Victoria Laurie Crime Seen

Crime Seen

Victoria Laurie

Signet, Sep 2007,

ISBN:

In Royal Oak, Michigan Abby Cooper has physically recovered from almost dying from a gunshot wound, but mentally remains despondent as her psychic skills failed her. She remains in the house of her FBI Agent boyfriend Dutch Rivers and has not returned to work doing readings as she suffers from post traumatic stress syndrome. Private Investigator Candace calls to rent space from Abby while Dutch asks her to read three cases that have stymied him. Dutch's former partner police detective Milo mentions the parole hearing of Lutz; convicted nine years ago of killing his first partner Walter McDaniel.

Abby with the help of her crew of five spirits "reads" the first file. She next picks up a second case, but realizes she accidentally grabbed the Lutz file. She says nothing about Lutz to Dutch. Abby barters with Candace: four months no rent in exchange for helping her investigate the Lutz case because she feels he is not the killer although he confessed. Candace learns that a PI on the case Darren Cox quit to become a loan officer at Universal Mortgage, owned by Wolfe, who Abby knows was at the McDaniel crime scene. Candace arranges for Abby to meet Cox so that she can go undercover as a loan officer at Universal.

The fifth Psychic Eye mystery is a clever whodunit that focuses on a more humanly foible than before Abby as she struggles to return to readings having failed to "see" the attempt on her life. Her undercover work upsets Dutch who knows she is up to something especially when he sees her hiding her face in the lap of another man, but trusts her to believe she is not cheating on him. Once again he enhanced by Candace makes Abby's psychic skills seem real although skeptical readers will question how easily strangers accept her "gift" without any doubt or scorn. Fans will enjoy Abby's return to what she does best.

Harriet Klausner