Putting Lipstick on a Pig

May 15, 2006
At the start of Bowen's winning third mystery to feature Rep and Melissa Pennyworth (after 2004's Unforced Error
), the couple have moved to Milwaukee, Wis., where Melissa has taken a university job and Rep has opened a branch office for his Indiana law firm. When Rep hears of the untimely death of despised attorney Vance Hayes, he's not particularly remorseful, but is shocked when Mackenzie "Ken" Stewart asks him to deliver the eulogy. Rep complies out of respect for Stewart, a well-connected legal eagle who can funnel work to Rep's new office. Almost two years later, Rep is pulled into a strange case involving doctored photographs for a client with ties to Hayes. Rep is soon caught up in a bizarre series of events with too many coincidences and menacing foes. When Melissa tries to help and is nearly killed, Rep is no longer sure whom he can trust. Bowen effectively captures his Midwestern locale and takes readers on a fast-paced, exciting ride.

June 1, 2006
Milwaukee lawyer Rep Pennyworth ("Unforced Error") reluctantly agrees to give the eulogy at the funeral of Vance Hayes, a harsh-mannered attorney with no friends. But Rep discovers that the one good deed that Hayes committed may have led to his death, and Rep and his wife, Melissa, are soon up to their necks in trouble. Even though the pace lags a bit, the witty repartee between the Pennyworths carries the day. Bowen is a trial lawyer in Milwaukee. [See Prepub Mystery, "LJ" 3/1/06.]

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