Eviction by Death: A Victoria Bowering Mystery

Unemployed actress Victoria Bowering quips her way through her second Manhattan mystery, after Cancellation by Death. After the old man who lived in the apartment above her dies, new tenants begin renovations just as Vic is trying to land the title role in an international touring production of Auntie Mame. In the midst of auditions and callbacks, she must cope with the noise, the building's continual lack of hot water and the trashing of her garden area. The new bartender at her favorite pub suggests that her upstairs neighbor's death may not have been from natural causes. Then the landlord, with whom Vic had been arguing about rental fees and tenants' rights, is murdered and Vic is arrested, souring her triumph at landing the role of Mame. She has to call on both her nearly ex-husband, lawyer Barry Laskin, and her almost lover, Det. Sgt. Dan Duchinski, to spring her from jail. Only with the help of a cherished neighbor, a septuagenarian ex-stripper named Jewel LaFleur, and Jewel's elderly boyfriend can Vic solve the crimes and determine her future. Surrounded by a sharply etched cast, Vic demonstrates that she has a heart of gold to go with her talents and smart mouth. (Oct.)