Pressed to Kill: A Mandy Dyer Mystery (Mandy Dyer Mysteries)
In Johnson's sparkling eighth cozy (after 2004'sTaking the Wrap) starring Mandy Dwyer, the Denver dry cleaner and amateur sleuth observes a colorful, feminine wardrobe transformation in her previously no-nonsense customer, Ardith Brewster, just before the 40-something woman turns up strangled. Ardith had mentioned a natty new boyfriend she met at Mandy's open house, so Mandy searches her database of customers for possible suspects. Meanwhile, the police connect this murder with three earlier area homicides. Mandy's investigation generates a long list of potentially lethal Lotharios—including her boyfriend, PI Travis Kincaid—all with a penchant for carefully creased blue jeans. An oddball cast of characters including Mandy's ditzy clerk, her mother (married six times) and Betty the former bag lady provide humor, and an attempt on Mandy's life brings the action to a head in an imaginative showdown.(Jan.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.