Death Was the Other Woman

In Linda L. Richards' Death Was the Other Woman, Kitty Pangborn had no intention of becoming a shamus (private eye), but when she landed a job as secretary to hard-drinking, haunted Great War vet Dexter J. Theroux, she's on the case. Kitty and Dex traipse across Prohibition- and Depression-era Los Angeles on the trail of Rita Heppelwaite, mistress of a powerful mob figure, and the web of lies that Rita spins. Kitty makes a believable narrator as a girl whose diminished circumstances have left her with a newfound sense of independence (Kitty's reunion with her private high school chums was a reminder of the rapid reversal of fortunes that the Crash of '29 inflicted on wealthy families). Not one to wallow in her misfortunes, she goes out and lands a job as a secretary (since the years of etiquette training and upper-class mannerisms don't come in handy in the working world). She and Dex make a good team as she understands his dark, alcohol-fueled melancholy; she keeps him straight when he's too drunk to drive, which is frequently. However, theirs is strictly a working relationship, and Kitty's love life is nonexistent. Populated by a fascinating cast of characters including Mustard, a "procurement" specialist who may have mob ties, the haunted Dex, Rita and the glitzy world of upscale bootlegger clubs, and several criminal elements, the main character might as well be 1930s LA. Chock-full of 1930s period details about the architecture and culture of Los Angeles (vintage cars, diners, districts, early highway travel), Death Was the Other Woman also revels in its 1930s vocabulary and noir trappings that accent a gritty, fast-paced story into the seedy underbelly of organized crime during Prohibition (and a microcosm of the Depression, as Kitty's story is a riches-to-rags one). Fans of pulp stories and film noir will find a lot to love here.

Set in 1931's L.A., this detective novel is narrated from the assistant's (Katherine Pangborn) point-of-view. L.A.'s press boasts that the Depression hasn't hit their city, but Katherine goes up against some unsavory charaters from the city's gangsterdom. Katherine (she hates the nickname "Kitty") makes for an engaging protagonist and her boss, P.I. Dex Theroux, is lucky to have her as his sidekick. She's observant, curious, and when the situation calls for it, tough as nails. The violence quota is kept to a minimum just as the detective books written in 1931 did. Terrific retro front cover art adds a dash of color. I also liked the cityscape described with the buildings, streets, and architecture not only in L.A., but on the sidetrip to San Francisco. Good backstory on Katherine gives her character depth. Enjoyable read on a rainy afternoon.

Linda L. Richards' DEATH WAS THE OTHER WOMAN provides veteran narrator Joyce Bean's smooth and compelling style as it tells of one Kitty, who needs a job and finds her hands full as a secretary to a tough PI in a challenging world. Kitty's efforts to keep her boss - and her salary - safe result in some dangerous action perfect for fans of the gritty hard-boiled detective listen.

Kitty Pangborn was raised to be a prim and proper lady of the house, meant to marry well and plan the perfect party. When the stock market crashed in 1929, and her father leaped from a window leaving her broke and without real-world skills, she had to make her own way. She may now only be Girl Friday to Los Angeles private investigator Dex, but when his bungling of the job puts her salary in jeopardy, Kitty will step up to solve the case on her own. Someone has to. I loved the voice of this book. You can almost hear one of the old silver screen actresses talking right off the page. Her wonderful first-person narrative was so true to voice as to lose those of us who aren't familiar with words like "mook" and "spondulix." But she helps us out with enough description that we can figure it out, if not exactly, in general. This was an especially fun read. I enjoyed the strong heroine and that her boss, though bumbling, was not entirely an idiot. And I really enjoyed learning more about LA during prohibition, too. The cast of shady characters was so great as to leave me completely in the dark about whodunit until it was time to know. There are so many twists and turns in this book that I even started suspecting the good guys. Whose side was everyone on, anyway? I couldn't help but to just keep turning pages. Even if you aren't typically into the mystery genre, I encourage you to pick up this book. Though there are many dead bodies, the book was not at all gruesome and considering all the two- and three-timing that was going on, and talk of melting lipstick, it was also surprisingly clean. Armchair Interviews says: Highly recommended.

In 1931 Los Angeles cynical private investigator Dex Theroux runs a two person office. Whereas he does the leg work and takes the beatings, Kitty Pangborn runs the office and occasionally does safe field work. Dex is unsure why Kitty remains with him, as paying jobs are infrequent and he knows he is an alcoholic though with good cause. Wealthy Rita Heppelwaite hires Dex to report on what her married boyfriend, Harrison Dempsey is doing. Thinking this is an easy case and needing help on surveillance, Dex brings Kitty with him. However, their prey proves to be someone else's prey as the sleuth and his assistant finds the murdered corpse of Harrison. Dex wants to make money from his affluent client so he tells Kitty to say nothing about the dead body for now. Kitty is appalled by her boss' disregard of the deceased so she defies Dex and calls the cops. However, to her shock she soon learns that Harrison is alive making her wonder what is going on. With Madeline Carter on temporary hiatus, Linda L. Richards introduces readers to a new fascinating detective team in a fine historical mystery. The story line is fun, but not so much due to the mystery of Harrison and the corpse or depression Era L.A., but instead because of the bickering relationship between unethical Dex and the moralistic Kitty. They make the tale entertaining. Harriet Klausner