Murder Bone by Bone

A woman, who has never had children, has to be either very brave or very stupid to agree to baby sit for four young children, one of which is still in diapers, while their parents go on a much needed vacation. Liz Sul livan is a courageous woman, brave enough to go to prison for trying to kill her abusive husband, strong enough to make a decent life for herself when she left jail. Yet Liz seems to draw attempted murder and death to her as if she were a magnet. Even the house she is presently inherited and lives in came to her because the owner was killed, a fact that made her a prime suspect in the homicide investigation (MURDER IN A NICE NEIGHBORHOOD). Liz becomes caught up in another murder investigation when two of the children she is watching dig up some old bones that were uncovered when the Department of Public Works were repairing the streets. Liz's next door neighbor and want to be suitor becomes involved in the case and even moves into the house as a bodyguard when the excavation leader of the murder site is found unconscious due to a blow to the head. In between, Liz find herself in the middle of the investigation, this time as a person who wants the killer caught before the children are trapped in a deadly cross fire. The Liz Sullivan mystery series is American cozy at its best, but it is even more than that. It is the on-going tale of a woman's recovery from the abuse she suffered at the hands of a maniac. Lora Roberts incorporates the traditional cozy and amateur detective novel into a sociological analysis of the long term effects of spousal abuse. She does a magnificent job in both her endeavors, making it almost impossible to wait for the next installment in this uniquely fascinating series. Harriet Klausner ---