FINAL FORE
By Roberta Isleib
Berkley Prime Crime
375 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
ISBN: 0-425-20896-6
Genre: Mystery
Paperback, 275 pages, $6.99 US

Mystery's favorite golfer, Cassie Burdette, is back for another round of fun and suspense in Final Fore. Although Cassie's professional life is moving forward, her personal life has taken two steps back. Cassie and her good friend, golf psychologist Joe Lancaster, are uncomfortably dealing with a horrendous trip to Hawaii, where they hoped to take their relationship further but which ended in disaster. Now, all Cassie wants to concentrate on is competing in the US Open and trying to decide whether or not to accept an invitation to play in the PGA Buick Championship. But from the start, things go awry. Her good friend and favorite caddie, Laura Snow, won't be able to attend due to her father's illness and Cassie's scrambling to find a replacement. If that isn't bad enough, her quirky family is in attendance, along with her sponsor, Lloyd Pompano, who hovers over her, watching everything she eats and every swing she makes.

Shortly before the tournament starts, someone calling himself Ruleswhiz begins to send threatening e-mails to Cassie. The first day of the tournament, teenage golf star Amber Clancy collapses on the course and later dies from poisoning. As the e-mails and threats from Ruleswhiz escalate, Cassie's brother Charlie hires a bodyguard to protect her. When the bodyguard lets it slip he thinks the person threatening her is someone she knows, Cassie becomes more and more paranoid and begins to suspect everyone.

Reading the Cassie Burdette series is simply a fun way to spend one's time. The pace flows nicely, the plot twists and turns with suspense, and Cassie's sense of humor and witty asides bring a lot of smiles. Charming, refreshing, and entertaining, this series leaves the reader anxious for the next.