Chain a Lamb Chop to the Bed

For diet club leader Ellie Bernstein life is just a bowl of cherries -- low calorie, of course, and occasionally with pits. Ellie and her significant other, homicide detective Peter Miller, make a likeable couple. Among the off-center characters percolating through this story Peter is a tower of strength and good sense. Ellie is a walking, talking database of pop culture -- movies made, songs sung, books written. Peter listens with one ear, although nothing really gets past him. The one time he leaves Ellie on her own, through no fault of his, she falls into the clutches of someone with murder in mind. How she saves herself is both endearing and funny, blood spatters notwithstanding The story begins at a reception in Colorado Springs for artist Garrett Halliday whose wife, Heather, is a recluse due to facial disfigurement suffered in a fire. Halliday has made his reputation by painting her again and again, but with her face unmarred. Center of attention at the reception is Dessert Song, a painting of a lion ogling a woman in a bathtub. And a killer lurks ... Trouble follows Peter and Ellie to a ranch near Aspen where they hope for a stress-free week's vacation and a lot of quality romantic time. Fat chance. The story takes off in half a dozen directions. There's a lot going on in this novel. It's like a cocktail party, with sexual overtones and dark undercurrents below a bubbly, shiny surface as people come and go, each with a private agenda. By the time Ellie and Peter got settled in at the ranch, I could have used a Cast of Characters. Absent that, I designed my own hub-and-spoke wheel to keep track of events.

In Colorado Springs, Ellie Bernstein heads Weight Winners, a support group for people trying to lose the pounds. She and her lover homicide detective Peter Miller attend an art show displaying the works of renowned local artist Garrett Halliday, who Ellie posed for when she was kindly put Rubenesque. At the gala, Ellie learns that Garrett's wife Heather was badly burned in a suspicious fire that destroyed some of his paintings three years ago and rarely makes public appearances anymore. Peter takes Ellie to the almost empty Snowmass Dude Ranch in Aspen for a week of R & R. However, their vacation is disturbed when the corpse of Garrett is found and Heather is missing. Unable to believe that Heather would kill her beloved spouse, Ellie gets involved only to learn that Rudy Kessler, who advertised the selling of a Halliday masterpiece, has been killed. If the culprit learns she is the model of one drawing that she also owns, she could be the next victim but she advertises anyway in the hope of baiting the killer. CHAIN A LAMB CHOP TO THE BED is an intriguing amateur sleuth tale with elements of a police procedural to enhance the who-done-it. Ellie ignores Peter's advice, which is why he calls her Norrie short for Eleanor as much as she "ignores his advice". She cannot ignore the murder-disappearance of her friends because she cares too much so she decides to investigate, a character trait that is as endearing as it is dangerous. Readers gain some insight into the heroine especially her careful diet as she reflects back to her days of being much heavier. Though the mystery is slow to develop, fans will appreciate Ellie's escapades before, during and after her investigation. Harriet Klausner