Fast paced and frantic attempt to catch a killer in high heels.
Take one beautiful vindictive woman....she's 1 part bimbo and 2 parts lethal gangsta- gun moll.
Watch her try and hold onto her 84 year old husband by having his octogenarian paramour knocked off. Sometimes greed and jealousy lead to the last resort ……MURDER!
Laura, Gerry and Gibbons try to stop her from also killing her husband, without getting them selves knocked off in the process!
Excerpt
We walked to the back door of the restaurant; my escort was pointing something in the small of my back. I surmised that it could have been a gun, but could also be his index finger. We stopped in the kitchen, which I noticed was empty. “In that room, is the Honorable judge Dubois. She is also the prosecutor, as we could not get another associate to play the part. Junior Radison is the Executioner. This is your day of reckoning don’t screw it up.”
“My day of reckoning? What the hell is this, the Judge Leena show? Better yet Judge Julie?”
“What part of don’t say nothin’ do ya not get? Y’all wanna die early? I will shoot ya’ if I have to, just to shut your pretty little mug up. However, if I do that, I die too. I don’t want to die, so shut up for both our sakes!”
I had had enough of this asshole’s garbage. This was probably the end of things for me. I could see this as clear as day; however, I was damned if I was going down quietly. I kneed my kidnapper in the nuts just as the other guy from the car was coming in. He was just a kid, and not being brave enough to face the same fate, the boy took off. The mouthpiece was rolling on the floor with his hands covering his privates. I picked up his gun where it had fallen, and channeled my best ‘Dirty Harry’; I wanted to shoot but the man was in agony. I yanked him off the floor as he was still nursing the boys. “Come on Mr. Big stuff, Man Up and I’ll play according to Hoyle; but know this, if Judge Bitch out there gets too uppity, all bets are off.” He nodded, not quite having found his vocal chords just yet.
I walked in front of him so he looked like he was in control. I would hear the charges against me, but I was quite prepared to argue in my own defense.
We reached the front of house, where the patrons were, fearfully silent. Amongst them were Lou, Karen and Christian looking frightened to death. Junior Radison stood off to the side holding a rather large Sig Sauer. I still had the smith and Wesson my friend had dropped tucked in to my jeans under my sweatshirt. I wouldn’t use it if I didn’t have to but it was nice to know I had something to defending myself with. My escort having recovered some, pointed me toward my seat at a table set aside for the defendants. Jackie sat beside me but the other chair was empty.
Leena looked at me. “Yes it seems, Daddy Warbucks has yet to grace us with his presence. He’ll show up after one of the boys calls him to inform him we have you and his favorite sister in law in custody. I am sure he will step up to the plate for you, he usually does. In the meantime, we’ll proceed.
These proceedings as they were, reminded me of my years at Camp Minnee Haw-Haw where we would hold a Kangaroo court and charge each other with silly crimes like hogging the shower too long, or some other stupid irritating habit. If found guilty, the defendant had to do another’s chores the next day, or stick our hands in what the judge referred to as ‘guck’ which turned out to be a raunchy mixture of scrapings from that nights dinner. I highly doubted that I would get off that easy this evening, nor would Jackie.
Judge Julie droned on about how things would go, ending in my ultimate demise. The patrons were as assigned jury duty. This was a moot point as her highness had last say and Junior had an itchy trigger finger.
With this in mind, I was going to have a little fun with the judge. I whispered to Jackie, “Trust me I will handle this,”
Jackie nodded. “Why not, my dear sister, the judge, says we’re going to croak anyway.”
“If I may address the court, your Honor; My co defendant and I choose to plead not guilty. However, as we know you to be my co defendant’s sister we request that you excuse yourself from the trial.
“And why would that be?” Julie was looking every bit the diva in her designer duds and four inch heels.
“Fair trial in front of a jury of our peers, but what we are lacking is an unbiased judge; not exactly what you would call an even playing field is it?”
“I never said it was going to be fair. You’re guilty of sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. Your co defendant is charged with being a traitor, turning against her own sister and daddy like that, all out of jealousy of course. Delroy found out the hard way that you don’t mess with family like that. Jackie is taking a lot longer to get the point. She will, as will you and dear Sandy.”
“Yes dear Sandy,” I interrupted. “His only crime was falling for someone of his own age group. You’re just pissed that you’re out of the loop.”
“His crime is alienation of affection and adultery. He was schlepping the old bag while married to me!”
“You had an open marriage! He gave you money to spend as you please, free reign to do whatever and whomever you pleased, which in the real world gave him free reign to follow his own interests. If he happened to find a kindred spirit as he put it, it’s not your place to say who he spent time with. That old bag as you so ineloquently put it was a sweet eighty four year old who loved the shopping channel, playing canasta and lawn bowling. She cross-stitched samplers for her friends. She and Sandy were involved with several philanthropic projects to help the poor and infirm in the city. They didn’t have the time to fool around as you so gracelessly implied. You wouldn’t know this because you were too busy spending your husband’s money on expensive bling, when there are so many people in Toronto don’t have food on the table or a roof over their heads. What you did was totally reprehensible!”
Judge Julie laughed at me here. “Since when is shopping a crime?”
“No, not shopping per se; your crime was hiring a man to do the job for you. You didn’t have the proverbial stones to kill Mrs. Peterson, woman to woman. No, you got a man to go beat a defenseless woman while she ate her cereal. Yes, members of the jury, the deceased was found face down in a bowl of wheat squares!” A collective gasp was uttered from the gallery. I had the jury eating out of my hands.
“Someone want to bring the court back to order and kindly shut the defendant up?”
Jackie was right beside me. “You go girl.”
Professional Reviews
Landlord Crime Solver
Laura Hamilton has the perfect job for an amateur sleuth. It's actually strange that no mystery writer I've read so far has thought of using this job for a main character, but I can't think of one. She's a building manager. Think about it. Here's a person who has access to the apartments of many diverse individuals. She is no doubt aware of exactly which apartments hold nefarious goings on (if any) and which tenants (if any) are up to no good. She is in the perfect position to assist the police in their various lawful investigations--and to conduct her own private snooping by way of that handy little device called a master key.
So, it's not surprising that Laura's day starts out with a good jolt of murder when one of her tenants (sweet-natured octogenarian Ethel Peterson) is discovered head down in her shredded wheat. Laura is quick to assist local Toronto detective Gibbons, much to the consternation of her fiance and co-building manager Gerry. As with so many female sleuths, their men just don't seem to want them to get down and dirty in the investigative trenches--although Gerry certainly doesn't object to Laura assisting him with cleaning vacant apartments, a duty they split democratically.
The investigation into the old lady's demise takes a quick and delightful turn when Laura and Gerry meet the dead woman's sweetheart--Sandy. Although he was smitten with the deceased, the dapper old Sandy is unfortunately tied in a very legal way to a former Las Vegas showgirl named Leena, who gives new meaning to the term "jealous wife." Even so, Laura and Gerry soon manage to befriend Sandy--and he, them. The group gather together to plan an appropriate way to memorialize the dead lady.
No sooner do they start implementing their plans, but accidents begin to occur, people are shot and killed, and it soon appears that people interested in investigating Ethel Peterson's death are being warned to mind their own business in no uncertain terms. Of course, Laura cannot be threatened. It must be her training as a building manager that makes her so daring.
OVER HER DEAD BODY is a fun, fast-moving mystery. The plot is tight and the character dialogue rings true. I was immediately involved and my interest was maintained until the end. The only real complaint I have is the lack of red herrings; you really know who dunnit, just not how it will be solved. Now, I'm wondering what Laura's next adventure will be--and which apartment in her building will hold the clues.
A CHARMING KILLER
I absolutely adore Karen Vaughan's character Laura Hamilton. I funny, adventurous, sexy, women, who just happens to come up with one murderer to many.
I won't give you a teaser, for I don't like spoilers, suffice to say this book is a truly delightful read, with some real twists to it.
