Cover Your Assets

August 22, 2005
Smiley's amusing second mystery to feature L.A. business consultant Tucker Sinclair (after 2004's False Profits
) offers appealing characters and semiplausible Hollywood hijinx. When someone stabs to death Tucker's college heartthrob, Evan Brice, a failed poet turned successful film agent, in the seedy apartment he'd rented for quiet "work" sessions, the police call on Tucker. Tucker severed all ties with Evan after catching him in flagrante with her best friend, Cissy, whom he later married, but a love poem to Tucker discovered at the crime scene suggests Evan had his regrets. When Tucker pays a condolence call on her old friend, Cissy begs her to close up the illicit apartment. Cissy, as the chief suspect, has further need of Tucker's help in convincing the skeptical police that she's innocent. Predictable mayhem ensues after a prima donna soap star, one of Evan's ex-lovers, leads Tucker to a biker bar, a hostile environment for a nosey parker. Fans of Janet Evanovich (who praised False Profits
) will find a lot to like in this entertaining romp. Agent, Scott Miller at Trident Media Group
. 4-city author tour
.

November 1, 2005
Cissy Brice enlists her erstwhile best friend, Tucker Sinclair, to find her husband's killer. Poet and Hollywood agent Evan Brice (once Tucker's fiancé , until she caught him with Cissy) was murdered at his seedy Venice retreat. Because Evan was a flagrant philanderer, the suspects are legion -and include Cissy. Management consultant and sometime sleuth Tucker, assisted by her mother's dog, Muldoon, walks a fine line between helpful citizen and police obstructionist as she stalks the killer. The challenge is not to alienate hunky LAPD Detective Joe Deegan, whom she's persuaded to escort her to her ex-husband's upcoming wedding. Though Joe isn't exactly her boyfriend, appearance is everything as Tucker works her way through the possible suspects and lives to sleuth another day with her precious Porsche Boxster intact. This is the second in Smiley's ("False Profits") amusing new series featuring an unwitting sleuth, her petulant West Highland terrier sidekick, and crimes that could only happen in L.A. Fans of Janet Evanovich and Sue Grafton will love this smart, feisty new addition to the genre. Smiley lives in Los Angeles. [See Prepub Mystery, "LJ" 7/05.]" -Susan Clifford Braun, Aerospace Corp., El Segundo, CA"

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2005
Feisty Tucker Sinclair is back in Smiley's engaging follow-up to " False Profits" (2004). The L.A. financial advisor has left her former firm and started her own company out of her beachfront bungalow. Eccentric characters from the last adventure are back, including Tucker's actress mother, Pookie, a poster child for the New Age, and her current flame, Bruce, who's much better at feng shui than intelligent conversation. Also residing at chez Tucker is Muldoon, the Westie in need of Weight Watchers, who loves cashmere and Quarter Pounders with cheese. When her former fiance, entertainment agent Evan Brice, is murdered, Tucker feels grief--and is conflicted about seeing his wife, Cissy, Tucker's best friend until she stole Evan. The softhearted Tucker agrees to help Cissy, who is accused of murdering her husband. Myriad suspects unveil themselves quickly, from the actress Evan represented to the young girl who cleaned his apartment. Though a bit darker than Smiley's debut, this one succeeds on the same merits: snappy prose, a compelling heroine, and a healthy dose of suspense. A series that promises staying power.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)