Book Review: Jupiter's Daughter

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Jupiter's Daughter     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Karen Irving
Class/Genre:   Mystery
Series: Katy Klein # 2
Polestar, Oct 2000, $9.95, 348 pp.

If it were not for the Christmas party of her buddy Carmen Capricci, winter would be the cruelest season of the year for astrologer Katy Klein. In Ottawa, during the frosty time of the season, business drops off to the point that Katy scrambles to take care of herself and her daughter.

At the event of the social season, Katy’s good time is ruined by a nasty incident between Phil and Marion Stanley. However, things turn ugly when Marion suffers a seizure and dies. Perhaps because of her forensic psychology background, Katy has doubts that natural causes led to Marion’s death. When another death of a party attendee follows, the police look at a relative of the second victim as a prime suspect. Katy has doubts and when her daughter brings home Phil and Marion’s thrown out of the house daughter, the “amateur” sleuth begins her own investigation.

JUPITER’S DAUGHTER, the second Katy Klein tale (see Pluto RISING) is a wonderful Canadian who-done-it. The story line works because of the subplots that allow the audience to understand Katy, her motives, and many of the secondary players better. The mystery is fun and captivating as Katy and Detective Benjamin, who are attracted to one another, disagree as to motive and suspect. Anyone who reads Karen Irving’s engaging novel will want to obtain the first story as many of the characters blessedly make a return engagement in this book.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner