Book Review: Never Preach Past Noon

Reviewed By: Carol Schwaderer Dickinson - RAM

[5 stars]

Never Preach Past Noon Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Edie Claire
Class/Genre: Mystery Woman Main Character Amateur Sleuth
Series: Leigh Koslow # 3
Signet Mystery; 2000; $5.99; pp 264

Third in the Leigh Koslow, copywriter, Mystery Series, it was my first adventure into Koslow's world. I was a little disconcerted with the characters because I identified with Leigh who is 30, coping with an overbearing mother, and a couple of wacky "old" aunts who must be just about my age. I don't feel I'm at the age for living with cats and interfering in the lives of the younger generation so it gave me a bit of an identity crisis, but I thoroughly enjoyed the whole ensemble of characters, series regulars, and the story specific ones. I liked the specific persons filling slots in the genre demanded roles of police contact/official channels in the persona of a former college roommate turned police detective and an absolutely gorgeous female defense attorney as personal friend and romantic competition for the gorgeous hunk.

I don't usually enjoy mysteries set in big cities in the east and yet this one set in Pittsburgh was a delightfully suprising exception. As the title implies the plot revolves around a small new age church intertwined with a defunct old Presbyterian church. This is a delightfully unique version of an oft used cozy setting and a rather zany visit to organizational church politics.

The back cover blurb describes the heroine as an overworked advertising copywriter which I found misleading because this book covers 10 days time and the woman never went to work. So I wonder if this is representative of the others in the series, but for what it was I enjoyed it very much. I've added the two previous books in the series to my TBR list. With elements like a father who is a veterinarian, and an animal shelter and rescue issues potential subjects, I look forward to the further adventures of Leigh and her wacky family.

Carol Schwaderer Dickinson - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Carol Schwaderer Dickinson - RAM