Claire Fontaine Crime Fighter: A Novel of Life, Death... and Shoes

When Claire Fontaine goes to work for PI Henry Bennett, formerly of the LAPD homicide division, in Enright's amusing and lighthearted debut, it's a clear case of Beauty and the Beast. Claire, 30-something, is wealthy and well connected; Henry, who's in his late 40s, eats junk food and dresses badly. What they share is a keen desire to find the fiend who neatly cut the throat of Beth Valentine, a young party girl, and to stop a serial killer from slaughtering another victim. After a somewhat sluggish start, the pace picks up as Claire demonstrates that her rich-girl persona brings more than pearls and Prada to the mix—the girl has a positive talent for connecting with sleazy Hollywood types. If the repartee between the two sometimes lacks fizz, that may be because Claire's distracted by her attractive and enigmatic neighbor while Henry seems to have left his heart at homicide. Solid plotting and characterization bode well for any future sleuthing adventures featuring this incongruous pair. (July)