Deadbeat

Boston PI Angela Matelli may be an expert at aikido with a wry sense of humor and a social conscience, but her engaging traits can't conceal the utter predictability of her third adventure (after Missing Eden, 1996). She is approached by an irascible, hostile and outraged client: someone has run up $75,000 in bills on her credit cards, destroying her credit rating. Angela uses her considerable street-smarts to quickly find the culprit, Lisa Browning, a vulnerable, appealing, financially strapped single mom who has been drawn into crime by more sinister players. When Lisa is bludgeoned to death, Angela suspects her surly client. After an attempt is made on her own life, however, she zeros in on the other members of the fraud ring. Although buoyed by a lively galaxy of Lisa's relatives (a relentlessly nosy mom, a charming brother who might be mob connected), this mystery fails to overcome its easily spotted culprit and far-fetched plot twists: Why, for instance, would a crack crime-scene unit overlook a vital phone tape, leaving it for Angela to discover? (Mar.)