Mary Clay Murder Is the Pits

Murder Is the Pits

Mary Clay

If, Nov 2005, $15.95, 299 pp.

ISBN: 0771042934

Penny Sue, Ruthie Jo and Rebecca Leigh were college sorority sisters, but now they call themselves the DAFFODILS (Divorced and Finally Free of Deceitful, Insensitive, Licentious Scum). Rebecca is staying at Penny Sue's father's condo in New Smyrna Beach until she finds some place she likes and can afford. Penny Sue and Ruthie Jo join Rebecca for two reasons, to celebrate Penny Sue's birthday, and to give depositions concerning a drug kingpin.

Their trip is anything but relaxed. A person staying in one of the condos is shot to death, and another body is found in a dumpster in the complex. The police think there is a mob war going on between the Russians and the Italians; local law enforcement believes the three women are the middle of it. They are followed, attempts are made on their lives, and they have to live through a category four hurricane. Just when it looks like things are calming down, two more attempts are made on Rebecca and Penny Jo.

MURDER IN THE PITS is a delightful funny crime caper that will have readers laughing out loud as the protagonists cope with three hurricanes, two different crime groups, and a reunion of friends, where everyone is on edge at one point or another. Mary Clay treats the situations very seriously, but she injects humor in the way the characters cope with death threats, life threatening storms and a gang war. In tense situations, humor is used to relieve stress, which allows readers to find the storyline totally believable. The friendship of the forty-something women is the glue that holds the story together. This delightfully charming tale will win the author many new fans.

Harriet Klausner