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DROP DEAD MY LOVELY
by Ellis Weiner
New American Library, March 2004
288 pages
$23.95
ISBN: 0451211170


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

There is something endearing about Pete Ingalls! Right from the start, this PI (yes, the PI initials do match his own) takes New York by storm. A blow on the head changes his life and keeps the reader guessing who he really is and where he is going.

Pete has a couple of clients and an earthy secretary named Stephanie. She is an aspiring actress and really knows how to talk trash. She and Pete frequently have words with each other and it is not unusual for her to either be fired or quit. Stephanie does not like to be called angel or doll, which Pete does with frequency. Playing the part, his outfit is a double-breasted suit, fedora and wing tips. He thinks he is perfectly normal.

This hard-boiled, over the edge detective will be unlike most of the PIs you encounter. One line in the book describes the character of Pete -­ "he's a psycho who thinks he is Sam Spade."

The prologue of this story gives us a strangled body found by a member of the housekeeping staff in a hotel room. One of Pete's clients is having an affair with a married man and she wants to find out where he has gone. Another client thinks her husband is having an affair. This is quite enough for Pete and Stephanie to handle especially when one of the possible mistresses winds up dead. Two cases are in progress and they become intertwined.

Even though you travel through the story line to find out whodunit, the major emphasis is the rubbing chemistry between Stephanie and Pete. This ranges from agitated aggravation to bawdy humor.

Ellis Weiner contributes to humor publications National Lampoon and Spy, as well as others. If you are a fan, this may fit the bill for you.

Reviewed by Rita Ratacheck, February 2004

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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