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DROP DEAD BLONDE takes an old concept, the anthology with a unifying theme, and goes just a little farther with it. Instead of short stories, this book consists of four novellas by four authors with the same basic kind of mystery, the cozy. And it works, at least for me. Nancy Martin writes a series about a group of sisters, The Blackbirds, who used to be wealthy and now are not. In Slay Belles, Nora Blackbird investigates the murder of a personal shopper, Popo Prentiss. Popo is not well-liked by those who work closely with her; she has managed to antagonize a few of her clientele, as well. Was she smothered by Cindie Rae Smith, the surgically-enhanced star of the almost pornographic web-site, whoÊjust happens to beÊthe fiancee of Alan Rutledge, who owns Haymaker's, the store employing Popo?ÊOr was it Darwin Osdack, Popo's assistant, suspected of being the cause of the shrinkage problem at Haymaker's? Or the elderly Pinky Pinkerton, vying with Cindie Rae for a purse Popo has promised to both of them? And who locked Nora in the bathroom during the murder? Elaine Viets' series features Dead-End Jobs -- those jobs we've probably all had at one time or another, jobs that pay almost enough to live on and drain the vitality of any reasonably sane person. In Killer Blonde, the job is secretarial work in the mid to late 1960s -- pre-feminism 1960s, before word-processing, Fed-Ex, email. Margery Flax recounts how mousy Minfreda (Minnie) finds the gumption to finally stand up to Vicki, the office manager. It is an engrossing story of office politics, as practised by women in the days when the office help wasn't supposed to know how to play that particular game. Denise Swanson's series takes place in Scumble River, Illinois. The main character is Skye Denison, school psychologist; in Dead Blondes Tell No Tales, she is on spring break, helping keep an eye on her fiance's mother, who is running the bowling alley. Bunny Reid's friend Ruby shows up from Las Vegas, unexpectedly. Ruby's ability to tell the whole truth about anything seems to by fundamentally impaired, which causes some tension with police chief, Wally Boyd (who has history with Skye), and with Simon Reid, Skye's fiance. Who is following Ruby, and what is he looking for? All of this takes place against a backdrop of special events at the bowling alley, like the Team Trivia contest, the Marilyn Monroe look-alike contest, and the Talent Contest. Small town life at its best! Victoria Laurie's series features professional psychic Abby Cooper. In Blind Sighted, Abby is roped by her sister Cat into attending a convention in Florida, put on by psychic Deirdre Pendleton. Cat thinks Abby could learn a lot about marketing from Deirdre; Abby just wants to veg out on the beach. What happens at the convention makes neither woman happy. Abby puts on an impressive display of real psychic ability, which shows up Deirdre as a fraud. Then Deirdre is murdered. The suspects start coming out of the woodwork. The solution, as arrived at by Abby, involves her use of her psychic powers and her sister Cat's amazing financial resources. I think an astute reader could solve the mystery using innate intelligence. All in all, I enjoyed DROP-DEAD BLONDE. If you've read one of these authors but not another, this is a good introduction. If you enjoy any of these authors, this is a great book for when you don't have time to read a whole novel, but want something familiar and comforting. If you haven't read any of these women, DROP-DEAD BLONDE is a great way to test the waters. Anyone who likes strong female characters and a cozy mystery is almost certain to enjoy at least one of these novellas, if not all of them. I'd like to see more of this format, in other genres -- police procedurals, noir, private eye. I think it's a great way to get authors in front of a receptive audience.
Reviewed by P. J. Coldren, August 2005
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