Rhythm & Clues

September 19, 2016
In Jaffarian’s fun, frenzied 11th mystery featuring plucky plus-size paralegal Odelia Grey (after 2015’s A Body to Spare), Odelia’s mother, Grace, for whom troublemaking is as normal as breathing, is concerned that Boaz Shankleman, a fellow resident of her Long Beach, Calif., retirement community, is missing. Boaz turns out to be the front man of a long-dissolved band that the young Odelia once adored. Others soon get into the act, including Odelia’s worried husband, who’s away on a business trip; a jilted niece looking for comfort; a woman blamed for breaking up the band; a high-powered attorney who’s also Odelia’s boss; a corrupt band manager; a security guard with a shady past; an Armenian gang; a housing manager trying to get Grace evicted; and a man with a criminal background who works for good out of the view of the police. Got that? The whole thing is a fluffy mélange of danger, humor, and surprises. Don’t worry about logic, just enjoy the ride. Agent: Whitney Lee, Fielding Agency.