"offbeat amusing contemporary"

In San Francisco, no one in the office noticed for twenty- four hours or more that senior coy editor Fred Leary died in his cubicle. His work neighbor twenty something Hayley Jane Smith though Fred was impolite when he failed to respond to email and her calling his name before finally confronting him only to find a corpse. SFPD Lt. Grant Hutchinson has a hard time accepting no one noticed the odor or that Fred failed to respond to any form of communication. When he interviews Hayley four feet from where the corpse resided, she jumps him and they start making love before the word maggots from the next cubicle bring them back to earth.

On the advice of her Girlie Brunch pals, Hayley asks for the raise due her, but instead her boss fires her. Also heeding one of her pals, Hayley goes to a bar where she has a revelation about men. Now with the help of her friends she seeks employment and quality time spent with the "Big Dick".

Though the fearsome foursome felines seem a bit ditzy, they are a fun group. Hayley is an interesting individual as she struggles with death, unemployment, and the hots. Her three mates add understanding of her and her desires so that the audience receives a fun chick lit tale that never takes anything even death seriously. Readers wanting an offbeat amusing contemporary will enjoy this maverick of a tale and look forward to what appears to be the story of another brunch member, sexy Suz.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted February 24, 2004

From a bold new voice in fiction, this is a laugh-filled look at life, love, and the pursuit of shoes, and a dead- on story about going for what you want...once you figure out what it is.

Summary

Hayley Jane Smith doesn't want much. Well, she does want a job, ever since she asked for a raise...and promptly got fired. And she wants a certain rugged, handsome detective, who seems to be interested in her too...although it might be because she's a suspect in a murder he's investigating. Fortunately, Hayley has her three best pals to help her out—Diane the brainiac, Audra the career wiz, and Suz the sexpot—who are, unfortunately, brimming with bad advice.