Review by Booklist Review
A recently married paralegal from Southern California, Odelia Grey describes herself as a short, two-hundred plus, cranky, middle-aged woman with medium brown hair and freckles. She is also the head of Reality Check, a group that offers advice and support to anyone who feels they don't fit into what society considers normal. In this fourth novel in the series, Jaffarian returns to the theme of her first mystery foul play tied to sexually oriented online chat rooms. One of Odelia's friends thinks she has chatted online with the serial killer known as the Blond Bomber and wants Odelia to check out her suspicions. Oh, and by the way, the suspect is the woman's own son, plastic surgeon Dr. Brian Eddy. The novel jumps between charming scenes portraying the everyday life of the Reality Check friends and over-the-top descriptions of online sex chatters. Fans who enjoyed earlier volumes, in which Odelia's keen legal mind drove the mystery, may be less pleased with this second excursion into unsavory online sex. The cast of supporting characters is definitely worthy of more serious development in forthcoming books.--Coon, Judy Copyright 2009 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In Jaffarian's bodacious fourth mystery to feature bighearted, plus-sized Odelia Grey (after 2008's Thugs and Kisses), Odelia's distraught friend, Lillian Ramsey, asks the paralegal's help in proving her famous cosmetic surgeon son, Brian Eddy, is not the Blond Bomber, a serial killer who for the past year has been plaguing Southern California. Odelia-with the aid of her wheelchair-bound husband, Greg Stevens, and the cooperation of her attorney boss, Mike Steele-discovers that both Brian and his celebrity interior designer wife, Jane Sharp, appear to be connected to the four female victims, each of whom had the word whore printed on her torso. The neatly constructed plot begins zigzagging around tough guy Gordon Harper, whose ex-wife, ex-stripper Crystal Lee, was one of the Bomber's victims. Leavened with lively humor, the action builds to a wickedly satisfying windup. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
It's always nice to be Odelia Grey's friend, especially when you think your son may be a serial killer. Even though she promised her new husband, Greg Stevens, to lay off the sleuthing, paralegal Odelia Grey (Thugs and Kisses, 2008) can't turn down 70-year-old Lillian's Ramsey's plea. Lil thinks her son, plastic surgeon Brian Eddy, may be the notorious "Blond Bomber," named not for his own coif but the golden tresses of the victims he binds, rapes and murders. Once Odelia agrees to help, she get an additional surprise. Wheelchair-bound Greg's decided that if he can't beat her, he'll join her. He sets up appointments with Lisa, the sister of murdered nurse Laurie Luke, and teenaged victim Gabby Kerr's mother Debra. He even joins Odelia at an interview with Gordon Harper, ex-husband of dead stripper Crystal Lee Harper, who frosts Greg's buns by ogling Odelia's ample curves. Unfortunately, all roads lead back to Brian, since his wife, decorator Jane Sharp, seems to have provided all the victims' families with the latest in pleated shades and faux finishes. But Odelia's convinced that even though the good doctor wields a mean scalpel, he wouldn't hurt a fly with it, and she's willing to put her generous butt on the line to prove her point. Concentrating on the puzzle and her trademark smart dialogue, Jaffarian does some surgery of her own, leaving a lean plotline for plump Odelia. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
