"Fine amateur sleuth"

As the eldest Benjamin Perkins watches out for his siblings and mother and is the troubleshooter for the family owned specialty shop, "Where's the Soap?" Upon leaving the store, Ben finds a corpse on the backstairs of the shop. He recognizes the victim as the soap supplier to their store and the squeeze of his sister Louisa.

Louisa had just learned that her Jerry was stepping out on her, which led to a very public spat so Ben insists she retain a lawyer before he calls the police because she had a motive, a means, and an opportunity. He calls his police friend Kelly to help them but she is not soft on her pal's family. She intends to identity the culprit even if it turns out that the prime suspect Louise actually committed the murder. Ben is as determined if not more so to find the real killer as he believes his sister is innocent.

So far Tim Myers has produced three successful amateur sleuth series in which each tale is an exciting entertaining cozy. His latest winner as always has the violence offstage; yet without any graphic detail readers can picture the results of lye placed on a face (think Phantom of the Opera). The family members are likable and seem genuine especially with their relationships, but this who-done-it belongs to the sleuthing pair Ben and Kelly.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted January 31, 2006

Summary

First in a New Series - Includes Soapmaking Tips

Benjamin Perkins thought he had his hands full taking care of his family's specialty soap store and keeping his quirky clan in line and out of trouble. But he's about to learn that when it comes to murder, there's no such thing as a clean getaway.