Death Of A Trophy Wife
Laura Levine
Kensington, May 2010, $22.00
ISBN: 9780758238450

Los Angeles freelance writer Jaine Austen accompanies her friend Neiman Marcus shoe guru Lance to the Beverly Hills estate of "Marvelous Marv, the Mattress King" as the man's wife is his best customer. However, Bunny is nasty to everyone including Jaine, but soon after sipping her martini she falls to the ground dead.

Someone put cyanide in Bunny's martini. Since the queen of mean was universally loathed, there are plenty of suspects. However, the Beverly Hills police hone in on Lance who has an additional motive. He inherits the victim's $175,000 Maserati. Jaine knows Lance would not kill a major customer so having success in solving homicides before (see Killer Cruise); she investigates and finds several viable suspects amidst the extended family members.

This is a wild over the top of the Sierras amateur sleuth who-dome-it as the eccentric cast brings to life Los Angeles with an amusing spin. Jaine dodges the marital demands of Uzbekistani Vladimir Ivan Trotsky, which is amusing but takes the reader away from her investigation. Still fans will enjoy Jaine's latest whodunit.

Harriet Klausner