Dating Dead Men

Wollie Shelley's life is already packed full. She's undergoing evaluation to turn her Welcome! greeting card store into a Willkommen! store so she can buy it. And she's agreed to take part in a dating study, meaning she must go on 40 dates in 60 days after they've been screen by her friends. The last thing she needs is that call from her brother. P.B. is paranoid schizophrenic and living at a psychiatric hospital. When he calls saying he's witnessed a murder, Wollie doesn't take it too seriously. Still, she decides to head out after her date that night to investigate...and almost runs over the dead body in the driveway. Going inside to make sure he's ok, she is kidnapped by a handsome "Doc." Her attraction getting the better of her, she tries to help out Doc, and winds up with various criminals hot on her trail. Will this effect her store getting its upgrade? And can she keep to the dating schedule her friends have set up for her? Will she even be alive to finish the study? I initially thought the mystery would surround the dating project and was mildly disappointed when I realized it wouldn't. That didn't last for long, however, as I was soon swept up in the plot. It's a bit overwhelming at first with lots of characters and sub-plots to keep straight, but I soon got everything together and just hung on for the ride. Wollie is a great character, as are her friends. While I have a bit of a problem believing how she handled things at first, that might just be because there's no way I'd handle things that way. By the second half of the book, I really didn't care about that any more and just settled in for the fun. And the plot was great. The dates took on an almost surreal aspect to them as she was trying to stay one step ahead of the bad guys while on them. And the story kept me guessing until the end. This first book is a winner. The only downside is I don't see how Ms. Kozak can possibly top it. Still, I look forward to seeing her try.

So I'm reading this book on an airplane laughing aloud several times a page and I look up to see at least three people staring at me.One lady points at the book and gives an encouraging nod so I show her the cover.She holds up her hand,gives the "hold it right there" sign, opens her laptop and takes down the title. Someplace in Phoenix is a woman laughing aloud and thanking me.It was nothing.Really. OK, you're welcome.

In 'Dating Dead Men', Harley Jane Kozak marries Murder and Romance, then gives birth to good clean fun. With a heroine in desperate need of a "What Not to Wear" intervention, and a hero who may or may not be the good guy, this story moves the reader forward so fast they'll get page-turning papercuts. Like every good novel in this genre, the clues are well paced and sneaky enough to fool you every time. The characters are so three-dimensional that after romping with them for a few chapters you want to have a big dinner that includes them all. I'm on the waiting list for the sequel!

This is a great read! And a grand-slam outta the park for first-timer Kozak!With abundant wit, humor, and brains, Wollie Shelley takes on L.A., her franchiser, her best friend, serial-dating, her take-no-prisoners assistant, nutso brother, and a sexy kidnapping stranger in this wonderful mystery romp.Yay! for Wollie. Yay! for Kozak. Can't wait for the next one.