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MURDERERS PREFER BLONDES
by Amanda Matesky
Berkley Prime Crime, July 2003
291 pages
$5.99
ISBN: 0425191052


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

1954 is the year. Paige Turner desperately wants to write a mystery and she is searching for a good story line. The only woman employed at the magazine, "Daring Detective," she hosts many jobs but none of them involve writing. Coffee maker, secretary/receptionist, file clerk, newspaper clipper and proofreader are some of the tasks Paige accomplishes. In between these chores, she tries to dodge some of her coworkers comments as they cast many jokes at her expense. Of course, her name invites a variety of comments, none of them particularly kind. Paige's boss is a constant complainer and the editorial director is lazy and pompous. Despite all the tumultous happenings, Paige Turner still wants to be a mystery writer!

As previously mentioned, one of her jobs was to look through the newspaper to clip out stories of murder, robbery and rape. When she sees the picture of a deceased girl she had previously met, Paige knew she must learn the deceased's story. With nerves of steel, she decides to become very involved and even find out who killed this young woman. Her hope is to use this information for her first mystery novel. She will go to all lengths to accomplish this.

Going to the crime scene, Paige sees Detective Sergeant Dan Street. He is the permanent police advisor for the magazine. She didn't want to be seen here because it might mean the loss of her job. Dan Street will be seen many times throughout the story. Another setting takes places at the Copacabana where Paige needs to do a fair bit of acting. Recognizable names of some 50's movie stars in attendance were pure delight to this reader. Next door neighbor, Abby Moskowitz, urged Paige Turner to follow through with her dream and her novel. I enjoyed their relationship. In following this dream, the escapades that follow are fun and also dangerous.

What was popular in this time period? White lipstick, Hopalong Cassidy, Perry Mason novels, Woolworth's dime store and Marlon Brando's movie, "On the Waterfront" are just a few examples. One of the charms of this story is definitely that same feeling so many people derived from watching the TV show, "Happy Days." I liked the line where Paige said she was trying to act like Grace Kelly but surely behaved more like Gracie Allen."

This is an enjoyable cozy; I will be looking forward to reading the second installment in this series.

Reviewed by Rita Ratacheck, June 2003

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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