Nothing But Gossip

I picked this book up as something to read on the plane, not knowing or even hearing of Ms. Kellogg ever before. But, once I started reading it, I just couldn't put it down. I was very impressed with Ms. Kellogg's style--she gives her main character, Lilly Bennett, such insight and wisdom into all the other brilliant characters that inhabit the story, I was enraptured to the end. I love the setting and general feel of the book- the laid-back, yet sophisticated upper-class western that the book is set in was a breath of fresh air from what seems like every other stuffy, old-school murder mystery dealing with the upper class.I'm working on reading all the rest of Ms. Kellogg's work now, and I have to say that it just keeps getting better. Kudos to you, Marne!

Forget the plot -- read Kellogg's books for her wordsmithing. In this novel, sleuth Lily really comes into her own with her on-target marksmanship rivaled only by her pinpoint accuracy in assessing the world as we know it. Her comments on an indecent exposure case are worth the price of admission. And how refreshing it is to have a protagonist who doesn't cut her own hair with nail scissors but who can still shoot-em-up with the best of 'em.

Heiress, private sleuth and U.S. Marshall, Lilly Bennett, is finally getting married, an event which her mother had almost given up on. After more than a couple decades of trying to find the right man, Lilly is marrying Richard...who is everything a woman could want. She takes on the case of a murdered oil heiress the week of her fabulous wedding and puts not only her life and that of her brother's on the line, but is expected to attend a number of high society pre-marital parties. Can she do it all and still keep the love of her life? Lilly has fun skewering both ends of the political spectrum as well as societal mores. A professional woman sleuth...with a big difference.

She is the President of Bennett Security as well as the Federal Marshal at the tourist attraction of Bennett's Fist. As the extremely successful Lily Bennett nears fifty, she falls in love for the first time in her life. In six days, she plans to marry the man of her dreams. Ever since Lily became a cop instead of a debutante at twenty-two, her mother has prayed every night for this day to occur. Even as her calendar is filled with last minute social events and wedding details, Lily is also working on a case. A power struggle between two half-sisters over control of Rutherford Oil has led to one of the siblings being shot to death. The deceased's spouse Wade Gilhooey hires Lily to prove that he did not kill his wife. Lily quickly learns that the victim had many enemies, but things turn personal and ugly when an attempt to kill Lily's brother occurs because he has information that someone does not want leaked. With her plate boiling over, readers must wonder whether Lily will make it to the church in one piece. Fans will enjoy the believable changes that love has made to Lily, who remains one of the best female sleuths in nineties literature. However, what makes NOTHING BUT GOSSIP click is the juxtaposition between murder scenes and wedding events. Mame Davis Kellog takes a rather risky chance with her popular sleuth, but succeeds in freshening up her series.Harriet Klausner