Review: The Butcher Of Beverly Hills

This book is billed as a screwball mystery and it definitely is. Kerry and Terry McAfee are identical twins - green-eyed red heads. But the similarities end there. Kerry is the "good girl" getting straight A's and being elected class president. Terry is the "bad girl" who got expelled for smoking and ended up in prison for drugs. Kerry dropped out of college to pay the legal fees and ended up working for a criminal attorney. It was there that she got bitten by the investigation bug. Once Terry got out of prison, Kerry started her own private investigation business, and brought on Terry as an operative.

This zany investigation begins when they get a frantic phone call from Lenore Richling, a socialite friend of their aunt Reba. Lenore's recently undergone plastic surgery and is recovering in secret at a five-star hotel. She asks them to recover then thousand dollars that her new, very young, husband took from her. The girls are reluctant to take the case, but clients are few and far between, the bills are piling up, and Lenore is a friend of Reba's after all.

They soon find themselves up to their ears in a lot more than they expected. Lenore¹s husband is killed, and folks associated with the case start dying all around them. They uncover blackmail, illegal drugs, insurance fraud, and a very dodgy plastic surgeon.

This story is fast paced, interesting, and filled with weird and zany characters. The girls get around on Terry's pink Dyna Wide Glide Harley. As Kerry describes it, "it looks like something from the Barbie Goes Hogwild! collection." As if that's not enough, Terry also has a pink leather jacket and a pink helmet with a purple flower-power daisy on the side. Not exactly the thing for covert activities, but the girls manage to get the job done regardless.

Jennifer Colt is a screenwriter of horror films. In 2001 she got hooked on the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich and decided to try her hand at her own comic mystery novel. She's definitely got the comic element down pat. "The Butcher of Beverly Hills" is an entertaining romp through the world of Beverly Hills society. I can't wait for the next adventure.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Mary R - RAM

Book Review: The Butcher Of Beverly Hills