Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Signet; First Thus edition (December 2, 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0451210816
- ISBN-13: 978-0451210814
In this second installment in the Dead End Job series by Elaine Viets, poorly paid wage slave Helen has just started a new job at a bookstore called Page Turners. Unsurprisingly, someone soon turns up dead and it's up to Helen to clear the name of her friend and neighbor before it's too late.
Flawed, likable Helen and the wacky things she encounters in her dead end jobs make this series so appealing; it doesn't take a genius to identify the murderer before Helen does, but most of the fun lies in vicariously experiencing life as a bookstore clerk. It also helps that Viets has solidly grounded her character's dead end job experiences in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where wacky things seem disproportionately likely to happen in the first place.
Check out the author's website for an entertaining interview about the research she did for each book, like working in a Barnes & Noble in Hollywood, Florida.
Check out the author's website for an entertaining interview about the research she did for each book, like working in a Barnes & Noble in Hollywood, Florida.
I've already acquired the rest of the books in this series and plan to read them in between heavier literary meals--they're perfect treats when I need a light-hearted read (or when I start to miss working!)
- Genre: Mystery for laughs
- Read it if: you enjoy both Studs Terkel's Working and drinking box wine by the pool
- Skip it if: you take your murder mysteries very seriously
- Movie-worthy: would definitely make a fun made-for-TV movie
No comments:
Post a Comment