Reviewed By Liz

ISBN 0312377703

St. Martin’s Minotaur - Hardcover
January 8th 2008

I am hoping that DEATH WAS THE OTHER WOMAN will turn out to be the first book in a series about Kitty Pangborn. Kitty has taken a job as the secretary for PI Dex Theroux in Depression Era L.A. This is a big step down for the young society woman and it was forced upon her by the loss of the family fortune and her father’s suicide after the stock market crash. While it might seem that Kitty has the weight of the world on her shoulders, she is soldiering on bravely and appreciates that she could do a lot worse in current economic climate. And she is quite fond of Dex, a mook on the outside, but a war vet who’s experiences have left him fragile and who brings out Kitty’s protective instincts, rather than her romantic ones.

When Dex’s drinking causes Kitty to worry that he will crack up the car on his way to a stakeout, she insists on driving him. But the two of them end up falling asleep in the car during the long wait and awake to find a murdered man. What started off as a simple tail job on a straying lover becomes complicated when the body disappears and the police show up to question Dex and he and Kitty are dragged into a quagmire.

Dialog in historical mysteries is an interesting thing. The author has to walk a fine line between capturing the way people of the day thought and spoke and disturbing the modern reader by appearing fake. I find that the dialog in noir genre has a tendency to sound goofy as characters talk about torpedoes fighting over lettuce with their roscoes (those are hired killers, money, and pistols to you and me). But the spin that Richards puts on this noir tale - telling it from the point of view of the outsider girl Friday - gives the story a kind of quirkiness that allows the lingo to go by without much trouble.

Did I guess it? Some of it. Favorite character? Dex’s buddy, Mustard, a born fixer. Will I read another? Yes. The odd pairing of Kitty and Dex makes this book - hopefully a series - a winner.

Check out Linda’s web site at http://lindalrichards.com/.

Mystery Book Reviews by Liz at http://reviewedbyliz.com ©2008

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