Calling for a Funeral
Christine T. Jorgensen
Five Star, Mar 2007, $25.95
ISBN: 1594145353

With the death due to a meth lab explosion of her fianc Dave McGraw, Francie Starzel left Chicago for Denver when her college roommate Helene Fortier offers her a position as a finance analyst at Techlaw. She takes with her Dave's nine-year-old son Mac, who she is the guardian of as they both need to start over.

However, Helene fires Francie after a financial report shows discrepancies. Irate, Francie threatens to kill Helene if they ever meet again. Francie obtains work as a telemarketer selling funerals while Mac buys a pet tarantula called Spike. When Helene is found dead in Francie's car trunk, the fired employee realizes her former employer canned her to keep her safe. Meanwhile, Detective Dominic Wolfe sees her as the prime suspect, especially when he learns she is related to the infamous Starlinski family, renowned for cat burglary and forgery. Not willing to trust the law, as it is in her blood to think that way, and fearing she will lose custody of Mac if she goes to jail, Francie begins inquiries into who killed her former boss.

The key to this humorous amateur sleuth is Francie who likes Dominic, but has a "DNA" aversion to cops. Her motives to prove her innocence by finding the killer feel right with her upbringing and with her love for Mac. The body in the trunk is a neat way to remind readers how well our senses adapt to environs like pungent odors. The storyline is fast-paced with a unique hero coming to the rescue and a fascinating coda involving Francie's mom "welcoming" the detective Starlinski style. Francie's follies are a winning whodunit.

Harriet Klausner