India Ink, Glossed and Found

Glossed and Found

India Ink

Berkley, Jan 2007, $6.99

ISBN: 0425212947

In Gulf Harbor, Washington, Persia Vanderbilt understands how important the holiday season is to her business Venus Envy, the spa she runs and owns with her Aunt Florence. Still, she looks forward to the festivities ending so she can spend more quality time with her new boyfriend. At the Thanksgiving Gala, she is shocked when the newly hired makeup artist Lisa Tremont fails to show up as everyone is working that day.

The police inform Persia that they found Lisa's car parked near Lookout Pier and soon conclude she drowned. Persia has a difficult time with the official position especially when Lisa's sister Amy agrees that something is not right as the woman feared deep water and coincidentally thought she found some of the missing inheritance that she and her sibling should have received when their father died. Though there is no proof of murder, Amy begs Persia to investigate, which she agrees even as her former boyfriend Elliot stalks her.

Though there seems to be too much going on in Persia's life between the bash, the investigation, the former boyfriend and a friend struggling with a "monster-in-law", readers will enjoy this exciting amateur sleuth tale as the heroine is a courageous, caring person. The "Bath and Body" whodunit is cleverly written so that the audience obtains a taste of the Puget Sound town preparing for the holidays, which with the exception of Elliot, leads to a fine cozy that will send readers to visit the spa (see SCENT TO HER GRAVE).

Harriet Klausner