Murder Between the Covers (Dead-End Job Mysteries, Book 2)

Helen takes a job in a bookstore. Life seems to be settling into a routine. She has a cozy home, an interesting job, a boyfriend, and friends at her apartment complex. That all changes when her apartment is swarmed by termites, her boss is murdered, her boyfriend turns into a jerk, and her good friend is arrested. Helen and her landlady systematically investigate until they find the killer.

Helen has been working at a bookstore, which introduces a colorful cast of characters. As usual, mayhem begins, and Helen must solve the mystery to keep a friend from being accused of murder. If you haven't read this series, you should. I look forward to getting to know the secondary characters more. There are several that could have a storyline written around them. Highly recommended.

Once again Helen is working a dead-end job that allows her to be paid in cash under the table. She is hiding out from the law and her ex-husband. This time she's working at Page Turners Bookstore. With her love of books, she thought this would be the perfect job. Wrong. Not only is the caliber of customers low, but her boss, Page Turner III, is the pits. Plus the stores appear to be on a downward spiral. Her apartment complex, The Coronado Tropic Apartments, become infested with termites. The residents are all forced to move out for the weekend while the complex is tented and bombed. Her landlady treats Helen to an enjoyable weekend at the beach. Her new boyfriend, Dr. Rich, comes to spend it with her. But, when they return to the Coronado, they find Page Turner III dead with a knife in his back, on a bed in one of the apartments. How could this happen? Did anyone at the Coronado even know him? Plus, the apartments had been locked down and tented. Suspects are not is short supply. Helen's friend Peggy is arrested. Apparently she had been engaged to Page some time before and had threatened him. Helen investigates to help get Peggy released. She feels Peggy knows something but won't tell her. Could it have been his wife, one of the female authors he took advantage of, or one of Helen's co-workers? I really enjoy this series. Helen is a lot of fun, and the characters she works and lives with always add to the story. Fort Lauderdale is a terrific setting, too. There are plenty of twists and turns before the killer is revealed so that it is not easy to figure out who the killer is. This series is a great cozy series. I highly recommend it.

If you like mysteries with realistic characters.....if you have a sense of humor....if you like to read about books....then you will really like this book.It's right up there with the Stephanie Plum series.

Once upon a time Helen was happily married, living in a mini-mansion and earning over six figures a year as a number cruncher. One day she came home early and discovered her husband in bed with their next door neighbor. After divorcing him she went on the run because she wouldn't obey a court order involving alimony.She now lives in a tall old building in Ft Lauderdale working dead end jobs that pay her in cash. Her latest job is at Page Turners as a bookseller. The owner is a slimy married man who cheats on his wife in the back room of the bookstore. It comes as no surprise to anybody that somebody kills him but what shocks Helen is that his body is found in her neighbor and good friend Peggy's apartment. The police arrest Peg because she once had an affair with him and she vowed to get even with him for cheating on her. Helen is positive that Peggy is innocent and goes to some outrageous lengths to prove it.Elaine Viets is a great writer whose characterizations are simply superb. In MURDER BETWEEN THE COVERS, she has created a tough, independent yet very vulnerable heroine who comes across as a believable person who stands by her principles even when they cost her everything. The victim in this case is so evil readers will wonder why someone didn't kill him sooner.Harriet Klausner