Gilt Trip

September 30, 2013
Chutzpah and coincidence play large roles in Childs's 11th Scrapbooking mystery (after 2012's Postcards from the Dead), co-authored with Orgain (Formula for Murder). This Big Easy romp starts with a glitzy party for Jerry Earl Leland, welcomed home from prison by his high-maintenance wife, Margo. After Carmela discovers Jerry's corpse stuffed in a clothes dryer, she accepts Margo's plea to investigate. Then she promises long-suffering policeman Bobby Gallant she won't interfere even while plotting her next move behind his back. With the assistance of her man-hungry friend, Ava Gruiex, and her knowledge of local movers and shakers, the impetuous Carmela gallops off in the wrong direction, frequently asking herself why she let herself get involved. A second murder raises the stakes. Unfortunately, it's never clear what the motive was nor why the murders were committed in such an outré fashion. The scrapbooking tips are a bonus, and the recipes sound delicious. Agent: Samuel Pinkus, Philologus Procurator, Inc.