Sticks and Stones

November 14, 2011
In Larsen’s engaging second mystery featuring Chicago PI Caterina “Cat” DeLuca (after 2010’s Liar, Liar), Cat goes after Walter Jones, Cleo Jones’s no-good ex, who’s stolen Cleo’s money as well as her Tibetan terrier, Beau. Cat, trailed by a furious Cleo, finds Walter’s bloody body, still warm, in his suburban house, plus a bag of money and Beau. With perfect timing, the police show up and arrest Cleo—who’s threatened Walter loudly and publicly—for murder. Determined to prove Cleo innocent, Cat turns for help to a number of friends, notably Chance Savino, her FBI agent lover, while evading the police to track suspects and hiding Cleo, after she’s released on bail, and Beau in her home. It’s a plus that Cleo is a great cook. Janet Evanovich fans will relate to the humor and crazy characters, but under the fun is a well-crafted plot with all the elements of a classic whodunit.

December 1, 2011
Suspects abound when an unscrupulous blackmailer is found dead by a private eye and her histrionic assistant. Caterina DeLuca's Pants on Fire Detective Agency, meant to catch cheaters, is charged with an investigation that may be beyond its means when Cat's assistant/partner (depending on who you ask) Cleo Jones is charged with murder. It all starts with Cleo's cheating husband, Walter, who hasn't bothered to wait for his divorce to take up with Cleo's sister. When Cleo brings Cat along to do a bit of B & E at Walter's place and rescue Cleo's pooch Beau, the two find the last thing they expected: Walter home and stone-cold dead. Now Cleo is prime suspect and Cat is looking at accessory after the fact, a status not even her connections at the police department can wrangle her out of. Cat thinks her only way out is to identify who really killed Walter, but with the dead man's unscrupulous ways, including adultery, blackmail and embezzlement at a minimum, it's hard for Cat to imagine who wouldn't want Walter dead. While Cat craves support from her FBI boyfriend Chance Savino, she's seen more of her Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker lately than she has of Chance. As Cat investigates the murder of a man the world may be better for having lost, she debates whether finding the truth is as important as staying out of trouble. It's only logical that Cat's second case (Liar, Liar, 2010) is a bit disjointed, since the author is a nom de plume of three sisters. Tighter editing might return the series to its former glory.

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February 1, 2012

The Chicago-based Pants on Fire Detective Agency might not garner huge respect, but it gets results thanks to Cat's dedicated sleuthing against marital cheaters. Her client this time is the irrepressible, loudmouthed Cleo Jones (Cat's assistant) who made so many threats against her cheating husband, Walter, that when he turns up dead, she becomes the prime suspect. As Cat probes deeper, she discovers Walter harbored a 20-year-old secret that has caused several enemies to surface. With Cat's disguises and her cop connections, maybe she'll survive her own sting operation. VERDICT The madcap plot makes this lighthearted sophomore outing (after Liar, Liar) a good choice for mystery buffs who can't get enough Janet Evanovich. Try also with readers of Sophie Littlefield and Laura DiSilverio for the impudent, female detective angle. [See Prepub Alert, 11/11/11.]

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2012
Fans of Janet Evanovich will enjoy meeting Cat DeLuca, Italian American P.I. and owner of the Pants on Fire Detective Agency, whose specialty is catching cheating spouses. When Cat's assistant, Cleo, becomes the chief suspect in her husband Walter's murder, thanks to her loudly voiced threats against him, which a neighbor unfortunately videotaped, Cat investigates to clear her. It turns out Walter was also a blackmailer, greatly widening the range of suspects for Cat to check out. Cat solves the crime with the help of her gorgeous FBI boyfriend, Chance; deli owner Tino, who used to work covert operations for the U.S. government; and her many connected DeLuca relatives, who are either Chicago police or private investigators. While working the murder investigation, she's also trying to photograph Steve Greger with his mistress, but he knows Cat is following him and taunts her as he repeatedly escapes her camera. Cat's interfering but loving family and the novel's evocative setting in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood combine with the engaging Cat and plenty of humor in a satisfying series entry.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)