One Dead, Two to Go - Elena Hartwell

. .

Résumé :

This mystery featuring a crime-fighting mother-daughter duo is smart, page-turning fun, with the most feisty and likable P.I. since Kinsey Millhone (Deb Caletti, National Book Award finalist).

When private investigator Edwina Eddie Shoes isn't fending off surprise visits from her troublemaking mother, she's spying on cheating husbands, hoping to land hefty divorce settlements for their heartbroken wives. But when the latest mistress Eddie captures on film dies--and Eddie realizes she's the last person who saw the woman alive--things begin to take a twisted turn. It doesn't help that the detective on the case is her ex, Chance Parker, who's none too happy with the way Eddie left things between them. So when Eddie's mom, Chava, unexpectedly shows up on her doorstep, Eddie's actually glad to see her for a change. Because there's no one better acquainted with the criminal mind than her card-shark of a mother. And now that Eddie's in deep with the dangerous crowd, she's going to need all the help she can get . . .

Private eye Eddie Shoes and her cardsharp mother plunge the reader into a tale of fractured relationships, mayhem, and thrills. --Deborah Turrell Atkinson, author of the Storm Kayama Mysteries

The writing is cinematic and vivid, the characters well-drawn, but the dynamic between Eddie and Chava, which reminded me fondly of Cagney and Lacey, is what makes the story. Fans of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich should definitely check out One Dead, Two to Go. --Max Everhart, author of the Eli Sharpe series