Dispatch to Death

Rating:
Summary: A mystery chock full of action
Review: Martha Miller is a Springfield, Illinois resident who has published a book of lesbian love stories, a novel, and her first mystery. She has won several awards and has had four plays produced at the Mid-American Playwrights' Theater.

Trudy Thomas just wants one thing out of life...well, maybe two. The first thing is to drive a cab. The second is to have a lasting lesbian relationship. She has just failed at the second, and the first is in jeopardy when she picks up a mysterious fare named Anita Alvarez. She finds her sweet dispatcher shot in the head, and Anita keeps turning up, usually in situations that result in Trudy needing a lawyer, or being shot. During one such episode, Trudy saves Anita from two thugs at the expense of losing her ex's new red Explorer:

"I was telling myself that at least it couldn't get worse when an explosive splashing sound came from outside. I turned to the window. The light over the boat dock reflected on Georgia's red Explorer and for a second I thought they'd moved the vehicle closer to the river. Then tail lights illuminated the dark water as the vehicle floated on the surface briefly and started to sink."

In this tale of drug lords and corrupt public officials, Trudy Thomas' character represents a twist on every man. Trudy is a likable character who is simply trying to live her own life to the best of her ability, with meager means and the challenge of dealing with being a lesbian. She and her dog Alex and neighbor Pinky, an old friend of her father's, muddle along. Trudy drives her signature lavender cab with #4 on it, which actually makes her a target for the bad guys.

Miller's tale is full of oodles of close scrapes, wonderful character development, much angst and pain on Trudy's part, and love. Trudy's nemesis, Anita, is by contrast a poor little rich girl whose father would throw her to the wolves to expand his drug-riddled empire. DISPATCH TO DEATH is a mystery chock full of action, treacherous roads, slimy motives, and Trudy's path to a more enriched existence. It is a truly enjoyable read, and Trudy's pursuit of a suitable mate is touching and full of classic moves and countermoves in the love game. Miller deserves a big thumbs up for this well-concocted tale.

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer



Rating:
Summary: Fast-Moving Enjoyable Mystery
Review: There are times a girl just can't catch a break.

Case in point: Trudy Thomas, cab driver. One ordinary, soggy Illinois day Trudy picks up a rain-drenched fare, a mysterious young Hispanic woman named Anita Alvarez, and drops her off near the governor's mansion. It was the last ordinary day Trudy would have for a long, long time.

A routine cleaning of Cab Number 4-which is lavender for reasons that have nothing to do with being gay-turns up a key. And then all hell, as they say, breaks loose.

Within days Trudy finds a co-worker murdered in the ladies' room, Cab Number 4 broken into, and her own personal information missing from the office files. It's all downhill from there for the hapless Trudy. Before it's over, she is shot, hospitalized, stalked, threatened, and locked in a car trunk God knows where. And that's just scratching the surface of the perils Trudy ("I'm not a hero. I'm a cab driver") faces in this lively mystery.

I really like Trudy. She's an ordinary woman struggling to support herself and her mutt dog on what she makes as a cab driver. That she is a lesbian is neither a big secret or a big deal. She loves her Harley and her dog, and asks for nothing more out of life than to get by and be left alone.

Dispatch to Death is a great get-wrapped-up-in-a-quilt-on-a-chilly-evening book, with a cup of hot chocolate and marshmallows on the table beside you.

Martha Miller's writing is crisp, clear, and unmuddled. The story is written in first person, a notoriously difficult technique, but she does it well. Her characters are three-dimensional and real, and the plot is a dizzying series of twists that will keep the reader guessing until the low-key, satisfying conclusion.

My only criticisms are few and very minor indeed. I really didn't need to know that Trudy likes to wear boxer shorts. And the frequent appearance of brand names dropped into the text quickly became distracting.

Minor glitches aside, I highly recommend Dispatch to Death to anyone who wants a fast-moving, enjoyable mystery to read. It would also make a darn good TV movie. I see Joan Cusack....

Reviewed by Ruth Sims
Author, "The Phoenix"