Review by Booklist Review
When Sterling Chaney turns up at his own funeral, the assembled mourners are stunned, none more so than the deceased's wife, Camilla, a childhood friend of Angela Richman, "death investigator" for wealthy Chouteau County, Missouri. Camilla is unhappy that her philandering husband is still alive, and she's overheard when she says she wishes he were dead. Later, when Sterling does die in a fiery car crash, caused by someone tampering with his vehicle, Camilla is the chief suspect. Refusing to believe Camilla is a killer, Angela investigates, running afoul of her friend and colleague Jace Budewitz. It turns out Sterling ran a shady business, and his exploited female employees as well as former lovers could also have wanted him dead. As she works to clear Camilla, Angela also investigates other deaths in the county, including one connected to Sterling. The principled, widowed heroine, who is conflicted about her deepening romantic relationship with a patrolman, combined with plenty of forensic detail, will appeal to fans of Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Viets's enjoyable seventh mystery featuring Chouteau County, Mo., death investigator Angela Richman (after 2021's Life Without Parole) opens at the funeral of wealthy Sterling Chaney, who died after losing control of his car at high speed and hitting a rock face. Angela attends the church service because she's an old friend of his estranged widow, Camilla, who has followed his last wishes and given him the ostentatious coffin he wanted. Then Sterling walks into the church and explains he was on a business trip in the Bahamas when the police informed him that his car had been stolen from the airport parking lot back in the U.S. Unfortunately for Sterling, he meets his maker soon after, and this time it's murder. Camilla must deal with the shock of her husband's death twice, as well as the truth about how he earned his money. Next comes scandal, another death, and Camilla's arrest for Sterling's murder. Determined to clear her friend's name, Angela starts rattling skeletons in high and low places. Angela's usual snark and fondness for wine help propel the twisty plot. Viets reliably entertains. Agent: Joshua Bilmes, JABberwocky. (July)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A boorish businessman just can't stop dying. Even though Sterling Chaney was a drunken lout who cheated on her at every opportunity, his long-suffering wife, Camilla, still arranges the send-off of Sterling's dreams, complete with a burnished-bronze Promethean casket that sets his estate back a cool $30,000. Which turns out to be money well spent, since, in the middle of the eulogy, who should appear at the door of the church but the dearly departed himself, drunk as a skunk but still able to appreciate Camilla's last generous gesture of love? Camilla's appreciation, on the other hand, is fleeting. Days after she learns that the corpse found in Sterling's Porsche actually belonged to a thief who stole it shortly before the fatal crash and welcomes her errant husband back, she finds orange lipstick on the collar of his shirt and throws him out. Meantime, Sterling's become a celebrity, appearing on news shows across the nation and drawing the eye of investigative reporter Valeria Cannata. She turns a feel-good piece about the man who crashed his own funeral into an exposé of his phone-sex business, complete with interviews with the women who work there. Now Camilla is not only a wronged wife, she's also a social outcast, married to a man whose vast fortune rests on the exploitation of the most desperate. When he crashes his brand-new red Ferrari and dies for real, she's in a jam: The police have ample cause to arrest her, and the judge won't order release on bail. Only her best friend, death investigator Angela Richman, believes she's innocent. Angela takes on the whole police force, including her boyfriend, to prove her point. Catchy hook, draggy investigation, and a solution from out of left field. At least that pricey coffin doesn't go to waste. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
