cover image Killer Commute

Killer Commute

Marlys Millhiser. Minotaur Books, $23.95 (288pp) ISBN 978-0-312-26610-3

The winning series (Death of the Office Witch, etc.) featuring California literary agent Charlie Greene continues with Charlie's discovery of her neighbor's corpse. Since they live in a gated community, all the residents are stunned and dismayed. Events follow thick and fast with the discovery that the deceased, Jeremy Fiedler, has no police, credit or other records that might point to a motive for his murder--or for a later bombing at the gated community. Whoever did him in, isn't done yet. When Charlie realizes that she's at the top of the suspect list, she decides to try to find Jeremy's killer--and uncover Jeremy's true identity. Another bombing leaves her with intermittent hearing loss. Meanwhile, she does her best to maintain her cool and chat with New York publishers during the killer commute from Long Beach to Beverly Hills. She's about to pull off the biggest deal in her professional career and place the best screenplay ever to come out of Folsom prison, if only she doesn't end up there first. An old friend, retired from the Beverly Hills detective squad, suggests she pay a little more attention to psychic powers that Charlie isn't even sure she has. Millhiser occasionally lapses into heavy-handed dialogue, and the police in this case strain credibility by being awfully rude, but the clever and original plotting as well as the likable heroine and cast of eccentric supporting characters far outweigh these minor drawbacks. (Oct.)