Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun

October 15, 2010

Think your domestic life is troubled? At least you're not suspected of murder.

When Anastasia Pollack's husband Karl drops dead in Vegas, her comfortable lifestyle comes to a screeching halt. Karl was a secret gambler who lost all their money, leaving her with two teenage sons to educate. Karl's mother, a nasty, unrepentant Bolshevik, and her unpleasant bulldog have been living with them since her apartment house went up in flames along with her life savings. It takes only the arrival of her own much-married mother and her cat to make Anastasia's life a living hell. The only bright spots are her job as crafts editor for a women's magazine and the quick rental of the apartment over her garage to a handsome and famous photographer. A late night at work leads her to the dead body of Marlys Vandenburg, the hated fashion editor who probably slept her way to the top. Now she reposes in Anastasia's office, slain by Anastasia's glue gun. The last straw is threatening phone calls from a thug who claims Karl owed him $50,000 he demands Anastasia pay up. Realizing that the police rate her their top suspect, Anastasia gets angry and decides that the only way to avoid jail time is to solve the crime.

North Jersey's more mature answer to Stephanie Plum. Funny, gutsy and determined, Anastasia has a bright future in the planned series.

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December 1, 2010

Karl Pollack dies in Vegas, leaving his wife and children penniless and his communist mother residing in their home. In addition, Anastasia Pollock, a craft editor for a supermarket magazine, must deal with being the top suspect in the murder of the magazine's fashion editor, who was killed with Pollock's glue gun. VERDICT This funny and clever debut almost makes the reader forget that there is not much of a mystery here. For cozy fans.

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 1, 2010
Anastasia Pollack has more problems in a matter of days than most people have in two or three lifetimes. First, her husband Karl, a secret gambling addict, dies at a Las Vegas roulette table; his loan from the Mob is due, and a thug named Ricardo will stop at nothing to collect it. Then Karls militantly Marxist mother Lucilles house is torched while she and her evil bulldog, Manifesto, recuperate at Anastasias home after being hit by a car. Suddenly widowed, Anastasias DAR mother, Flora Sudberry Periwinkle Ramirez Scoffield Goldberg OKeefe, shows up with her persnickety Persian cat, Catherine the Great. Naturally, Lucille and Flora and their pets all hate one another. Things are even worse at work. The crafts editor for a popular womans magazine, Anastasia becomes a prime murder suspect when the most hated staff member is killed. Winston has hit a home run with this hilarious, laugh-until-your-sides-hurt tale. Oddball characters, uproariously funny situations, and a heroine with a strong sense of irony will delight fans of Janet Evanovich, Jess Lourey, and Kathleen Bacus. May this be the first of many in Winstons Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)