Review: Unpaid Dues

Unpaid Dues is the latest in Barbara Serenella’s Munch Mancini’s series. I am still amazed that this series is on its sixth installment. I remember talking with another reader who’d read No Human Involved and speculating as to the longevity of a series featuring a heroin junkie mechanic who was a woman and solved crimes in the “amateur” vein. Could it work? Not a chance. And yet Serenella does it; comes to the plate with a bum pitch and delivers a home-run every time.

The joy of this series is that Munch never forgets who she is and that she works hard in every outing to make herself a better person without any of the angst of a Scudder or a Robicheaux. She works that program. She continues to make strides as a recovering user.

Munch, she did everything. But now she’s a Mom. Living in Suburban L.A. Juggling daycare with a complicated life. And the past... it’s always just around the corner..... Unpaid Dues opens with a corpse. The lady’s prints are run and Munch’s picture comes up. From here Serenella takes the book and runs.

The past will always come up for Munch. It’s what her past is. In a book full of old shadows and a new sense of humanity what is Munch to do when one of those dark nights of her former demons comes to her? How far does Munch’s obligation to the past go? Is she an intended victim? When the truth comes will she be able to resolve sins of the past with the stakes riding on the present? With prose that amazes this reviewer and an eye always towards where she wants Munch to go next... Serenella plays a deft game of cat and mouse with not only Munch but also all of our supporting characters . Watch out though .. she’s delivering a message. Deft and subtle. These are the skills of Barbara Serenella. They are formidable. A page turner from the best of scribes. That is Unpaid Dues.

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

Book Review: Unpaid Dues