Fifty-Seven Heaven: A Kitty Bloodworth, '57 Mystery

The feel-good vibes flourish in this classically cute cozy, the first in a new series to feature feisty grandparents Kitty and Jack Bloodworth of Metropolis, Ill. (home of Superman and Cruse's Metropolis mystery series). When Kitty's cousin Will Ann Lloyd, a meddlesome and widely disliked woman who'd accused Kitty's daughter Sunny of being a tramp, winds up strangled and stuffed in the trunk of Kitty's '57 Chevy, Kitty and Jack are horrified to be among the suspects, as are Sunny and Will Ann's son, Craig. While going through Will Ann's personal effects, Kitty finds a helpful clue, but before she can track down more information, she's run off the road. Her subsequent amnesia dramatically hampers her investigation. Cruse tosses in chatty observations about family and growing older, scanting the unsettling details of death, injury and illness. Although the big “reveal” about the killer might come as no surprise, it's fun to go along for the ride. (Dec.)