Book Review: Hell's Kitchen

Reviewed By: Woodstock - RAM

Hell's Kitchen     Amazon US PB Amazon UK PB Amazon Canada PB
Chris Niles
Class/Genre:   Mystery
...

Whoah! Talk about black comedy!

Her earlier series featuring radio newsman Sam Ridley displays a flair for the comic side of mystery fiction, but Niles truly comes into her own with this romp through present day Manhattan.

The dark situation comedy is peopled with an unlikely mix of characters: a lovely con artist who has been carefully taught by her British father in all the tricks of the trade; a writer enduring an apparent life long attack of writers' block, reduced to composing inserts for fortune cookies; a TV news reporter struggling to hold on to her career while working under an editor committed to sexual harassment as a way of life; a distraught midwestern mother searching for her missing son & daughter-in-law, assisted by a sympathetic New York cop; and a delightful cast of supporting characters too numerous to list here.

All the plot lines converge on the issue of finding a Manhattan apartment to sublet at reasonable cost, and the presence of a homicidal maniac who entices his victims to his Greenwich Village apartment through newspaper classifieds.

The book drew me in in wonderful "can't put it down" style - and until only 2-3 pages before the hilarious conclusion, I had no idea whatever how events would conclude. I just love it when that happens!

5 stars!

Woodstock - RAM

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