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Continuing with her Odelia Grey series, author Sue Ann Jaffarian brings humor and humanity to the twisted tale of two mysteries in her latest book, THUGS AND KISSES. Full-time paralegal and part-time sleuth Odelia Grey has a nose for trouble, or so say her friends, family, and wheelchair-bound boyfriend. When her annoying boss goes missing and the class bully is murdered at her 30th high school reunion, she’s got her hands full. Joining with a fellow classmate, Odelia works to solve both entanglements simultaneously, all while battling a bad cold that prevented her boyfriend from attending the reunion, yet another complication to this cozy. Along the way to solving these confusing circumstances, Odelia deals with ex-wives and extramarital affairs she didn’t know existed, a cleaning crew of a different sort, and a complicated legal deal that lends her own workplace an air of treachery and mixed signals. Documents have been altered, high end vehicles abandoned, and bundt cakes baked. None of it seems to make any sense, until Odelia decides to ignore the advice of friends and family and stick her nose in everyone’s business, thus gaining the nickname “corpse magnet.” With all this murder and legal mayhem, readers will be pleasantly surprised to find that the entire story is laced with humor and fun. Odelia is a friend most people wish they had, and she shares her ups and downs with candor and aplomb, whether she’s run out of tissues while staking out a kidnapping location or ducking between cars in the office parking lot, leaving her latte behind. Her human failings are as enchanting as her loyalties and friendships. Readers will relate to the office settings, the lunches with friends, the trick-or-treaters ringing the doorbell. In short, THUGS AND KISSES manages to combine a lot of disparate storylines and characters in a charming whole. Although it doesn’t wrap up as neatly as readers might like, and the ending feels a bit tacked on, this is a minor complaint for a book that overall brings joy and fun to the genre. Odelia Grey is definitely a force to be reckoned with.
Reviewed by Christine Zibas, February 2008
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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