Clubbed to Death-Elaine Viets

Clubbed to Death
Elaine Viets
Obsidian, May 2008, $24.00
ISBN: 9780451223944

Helen Hawthorne is moving up in the world. She has a new job making over twelve dollars and hour, a credit card, and a cell phone. The only downside is she hates working at Florida’s Superior Club where only the ultra wealthy can get in. As a service rep, she feels not much more than a drone listening to the complaints of the members who expect her to satisfy their demands instantly. To make matters more unbearable, Helen’s ex husband Rob has sailed into the docking area with his billionaire wife, Marcella known as the Black Widow.

When they meet Helen gets angry with him and pushes him. The next day the Black Widow reports her husband and jewelry are missing. Since there are witnesses to the shoving incident, the police arrest Helen. Marcella has her attorney get the charges dropped but in return the Black Widow wants Helen to find what frightened Rob into running away. While investigating, Helen stumbles across two murdered bodies. The amateur sleuth decides the Superior Club and its members have some dark secrets that make her uncomfortable working there, but first she feels she must find Rob who fled after stealing jewelry; unaware that her snooping makes her a likely next victim.

Elaine Viets Dead End Job mysteries are always fun and this one like its predecessors is too as the clues are always out there for the reader to identify the killer, if they can recognize these are clues. CLUBBED TO DEATH is one of the best in this delightful long running series due to a fascinating colorful support cast who range from eccentric to deranged. Fans will empathize with the heroine who is caught between her ethics and her sustenance economics even as she makes inquires that place her in danger.

Harriet Klausner