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THE BRUSH-OFF
by Laura Bradley
Pocket Books, May 2004
368 pages
$6.50
ISBN: 0743471113


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Reyn, an 'I'm my own person' hair stylist, receives a phone call from her mentor shortly before he is murdered. Imagine her surprise, when in the middle of the night, she has a phone call from a police detective telling her to come over and identify the body.

The detective caller, Lieutenant Jackson Scythe, has an immediate appeal for Reyn. Reyn's best friend, Trudy, dubs Jackson as Detective Gorgeous for her friend. Trudy proceeds to do what she can to have Reyn take this relationship to another level. Another character who is deemed worth a mention is Jackson's partner, Fred Crandall. Fred has toned down his swearing for Reyn in the course of all the questioning.

Returning to Trudy, she is a great Ethel to Reyn's Lucille Ball character. There are plenty of quips that these two best friends share and two of the escapades they encounter are at a transvestite club and a visit to a psychic. Trudy's husband, Mario, is a one of a kind guy. He seems to be nearly nauseating to Reyn, but since he is married to her best friend, he is tolerated. He does receive a unique haircut from Reyn and ends up being a helpmate and turns out to be a regular guy.

We never really know the murdered man, Ricardo, because the deed is accomplished very early in the story. Throughout the account, his past life becomes more connected as we learn the people he knew and loved. I did manage to figure out some of the riddle but there were a few surprises.

Quick one-liners surround Reyn in her cluttered and disorganized life. She may remind the reader of Bubbles in Sarah Strohmeyer's books or even possesses some of the features of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum. This is a good first mystery effort, containing just enough humor. Realism is not the goal in the book and there are three Labradors in the story for dog lovers.

Reviewed by Rita Ratacheck, March 2004

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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