Death Was the Other Woman

Kitty may have been a sheltered naive deb, but now that she has to support herself by being a secretary to a LA shamus, she is starting to become the person she was always meant to be. Even though her boss is a drunk and a guy she knows is named Mustard and there is a mystery woman and a dead body that keeps showing up in different places. All this will become clear in the end, maybe. And it doesn't hurt to be set during the Great Depression as it brings a bittersweet edge to this novel and makes it stand out in a crowded genre.

I had this novel on my "for later " shelf forever before I decided to give it a try. I am not a big fan of hard-boiled detective fiction--I don't think I would want to read a whole novel through the eyes of a cynical, boozey P.I --but this has a different take. The narrator is a gently-born and privileged young lady who is yanked out of Mrs.Beeson's Finishing School for Young Ladies on October 29, 1929 and told her father has commited suicide and she is poor. Goodbye. Her job prospects are low since her skills include planning a dinner party or flower arranging. But we find her two years later working as a secretary for a boozey, cynical P.I . In truth she is more of a baby-sitter for her boss since his alcoholism makes him less than reliable. Yet he is a sympathetic and likable character--trying to escape from his memories of ww1. Great characters, setting and a satisfying mystery makes this an enjoyable book.