REVIEW: WATCHING THE DETECTIVES, BY JULIE MULHERN

Ellison Russell wanted a decorator, not a corpse. Too bad she finds Mrs. White in the study killed with a revolver. Things go from bad to worse when she finds Mr. White in the dining room killed with a candlestick. With so many bodies, is it any wonder Detective Anarchy Jones’ new partner considers Ellison a suspect?

With the country club gossips talking a mile a minute, an unexpected cocktail party, a visit from Aunt Sis, and a romantic decision, Ellison hardly has time to think about murder. Unfortunately, the killer has plenty of time to think about her.

My Thoughts: In this fifth book of the series, Ellison is her usual wise-cracking self who talks to her Mr. Coffee in the mornings and regularly resists the push and pull of her mother’s directives.

Her teenage daughter Grace is as feisty as ever, but she is not like the annoying teens we often see in books. She has a layer of maturity that can only come from being Ellison’s daughter.

Watching the Detectives is set in the 1970s, in St. Louis, Missouri, like the previous books in the series, but this book introduces some new elements: spousal abuse in the country club set, something Ellison was not expecting. Another new element: a detective partnering with Anarchy, an annoying man named Detective Peters. From the descriptions of him and his crumpled trench coat, he could have been a stand-in for Colombo. Except that he lacks that detective’s amiable approach.

As always, the red herrings kept me guessing until the very end…and then Detective Anarchy Jones rides in to save the day. 5 stars for this delightful and fun read.

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