Poppy Harmon and the Pillow Talk Killer

March 29, 2021
Set in Palm Springs, Calif., and vicinity, Hollis’s fun third Poppy Harmon mystery (after 2019’s Poppy Harmon and the Hung Jury) finds the 60-something widow and retired TV star—who owns the Desert Flowers Detective Agency with her two best friends—looking into who’s stalking Danika Delgado, a rising young actor starring in the remake of a campy 1960s beach-blanket movie. The director recognizes Poppy from her TV days and, conveniently for the investigation, recruits her for a small part in the film. When the insufferable lead is fired, Matt Cameron, the detective agency’s front man, joins the cast. After Danika is smothered in her bed, Matt is nearly killed in a suspicious accident, and a reporter who was writing an exposé of the movie’s executive producer is drowned in his bathtub, Poppy uncovers disturbing connections to the Pillow Talk Killer of the 1980s, who was never caught. Hollis delivers all the essentials: appealing characters, an intricate plot, and a colorful setting. Cozy fans will hope Poppy and friends will be back soon.