Dolores Johnson, Pressed To Kill

Pressed To Kill

Dolores Johnson

Dunne, January 2007, $23.95, 256 pp.

ISBN 0313347855

Mandy Dyer is the owner of Dyers Cleaners, and she knows her customers and what they wear. She is very surprised that Ardith who usually wears black grey and brown tailored suits is now wearing colorful clothing and dresses. When Mandy comments on this radical charge, including coloring her and wearing it loose, Ardith says she wants to please her boyfriend who likes her new look. She goes on to say that she met him when Dyers sponsored an open house.

A few days later Mandy spots an article in the newspaper about Ardith's death. She was strangled in her home over the weekend. She told Mandy she and her boyfriend were spending the weekend in her home cuddling and enjoying themselves. Mandy believes that one of her customers killed Ardith, and is shocked to learn another customer, who looked like Ardith was killed a few months ago. Mandy draws up a list of suspects from the little knowledge she has about the crimes, but the killer is watching her, and waiting to see if he will have to deal with her if she gets too close to discovering his identity.

The latest Mandy Dyer mystery is filled with humor, car chases and a cast of characters who want to help Mandy, but only succeed in aggravating her. At one point, Mandy even suspects her significant other because he denied knowing about the open house, but one of the workers saw him in the vicinity. There are quite a few customers who could have been the killer, and the readers, like Mandy, will go nuts trying to figure out who it is. Dolores Johnson writes an excellent cozy come amateur sleuth tale that will appeal to readers who don't like violent scenes in their mysteries.