Done to Death

May 19, 2014
Atkins’s middling third cozy featuring Lil Campbell and Ada Strauss (after 2012’s Best Place to Die) finds the Grenville, Conn., couple rushing headlong into the unreal world of reality TV. Producer Barry Stromstein is facing an ultimatum from his demanding boss, talk show host and media mogul Lenore Parks, to produce new ideas. Then, he has a brainstorm: “Antiques Roadshow meets The Hunger Games on the set of Gilmore Girls.” During a conference call with Lil in connection with her antique column, “Cash or Trash,” he is also charmed by Ada, whom he thinks has star potential. Chaos ensues at Lenore’s company after she’s shot to death in her dressing room, with Barry seeing professional salvation in getting Final Reckoning, which will feature Ada hosting estate sales of the recently departed, on the air. Ada and Lil, however, are more interested in finding Lenore’s killer. Atkins scores some good points off reality TV and celebrity-fueled empires in this otherwise tepid whodunit. Agent: Al Zuckerman, Writers House.

July 15, 2014
The show must go on when atelevision hostess's murder sends a sleuthing couple behind the scenes todetermine which of her enemies had the most to gain from her demise.In their time together, Ada Strauss and Lil Campbell have faced more than thechallenges of being an aging same-sex couple. They've had to turn amateurinvestigators countless times (Best Place to Die, 2013, etc.) to solvethe mysteries that keep popping up in little Grenville, Connecticut. When Lilreceives an email from Lenore Says producer Barry Stromstein asking formore information about her "Cash or Trash" antiques column, she has no ideathat more of the same awaits. Barry, under pressure to pitch somethingdifferent to demanding host Lenore Parks, has taken inspiration from Ada andLil about how to save his job. After a quick meeting with the two, he comes upwith a mix of "Antiques Roadshow meets The Hunger Games on theset of Gilmore Girls" whereby each estate sale turns into a fiercecompetition. With Ada in place as the host, Barry is sure Final Reckoning will be a hit even though Lenore's unimpressed. Theshow's barely gone into production, however, when Lenore is gunned down in herdressing room. Though suspicion falls on Barry, whose relationship with themercurial host was less than ideal, public speculation is that Lenore'sunstable daughter, Rachel, may have had a hand in her murder. With Lenore'sother child, Richard, serving as both Barry's co-producer and Rachel's onlyally, Lil and Ada aren't sure where to start in their own informal review ofsuspects and leads.It doesn't take much effort tofinger the culprit, but Atkins continues to provide the blend of plotdevelopment and well-rounded characters that makes the series so successful.

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June 15, 2014

Ada Strauss is feeling out of sorts; after hitting 65 and filing for Medicare it's clear that youth is a thing of the past. But retirement is not quite what she expected when she finds herself tapped to lead a new TV reality show about antiques...and murder. Barry Stromstein is a producer for a Martha Stewart-type doyenne of taste, but he needs a fresh idea immediately, and Ada's inadvertent pitch for a show highlighting estate sales could be a lifeline. But just as soon as the filming begins, so do the deaths, and Ada and her girlfriend Lil are soon caught up in the surreal world of reality TV even as the body count increases. VERDICT In the third installment (after Best Place To Die) of Atkins's series set in charming Grenville, CT, many of the local characters seen in the previous books appear, contributing to the rich sense of place and the interconnected world of antiques. As with many cozies, the mystery isn't that hard to solve, but it is a pleasant read with likable protagonists. For mystery lovers who value setting and characterization over red herrings and gore.--Devon Thomas, Chelsea, MI

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June 1, 2014
Lil Campbell and Ada Strauss are your typical small-town amateur sleuths. Lil writes a column about antiques for her small Connecticut newspaper, and her best friend, Ada, is the widow of the Strauss Department Store founder. Oh, and Lil and Ada are lovers, senior citizens, and have Ada's mother living with them. In the third of this contemporary cozy series, Ada is selected to host a reality-style game show about estate sales that will be part of lifestyle expert Lenore Parks' franchise. But when Lenore is murdered, Lil and Ada once again find themselves in Jessica Fletcher territory. Could the killer be Lenore's wild-child daughter? Her golden-boy son? Her overworked and overlooked producer? Or someone else from the media maven's carefully protected personal life? A fast-paced mystery with two unforgettable leading ladies.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)