"exciting amateur sleuth"

In Gulf Harbor, Washington, Persia Vanderbilt understands how important the holiday season starting with the Thanksgiving Gala is to her business Venus Envy, the spa she runs and owns with her Aunt Florence. Still she looks forward to the festivities ending so she can spend more quality time with her new boyfriend. At the Thanksgiving Gala, she is shocked when the newly hired makeup artist Lisa Tremont fails to show up as everyone is working that day.

The police inform Persia that they found Lisa's car parked near Lookout Pier and soon conclude she drowned. Persia has a difficult time with the official position especially when Lisa's sister Amy agrees that something is not right as the woman feared deep water and coincidentally thought she found some of the missing inheritance that she and her sibling should have received when their father died. Though there is no proof of murder, Amy begs Persia to investigate, which she agrees even as her former boyfriend Elliot stalks her.

Though there seems to be too much going on in Persia's life between the bash, the investigation, the former boyfriend and a friend struggling with a "monster-in-law", readers will enjoy this exciting amateur sleuth tale as the heroine is a courageous caring person. The "Bath and Body" whodunit is cleverly written so that the audience obtains a taste of the Puget Sound town preparing for the holidays, which with the exception of Elliot, leads to a fine cozy that will send readers to visit the spa (see SCENT TO HER GRAVE).

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted December 26, 2006

Summary

One bath-and-body spa employee knows that murder isn't pretty.

When police suspect that Venus Envy's new makeup artist has drowned, Persia Vanderbilt knows there's more to it than meets the eye.