No Gun Intended

November 2, 2015
Burke’s zany sequel to 2013’s Jump the Gun takes screwball rookie sleuth Annabelle “Bea” Starkey from New York City to Portland, Ore., to visit her parents. Unfortunately, at the airport baggage claim, somebody walks off with Bea’s backpack, and Bea goes home with her foul-mouthed mom and sanguine dad and an identical-looking backpack containing a gun—which turns out to be a murder weapon. The plot thickens when a young woman phones, claiming she has Bea’s backpack, wants to meet, and is quickly dispatched into a coma by a mysterious mugger. Boyfriend and Asta Investigations partner Mickey Paxton, who’s working a case back in New York, can’t get away to help out, so she’s on her own. With Bea’s quips, Mom Starkey’s expletives, crazy plot twists, red herrings, and copious movie references, this is one mad, mad, mad, mad mystery. Agent: Anna Olswanger, Liza Dawson Associates.

November 1, 2015
In her second outing (following Jump the Gun, 2013), Annabelle Starkey is looking forward to a relaxing visit with her parents in Portland, Oregon. That plan is foiled when she shows up with the wrong backpackone that has a gun in it. In spite of the fact that she and her ex-cop boyfriend just opened their own NYC detective agency, Annabelle is not a fan of firearms. Fellow PI Luis and boyfriend Mickey fly in to join Annabelle, her professor father, and her foulmouthed physician mother as they look for the plane passenger who seems to be stalking Annabelle, as well as the person who assaulted the backpack's original owner. The unlikely entourage traipses through hospitals, hotels, and pool halls on their quest. Annabelle's constant movie references can come across as contrived rather than quirky, and the mystery's resolution requires a backstory that is never explained. That being said, Annabelle's family and friends are a fun-loving bunch, and at just over 200 pages, this caper is an enjoyable diversion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)