Harriet Klausner's Review Archive
Not long after they arrive in San Francisco, the Los Angeles Coroner’s Office asks Rafe to come home to identify a corpse of a woman who has his card on her. He says the deceased is his former girlfriend Maren Levander and sister of his best friend and manager. With Rafe a person of interest, Cece investigates what the police suspect is a homicide made to look like a suicide over the objection of fiancé, police detective Peter Gambino.
Cece remains a refreshing protagonist who cherishes deceased mystery writers and cannot help but get involved in clearing up ambiguities in their lives (see I DREAMED I MARRIED PERRY MASON and NOT A GIRL DETECTIVE), and landing in a modern whodunit. On top of a fine amateur sleuth investigation, Cece has personal disputes with her adult daughter and Peter. When the author tosses in Hammett to a superb tale it leads to readers admiring Susan Kandel’s amazing talent.