This first book in the 'Elle Harrison' series - set in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - is a fun cozy mystery with a touch of the paranormal.
*****
Even before her husband Charlie was killed, second-grade teacher Elle Harrison liked to read the obituaries every day - perhaps compelled by her secret wish that Charlie was dead.
Having learned that Charlie was a liar and adulterer who had stolen her sizable inheritance, Elle had given Charlie the boot, and their divorce was about to be finalized.
Elle had even joked about murdering Charlie with her three best friends: Susan, a defense attorney; Jenny, a wealthy housewife; and Becky, a kindergarten teacher.
Susan had advised an overdose of blood pressure medicine - so it looked like an accident; Jenny had suggested shooting - so it looked like an RGB (robbery gone bad); and Becky had advocated poison.....because that wasn't too violent. In the end, Charlie was stabbed in the back.
Elle discovered Charlie's body in her house, a few days after the jocular 'how to murder Charlie discussion.'
Elle had gone to a club, where she'd sipped a few drinks and flirted with an amateur magician named Joel, who'd given her a red rose. Upon arriving home, Elle smelled Charlie's 'Old Spice' cologne in the house and felt a light kiss on the back of her neck, but - turning around - didn't see anyone. Elle even heard Charlie murmur her nickname, 'Elf.'
Elle called out repeatedly and strode from room to room, convinced that Charlie was playing a bizarre joke....especially when the red rose moved from the kitchen counter to the kitchen floor to the bedroom. Frustrated, angry, and getting a headache, Elle went to the study to get a drink.....and found Charlie's dead, blood-soaked body on the couch, where - according to an autopsy - it had been for HOURS.
Of course Elle became a suspect for the murder since she was the victim's spouse, and Charlie was killed in HER house with HER kitchen knife. Unfortunately, Elle was hazy about her movements on the night of the murder, both because she'd been drinking AND because she had a habit of 'spacing out' when she was bored or stressed - a behavior her friends called 'pulling an Elle.'
So - for all she knew - Elle might actually have stabbed Charlie!
After Charlie dies, a number of odd events occur.
- Charlie's business partner, Derek, claims Charlie took something from the firm, and asks Elle if he can search her house. (She refuses.)
- Charlie's employee, Sherry, confronts Elle at the funeral and makes outlandish accusations. Sherry then proceeds to stalk and harass Elle.
- Elle finds evidence that Charlie and his friends were involved in an unsavory, illegal enterprise.
Elle's lawyer friend Susan represents her, and warns the schoolteacher to lay low, but Elle doesn't listen. In an attempt to solve the case herself, Elle bumbles around, finds more dead bodies, and almost becomes a victim herself.
Along the way Elle does some very foolish things, like destroying A LOT of evidence and neglecting to tell the cops about someone she spots near a crime scene. In fact Elle's behavior invites the observation 'there's a village somewhere missing its idiot.'
In any case, Elle's friends are supportive; Charlie's ghost (or Elle's subconscious) is accusatory; and there's plenty of action....and a lot of laughs.
In the end, the crimes are solved and all becomes clear, except whether or not Charlie's ghost is real or a product of Elle's imagination. I vote real. 🙂
This is an enjoyable start to the Elle Harrison series, recommended to fans of cozies.
Rating: 3 stars
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