Murder at Moot Point

As a literary agent, Charlie Greene is used to making a killing - it's her business. But when she pulls into the foggy town of Moot Point, she finds herself party to a killing of a different kind, one with a corpse and with herself as a suspect.
This visit to the laid-back coastal town was supposed to be the chance to secure a deal for her stubborn client, Jack Monroe, whose book of New Age theories has attracted wide speculation among the literary set. But on her first night, Charlie is accused of murdering an elderly woman whose bicycle is mysteriously found beneath the wheels of Charlie's car. Suddenly Charlie has a new project: proving herself innocent of murder.
As if the steely-eyed looks from the town's residents weren't enough, Charlie is trying to parent her teenage daughter long-distance; looking for answers to the dreams that continue to haunt her; and fending off - or maybe not - the amorous advances of the local sheriff. All this might not be so bad, but then there's her client, who insists on practicing his otherworldly theories - and claims he's taking Charlie along for the ride.

This erratic series launch from veteran Millhiser ( Michael's Wife ) never leaves the ground, its supernatural elements weighted down by its unexceptional mystery aspects. Single mother and literary agent Charlie Greene drives from Beverly Hills to Moot Point, Ore., to talk with client Jack Monroe, whose New Age book has been accepted by a publisher and who is currently experimenting with out-of-body experiences. As she meets with Jack on the evening of her arrival, the body of local gossip Georgie Glick and her bicycle are found under the wheels of Charlie's car. Although an autopsy shows that Georgie was shot, not run over, the weapon, when found, has Charlie's prints on it. In the process of clearing herself, Charlie meets many Moot Point residents, including the New Age guru and entrepreneur who runs a spiritual center and the townfolks who supply his devotees with food and souvenirs. Caught up in the otherworldliness of Moot Point, Charlie dreams repeatedly of a long-ago shipwreck off the coast. When an artist who painted a picture of the wreck drives his car off the cliffs and dies, Charlie decides to help the sheriff, with whom she becomes romantically involved, solve the mysteries. This mix of the ethereal and the mundane fails to convince in either sphere.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Driving up to foggy Moot Point, Oregon, to deliver a contract to reclusive New Age author Jack Monroe, literary agent Charlie Greene finds her stay prolonged by the discovery of old Georgette Glick and her Schwinn under the wheels of Charlie's Toyota. Luckily, Sheriff Wes Bennett, who has a thing for Charlie, keeps her under house arrest at the Hide-a-bye Motel and even lets her mingle with the native Grape- Nuts--non-grieving widower Frank Glick; holistic florist Paige Magill; holistic veterinarian Doc Chuck Withers; fearful neighbor Gladys Bergkvist; and Byronic artist Michael Cermack, who's painted a picture of a hundred-year-old local shipwreck that Charlie's been having nightmares about for weeks. Has she been sharing out-of-body experiences with meditative Jack? What's the connection between Georgette's killing and the disappearance of Gladys's husband Olie? And do ``LIFE FORCE VITAMINS'' really give you a ``REJUVENATED SEX LIFE''? Entertainingly oddball--a refreshing spin on Millhiser's increasingly trying tales (The Mirror, The Threshold, etc.) of psychic adventure. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Hollywood literary agent Charlie Greene visits a new client in dark, foggy Moot Point, Oregon, and steps immediately into a murder rap: police accuse her of running over a little old lady riding a Schwinn. In self-defense, Greene gathers gossip about local people and events, which include an overprotective (but attractive) sheriff, assorted eccentrics and their dogs, and the economically vital Consciousness Training Institute. Because of confusing segues and a lack of plot, this series initiator holds minimal charm.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.