Whose Number Is Up, Anyway?

In Syosset, Long Island interior designer Teddi Bayer is shopping when she finds a body in the King Kullen freezer. The police believe the victim died of natural causes as he was seeing a doctor on a health matter. Not long afterward the doctor is also found dead. Whereas Teddi believes the coincidence is too great for anything but foul play, her lover detective Drew Scoones thinks the opposite although he investigates. However, Teddi, who has solved homicide mysteries before (see What GOES WITH BLOOD RED, ANYWAY; WHO MAKES UP THESE RULES, ANYWAY? and WHY IS MURDER ON THE MENU, ANYWAY?), makes her own inquiries. Meanwhile her mom keeps using I told you so as to why you never shop at chains; her daughter is angry at her because she wants Teddi and her daddy back together even though he tried to have her mom committed; Drew wants her to stay off the case; and her former spouse still spouts that she is "Long Island's Most Dangerous Decorator" as she designs a bowling alley and tries to avoid falling in the gutter. The latest Teddi "anyway" amateur sleuth is an amusing Long Island whodunit. Teddi prefers investigating the case rather than deal with the demands of her two bread generations (mom and daughter) as facing a killer has proven easier than being caught by either of her female relatives. Fans will enjoy Stevi Mittman's lighthearted romp as Teddi's dysfunctional family reminds her whose life is hers anyway. Harriet Klausner