Fat Chance

February 9, 2009
An amusing, at times strident narrative voice drives Pollero's third Palm Beach puzzler (after 2008's Knock 'em Dead
). Pert paralegal Finley Anderson Tanner is stunned when her divalicious mother, Cassidy Johnstone, sells her the beach-front house once owned by Finley's late beloved stepdad, Jonathan Tanner, for $25,000. Discouraged by the renovations needed on the property, Finley finds support from such friends as interior designer Sam and annoying if hunky PI Liam McGarrity. Nothing prepares her, however, for the literal skeleton in the closet—the remains of a girl clutching a medallion Finley gave Jonathan when she was a child. Finley's frantic efforts to stay romantic and fashion forward while seeking to identify a homicide victim and catch a nefarious killer make for a jittery mix that doesn't always jell.