Soccer mom, Barbara Marr attracts trouble the way the North Pole attracts short men with odd wardrobe choices. So it’s no surprise when she finds herself in deep doo-doo while attempting to prove the innocence of friend and ex-Mafia goon, Frankie Romano, after he’s arrested for the murder of a famous action movie director.
This third book in the popular Barbara Marr Murder Mystery Series brings Barb out of the suburbs and into the slimy, urban world of bright lights, nightly news, and drive-by shootings. Luckily, she never loses her sense of humor or her ability to befriend some decidedly quirky characters.
Cantwell shakes things up from her previous two books. Peggy and Roz are busy with their own lives, leaving Barbara to scramble on her own when her semi-friend, Frankie, gets framed. In my previous review, I said that I felt including Barb’s friends made the scene overcrowded so it was pleasant to see how Barbara deals with the mystery on her hunches. Admittedly, she gets a lot more distracted but the problem-solving is linear and readers are able to make sense of how the red herrings tie together.
Plus it allows Cantwell to introduce new characters like obnoxious reporter, Guy, the mysterious Clarence and his surprising family ties to Colt, Colt’s new girlfriend, Meegan, and the appearance of Howard’s mother, Mrs. Marr, who I would totally want to read a spin-off book of her and Barb’s mom going on Thelma and Louise adventures. The comedy she (and Barb’s daughters) brought made me laugh way too loudly.
I applaud the addition of new characters to buff up the mystery, but it did make the denouement confusing. About five men were involved in the murder for differing reasons, backstabbing each other. Two of them never appear on the page, so I had to reread the explanation several times to understand the moving parts. However, I enjoyed how Cantwell wove Barb’s movie knowledge and made it for vital to solving the case.
I also admire Cantwell’s commitment to changing the status quo. She nips the (non-existent) love triangle in a bud by giving Colt an intriguing new arc, brings a new bump to Howard’s professional life and leaves the book on a cliffhanger.
4 stars
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