Killer Commute

October 2, 2000
The winning series (Death of the Office Witch, etc.) featuring California literary agent Charlie Greene continues with Charlie's discovery of her neighbor's corpse. Since they live in a gated community, all the residents are stunned and dismayed. Events follow thick and fast with the discovery that the deceased, Jeremy Fiedler, has no police, credit or other records that might point to a motive for his murder--or for a later bombing at the gated community. Whoever did him in, isn't done yet. When Charlie realizes that she's at the top of the suspect list, she decides to try to find Jeremy's killer--and uncover Jeremy's true identity. Another bombing leaves her with intermittent hearing loss. Meanwhile, she does her best to maintain her cool and chat with New York publishers during the killer commute from Long Beach to Beverly Hills. She's about to pull off the biggest deal in her professional career and place the best screenplay ever to come out of Folsom prison, if only she doesn't end up there first. An old friend, retired from the Beverly Hills detective squad, suggests she pay a little more attention to psychic powers that Charlie isn't even sure she has. Millhiser occasionally lapses into heavy-handed dialogue, and the police in this case strain credibility by being awfully rude, but the clever and original plotting as well as the likable heroine and cast of eccentric supporting characters far outweigh these minor drawbacks.

October 15, 2000
Just as literary agent Charlie Greene begins a much needed vacation in her Long Beach home, she discovers the murdered body of her mysterious neighbor, Jeremy Fiedler. Then a devastating bomb blast at Jerem's house causes Charlie to suffer a head injury and intermittent deafness. When Charlie predictably becomes the main suspect in Jeremy's murder, the cynical cops think her hearing loss is bogus. As she tries to solve the crime and discover what her neighbors are hiding, the normally wisecracking Charlie spends a lot more time crying and soul-searching than she does joking. Up until now, the Charlie Greene series has been full of banter and zany goings-on. Some fans may be less than enthralled with the darker mood of this entry, but Millhiser should be applauded for departing from a successful formula and bringing new depth and substance to her heroine. The mystery plot itself is far-fetched, but Millhiser handles the personal issues expertly, proving that there is a lot more to Charlie than her hyper, Hollywood persona.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)