Beau’s personal life is in upheaval but he still must deal with murder and more in his work life. There are some very interesting secondary characters in this mystery as well as the main characters that regular readers of this series always enjoy. A floater gets the attention of the police, but the victim didn’t die by drowning. The case take Beau on a roller coaster ride. He needs a new partner; Sue has the chicken pox. It may surprise you who he ends up with. It’s a well written addition to this excellent series - intriguing, gripping, and entertaining. ( )

Relatively confusing. One of the bad guys effectively only appears at the end of story. Spunky great aunt who should get arrested for some things she does. ( )

I was looking for a Seattle story. This fit the bit, but was utterly blah. Possibly this was just a bad place to start the series. I never connected with the detective; is that because his character traits popped up from out of nowhere in the middle of the story, then disappeared again? So they felt convenient, and he felt like a stereotype? Or maybe I just can't connect with someone who cares so much about his car, planning his trips around it and mentioning its make and model several times a page. ( )

Early JP but a good one. Lots of interesting characters come and go but the storyline sustains nicely ( )

Beaumont is a Seattle detective working on the homicide squad, and in this novel he is faced with a bizarre set of circumstances. A man has ostensibly been killed by being hacked to death with a woman’s high-heeled shoe. This particular woman is also seen leaving the scene of other crimes, and Beaumont soon realizes it must be Jazmyn Day, an excellent singer trying to mak a comeback after recovering from a drug addiction. He’s also mildly in love with her. It soon becomes more complicated as another dead body surfaces, that of a man caught on video at the corporation where he worked, raping a woman friend. Then the man’s wife shows up dead in his apartment.
Jance has some wonderful characters in this book. Grace Highsmith is made to be played by Katherine Hepburn. She’s a delight, and the scene where she confesses to the murder in her favorite restaurant, dumping the murder weapon out on the table during a busy lunch, is absolutely priceless. Of course she had nothing to do with the murder, but the denouement takes place at her house and involves her ancient Cadillac. You won’t want to miss this one.
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