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Having been the victim of identity theft (mine was pretty minor -- the credit card company caught it within hours), I can sympathize with Abby Knight of New Castle, Indiana, a florist whose life is being turned into hell by Elizabeth (Libby) Blume, a woman for whom Abby was a baby sitter years ago. Libby is doing everything in her power to imitate Abby. She is buys the same clothes and gets her hair cut like Abby's. When Libby's bullying mother is unable to persuade Abby to take her daughter on as an intern, Libby does everything in her power to hijack Abby's employees (she snows Grace by comparing her British accent to Dame Judi Dench), her boyfriend Marco (when he turns Libby down as a prospective intern, she decides to hire him as an investigator), and her family (she invites herself to the ritual Friday dinner and then gives Abby's mother an opportunity to sell her appalling art in Libby's newly opened gallery). EVERYONE is taken in by her charming attitude; only Abby sees her for the conniving witch that she is. So when the body of Libby's mother, Delphi, is found dumped in the alley behind Abby's shop, Abby is viewed as a possible murderer. Collins does a fine job of making the reader sympathize with Abby, as, until the very end, she is the only one who doesn't regard Libby's antics as mere coincidences. Abby and Libby each have one dysfunctional relative. Abby's mother, who has given up pottery for knitting, has bought a llama for its wool. Libby's brother, Oliver, who was deemed unfit for military or police service because of a prank in high school, wears camouflage, talks in military jargon, and is convinced that the government is stalking him. The book's strength is the deft characterization of its varied cast, and the plot has enough twists to keep the reader guessing until the very end.
Reviewed by Mary Elizabeth Devine, October 2008
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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