04-Dec-2006 via USPS Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation # 9102 8052 1390 7424 4008 40.

Cleaning up for the party and thought I'd better register this before I put it away. I'll be reading it this week so I can get it to Kislany! Thanks to both of you for the detour!

Interesting. I remember really liking Sex, Murder, and a Double Latte but I wasn't has thrilled with this one. Sure, it was a cute, quick, enjoyable read. But I spent a lot of time wanting to slap Sophie. Maybe that was okay the first time...but she really can't be that stupid all the time. And who couldn't predict the fingernail thing when it happened...DUH!

This book is winging it's way to Cyprus! Happy Reading Kislany!

Thanks a lot, it arrived today. Now I have to get myself the Double Latte book as well, arghhhh