Damsels In Distress
Joan Hess
St. Martin's, April 2007, $24.95, 304 pp.
ISBN: 0312315015

With her fianc Peter, a Farberville, Arkansas, police lieutenant out of town, Claire Malloy, the owner of the only bookstore in town, anticipates a quiet period with no dead bodies to trip over. Alas, her quiet time comes to an end when a Renaissance Fair comes to town. Edward Cobbinwood, known as Peter the Jester, asks her if they can set up a booth outside her shop to sell tickets and entertain the crowds with much of the money going to charity. Claire reluctantly agrees.

Edward confides in her that he is looking for his father who lives in Farberville, but the man doesn't know he exists yet. Claire fears it could be her late husband's son, but Edward spitefully refuses to name names. She gets pulled into the lives of the local players when they start confiding in her or when she overhears conversation. When Angie, who is teaching a group of children how to dance like fairies, dies in an arson fire, Claire investigates since nobody except the children and Edward ever sees the recluse. At the fair, a player has an axe in his head. He was the richest person in the group and from her own investigation and overheard conversations, she has figured out who the killer is. Now she has to prove it.

Joan Hess, author of sixteen Claire Malloy mysteries, outdoes herself in DAMSELS IN DISTRESS. The plot is wickedly funny and clever and the insider's look at what goes behind the scenes of a renaissance fair is fascinating. The group of players all have secrets to hide which leaves the readers wondering which one of them is the killer since they all have motives. This reviewer can't wait for the next book in the series.

Harriet Klausner