Killer Commute (Charlie Greene Mysteries) - Hardcover

Millhiser, Marlys

3.19

42 ratings by Goodreads

9780312266103: Killer Commute (Charlie Greene Mysteries)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312266103 ISBN 13: 9780312266103

Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2000

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

Recovering from last year's Las Vegas trip-from-hell, Long Beach literary agent Charlie Greene is looking forward to spending this year's vacation at home. No manuscript reading, no needy clients, no killer commute for a whole week - just some good, old-fashioned rest and relaxation.

But before Charlie's peaceful vacation even starts, her daughter's rambunctious cat, Tuxedo, causes her to stumble across the body of neighbor Jeremy Fielder, murdered in the front seat of his truck. And investigating officers are quick to remind Charlie that this isn't her first dead body. Now their quiet Southern California suburban community is becoming more hectic than rush hour on the L.A. freeway as Charlie and her zany neighbors face-off against nosy police officers, insatiable reporters, and a killer determined to drive them away.

Another fabulous addition to Millhiser's acclaimed series, Killer Commute is a comical ride through a mystery sure to be a smash with both long-time fans and those just making Charlie Greene's acquaintance.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

Literary agent Charlie Greene can't afford to live in Beverly Hills and dine with the Spago and Ivy crowd, so she commutes to her office every day from a quaint little Long Beach cottage in a compound where people live in each other's pockets and seem to spend most of their time ferreting out their neighbors' secrets. When one of the residents is brutally murdered, the local cops target Charlie as the killer, with absolutely no evidence beyond her propensity for getting involved in situations that tend to feature a dead body or two (Nobody Dies in a Casino, Murder in a Hot Flash). Jeremy Fiedler was everybody's favorite, a charming, helpful man who seems to have lived (and died) without a trace--neither Charlie, the police, or Charlie's wacky neighbors can find a public record of his existence. But Jeremy had a secret treasure someone was willing to kill for, and since Charlie's on vacation as well as under suspicion, it behooves her to find it first.

Reading this quirky little cozy is like dropping into a Cheers-like local tavern where everybody knows everyone else's name except the reader. Millhiser is long on wackiness but short on any substantive character development, and the plot meanders without ever really getting to the point. The eccentricities of the dramatis personae are sketched rather than drawn, but Millhiser's hysterical description of how to put your pantyhose on while navigating a high-speed freeway almost makes up for the lack of a coherent narrative and absence of dramatic tension. --Jane Adams

About the Author:

Marlys Millhiser, a former regional vice president of the Mystery Writers of America, is the author of five previous Charlie Greene mysteries and several best-selling novels, including The Mirror. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.