"Clairvoyant amateur sleuth mystery"

In Seattle, legal receptionist Tabitha Emery is with her friend Jenny Alton when someone snatches her purse. They give chase, but fail to catch the thief. Tabitha begins blinking and soon she has a vision that leads the twosome to a mutilated cat inside a pentagram. Not long afterward, another "vision" takes Tabitha and Jenny to a dumpster filled with blood. Jenny calls the police and cynical Detective Jackson handles the case once the blood is identified as human.

Through friends Tabitha meets Lucien Roskell, owner of the Scrying Room and very understanding of her gift-curse. Lucien wants Tabitha, but she craves friendly attorney Clay Sanderson even though two years without a pass and his fiancée is beautiful and pregnant. As the clairvoyance continues to follow a cult death march, the killer begins to target the only person who might eventually identify him or her, Tabitha, who Jackson suspects is more intimately involved in the ritual serial killings than she tells the cops.

DATING CAN BE DEADLY is a divine paranormal chick lit who- done-it that grips the audience from the first blood to the last blood and a "pity" F coda. The story line is action-packed but driven clearly by the delightful in denial Tabitha who insists she has no talent although her blinking says otherwise. The support cast fuels the tale with excitement as each key ensemble member adds depth to the heroine or the mystery. Fans will demand Wendy Roberts bring back Tabitha, her friends and lover for another clairvoyant amateur sleuth mystery.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted January 2, 2005

Summary

Single Clairvoyant Seeks Partner in Crime Some gifts are easy to return-like the parrot earrings from Aunt Ruth-but when your gift is clairvoyance, Tabitha Emery finds there is a definite No Refund Policy. Now she's having visions of black magic rituals and dismembered bodies, and she's not sure what to do. She didn't ask for this talent and certainly doesn't want it, but it clings to her like a thong and is just as uncomfortable. Tabitha's goals are simple ones: A) to rise above law office receptionist B) to spend Friday nights uncovering the mysteries of butterscotch schnapps with her comrades, and C) to procure more than a passing glance from Clay Sanderson (Greek-god-type lawyer). But her second sight has turned her life upside down-and now she finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation where the only clues are in her persistent premonitions-making her not only the key to solving the mystery but perhaps a suspect, as well. (On the plus side: she could use some legal advice, so now she and Clay have something to talk about.) And somewhere in the middle of all this is the real culprit, the mystery man, who wants this clairvoyant dead. . . A charmingly clever chick-lit novel for whodunit fans everywhere!