What Stella Wants

Elizabeth "Bitsy" Margolies nee Blankenship, a high maintenance airhead from high school calls private investigator Stella Valocchi and her beloved business and bedroom partner Jake Carpenter, pleading for their help. Realizing nothing has changed with Bitsy since she last saw her years ago as the woman is near hysteria, Stella agrees, but before she and Jake can do anything; their newest client apparently dies in a car explosion. However, to their shock, Bitsy still lives and their case turns screwier. The CIA suspects that Bitsy is involved with chemical weapons and Eastern European spies believe that Stella and Jake know more than they say so plan to use deadly tactics to obtain the information. Stella believes she is the center of all espionage activity in the world as spies from everywhere converge on her in their quest to find Bitsy and from her the chemical weapons. When Stella gets in the groove almost at the onset, the reader requires wearing a seatbelt as the story line turns ultra fast-paced. Stella and Jake are terrific as the effort to help Bitsy starts out of control and then chaos ensues. Aunt Lucy adds some humor with her seemingly psychic abilities (at least according to an amazed Jake). Nancy Bartholomew has another winner in her Stella What readers want Ms. Bartholomew provides with this fine private investigator thriller. Harriet Klausner