Barking!: A Grace Smith Investigation

From Publishers Weekly Those with a taste for oddball working-class female PIs should go for Grace Smith, heroine of three earlier mysteries from British author Evans (Who Killed Marilyn Monroe?) and now making her slightly zany American debut. Grace loves her tacky Seatoun beachfront with its perpetual fried-food smell. One morning while in pursuit of her friend Arlene's perennially flatulent and spoiled-to-death bulldog, Waterloo, and wielding a large beef bone for bait, she accidentally bashes the head of Stuart Roberts, a stammering accountant. Learning of her occupation, Stuart confides his fear that he may have killed someone and asks her help. He offers tapes of hypnotherapy sessions describing events that occurred almost 30 years before he was born to support his suspicions. Then, facing eye surgery, Arlene leaves Waterloo in Grace's less-than-enthusiastic care. The animal soon becomes an unlikely hero and instant media darling by rescuing rock star Rick Alaimo's small daughter from drowning when Grace snoops about an estate once owned by Stuart's distant relatives and now occupied by the celebrity and his supremely dysfunctional family. Caught off guard when the mild-mannered numbers cruncher appears in their midst, she begins to have second thoughts about her client as she digs deeper into his tangled past. Evans's skill at placing people solidly on their own turf, be it manor house or beach cottage, keeps the quirkier aspects of the case on a firm footing. Mystery Guild Book Club selection. (Jan. 1)Forecast: "England's answer to Janet Evanovich" states the cover blurb from the TLS, but since Grace lacks the extended family that accounts for a lot of Stephanie Plum's appeal, Evanovich fans may not be so enchanted.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal In her U.S. debut, Grace Smith, one of Britain's more unnerving private eyes, raises an eyebrow when asked to verify that her client did indeed murder a woman in a previous life. Armed with tapes of the client's regression therapy, Grace begins some painstaking work while at the same time minding an unruly dog for a friend. A sprightly old lady, a large manor house fallen upon hard times, the colorful owner of a local "tip," and scintillating support characters all handled with humor and aplomb recommend this to all collections. [A Mystery Guild Book Club selection.]Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.