Book Review: Dial Me for Murder

Reviewed By: Pat Reid - RAM

Dial Me for Murder    
Amanda Matetsky
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Historical   Woman Main Character   Cozy
Series: Paige Turner Mysteries # 5
Berkley Prime Crime, 2008, 272 pps.

Pick up Dial Me For Murder and get lost in the fifties. Paige Turner is a reporter for Daring Detective Magazine in New York and life as a crime reporter is not easy for a woman in 1955. Yes, Paige does get her stories printed in Daring Detective but Paige also is in charge of making and hauling coffee to all of the male employees of Daring Detective. Paige was the name she was born with but when she married a man named Turner she officially became Paige Turner. As you can imagine she gets a lot of teasing about her name.

When Paige sees a headline about a secretary found murdered she decides this is a case that she will definitely follow up on. The secretary was found in Central Park with her very expensive clothes nearby.

Before Paige can delve too deeply into the story she receives a phone call from a woman named Sabrina Stanhope. Sabrina makes an appointment to have Paige visit her at her home.

Sabrina fills Paige in on the murdered girl’s background. The victim’s name is Virginia Pratt and she is a secretary. Virginia was also a call girl for Sabrina’s lucrative business. Sabrina requests that Paige investigate the murder but keep it off the record. Sabrina is not totally open with Paige, which leads to some problems. Sabrina gives Paine a list of a few men that she considers suspects in the murder.

Paige manages to finally work out what actually happened to Virginia but not without many obstacles between the initial meeting with Sabrina and the final conclusion.

Things weren’t as easy back in 1955 as today for many reasons. Trying to conduct an investigation in a pencil thin skirt with a kick-pleat in back and walking the streets in high heels was not the most comfortable way to go. Cabs were expensive and Paige didn’t earn that much money.

Amanda Matetsky has written a book that is really fun with a lot of interesting characters. This is the fifth Paige Turner mystery but the first for me but it won’t be the last.

Pat Reid - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Pat Reid - RAM

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