A Mall Cop Mystery, by Laura DiSilverio, Berkley Prime Crime, August 2011
EJ Ferris's day at Fernglen Galleria begins like any other, but it soon becomes more than just the norm. A loud wail guides her to a scared victim of a bearded dragon attack, tipping her off that reptiles from the Herpetology Hut are on the lam. Promising a reward, she enlists the morning mall walkers to help find lizards, snakes and Agatha, the fifteen-foot python, before the Galleria officially opens for the day. While she's helping to round up the missing critters, a piercing scream echos down the hallway from the Dillard's wing. EJ hopes there's been an Agatha sighting and speeds her Segway towards the frightened stroller-pushing mom staring at a window display. Agatha's nowhere in sight, but the beach scene does have a new occupant...a dead man lying on a beach chair, butt-naked and with a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead. Suddenly her calm job on the mall security force got a little more interesting.
EJ hasn't seen much action since her medically-forced discharge from the Air Force security detail in Iraq, and finally she has the chance to show she is still a good cop, despite suffering from a debilitating, IED-inflicted, knee injury. However, local Vernonville, VA police detective Anders Helland views her as just another inexperienced mall officer and a hindrance to his investigation. EJ needs to solve the murder, both for her reputation and for her self-confidence, so that she can show she's still an efficient and valuable officer of the law.
DiSilverio, a breath of fresh air in the cozy mystery genre, pens a charming murder mystery filled with unique characters and humorous situations. The sidekicks she gives EJ are far from cliche: Grandpa Atherton-retired CIA, proud owner of umpteen spying gadgets and still involved in secret activities, and Kyra-a software wiz and EJ's best friend, who is by day, manager of a magic store in the Galleria, and by night, a proud member of a roller derby team. Other diverse players in the story are daily Bible-verse-spraying car vandals, a gun-toting cookie store owner, a stuck-up mall manager and sleezy mall security force employees. The mystery is well-crafted with lots of action, and the parallel storylines converge to a satisfying ending.
I loved this book and can't wait until the second book in the series will be released in 2012. In the meantime, I'll catch DiSilverio's Swift Edge, the next Charlie Swift/Gigi Goldman mystery, another series full of amusing characters and creative situations. It will be out in November 2011.
* The next book in the series, All Sales Fatal, will be released in May 2012.
PROTAGONIST: Single, 31-year-old, IED-injured, Segway-riding, female mall cop
CRITTERS: Fubar-a giant, rust-colored cat with a mangled ear and shortened tail AND lots of escaped lizards, turtles and snakes
ACTION: Mall chases, car chase, spying, prying
LOVE INTERESTS: Potential with good-looking cookie store owner and with handsome, condescending local police detective
ROMANCE: Slim to none for now
QUIRKINESS: Grandpa Atherton in disguises, dead man in window display, python panic, Bible-spouting car vandals, EJ's background
INTERESTING TIDBITS: Mall cop responsibilties, behind-the-scenes glimpse at a mall's daily operation
FUN FACTOR: Lighthearted, funny characters, witty dialogue, some slapstick moments
IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU MAY LIKE: Charlie Swift/Gigi Goldman Mysteries by Laura DiSilverio, Southern Beauty Shop Mysteries by Lila Dare, White House Gardener Mysteries by Dorothy St. James, Museum Mysteries by Sheila Connolly