Courting Death

Rating:
Summary: witty dialogue makes this a fun read............
Review: JZ Mackenzie is a former attorney turned private eye. At a party thrown by her best friend (and cousin), JZ is introduced to beautiful Sandy and sparks fly. Sandy has recently broken up with her long time girlfriend and despite JZ trying to take things slowly, they end up in the sack on their second (or maybe it was third) date. Shortly after, JZ finds out that Sandy's ex was brutally slain and that Sandy has been arrested for the murder. The rest of the story is a whodunit dealing with a round of usual suspects and an interesting, quirky cast of supporting characters as JZ tries to prove Sandy didn't do it, all the while wondering if she really did.

JZ is your typical hard-boiled, single, can't cook but can eat all she wants and never gain weight, owner of cats, can't keep a woman, lesbian PI. Though she has a humorous, intelligent edge that puts her very much on par with Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone.

The book is packed with witty exchanges and there were a few places where I stopped reading to laugh out loud. I'm a hard sell on humor.. so I give it two big thumbs up there. The pacing of the story is little uneven, starting strong then slightly waning, then kicking into high gear only to drop off a bit at the end.

Also, I figured out one of the plot 'secrets' almost immediately. Never a good sign in a whodunit. This bummed me out so badly that I almost quit reading. But, to my delight, JZ figures it out rather quickly too.

Dialogue is surely the author's strong suit. It was believable, snappy and fun. Description is sometimes lacking. After completing the entire story, no strong physical description of the characters sticks in my mind. Also, I would have liked to have seen just a little more time dedicated to JZ's internal struggle as she questions whether her new lover, maybe even soulmate, might be a killer. But these are small complaints in the overall scheme of things.

The book is a quick, lightweight, very enjoyable mystery. It was well worth the purchase price. I'm looking forward to future works from this author!