Roberto Isleib, Deadly Advice

Deadly Advice

Roberto Isleib

Berkley, March 2007, $6.99, 272 pp.

ISBN: 0425214745

Psychologist Dr. Rebecca Butterman is finally getting over the trauma of her divorce caused by seeing her husband having sex in their bed with another woman. She has a clinical practice and writes an advice column for an online women's magazine. One day when she comes home, police cars are at her next door neighbor's house. She finds out from the investigating officer that her neighbor Madeline committed suicide and left a note on her computer.

Madeline's mother, Isabel Stanton asks Rebecca to watch her late daughter's cat until she can place it with someone. She also asks the psychologist to find out if her daughter really committed suicide because she doesn't believe it. Not quite sure why she is doing it, Rebecca starts investigating and finds out that Madeline had a very erotic blog and secret love life. A forensic linguist that Rebecca asks to analyze the blog and the suicide note determines that different people wrote each of them. When Madeline's neighbor on her other side is bludgeoned, Rebecca believes the incident is linked to Madeleine's death and her nosing around almost costs Rebecca her life.

Deadly Advice is a fine amateur sleuth mystery that has advice questions and answers throughout the book. They give credence to the heroine's career as an advice columnist with a psychology degree because her answers are always realistic. Rebecca is a strong-willed woman who is making a new life for herself after the debacle of her divorce. The only quibble is that the protagonist behaves like a trained cop, following the same path as a homicide detective. Could this mean police officers and psychologists think alike? Judging by the bickering between the sleuth and the shrink they act like two sides of the same coin. Readers will love this mystery because they know "dating can be deadly".

Harriet Klausner