Evan Marshall: Stabbing Stephanie

Kensington Mystery (Paperback), ISBN 1-57566-729-0

The third cozy mystery starring literary agent Jane Stuart and her cat Winky, Stabbing Stephanie adds new dimensions to over-stressed, over-worked Jane, who resembles a much younger J.B. Fletcher. Besides being a knitter, a dedicated agent and an admitted gossip, Jane solves mysteries.

Stephanie, Jane’s dead husband’s cousin, calls to invite herself to Jane’s house. Stephanie also spreads the word that she soon will start work at a new publishing company in town — one jointly owned by Stephanie’s best friend and former Queen of Ananda, Faith Carson, and Faith’s new husband.

Besides being a liar, a thief, rude and otherwise nasty, Stephanie didn’t look very well lying in a dumpster with a knife stuck between her shoulder blades. Was it because dear Stephanie lusted after and bedded Faith’s husband? Perhaps, but that wouldn’t explain what Una, a maid saw — a thief first stealing jewelry then handing it off to Faith. But Ivor, the drunken bum inhabiting the village green, turned up dead as well and that couldn’t be related to Stephanie’s affair, could it? And the missing diamond necklace, the one with set with a star sapphire big as a hen egg — that couldn’t be a reason for Stabbing Stephanie, could it?

Filled with interesting characters, mystery, and some odd shenanigans, the book once again showcases Jane’s admirable talents and Winky’s sleuthing while providing an exemplary model for books featuring cats on the cover.

Oozing with charm, the book details the madness of being a literary agent with authority. Evan Marshall, the author, also follows that profession. As a writer, I would love to work with Jane — she does her job so well. I smiled a lot while reading Stabbing Stephanie and thought if a woman ever deserved stabbing, Stephanie fit the job description. Anyone in the book, except perhaps Winky, might have done the dead.

Patricia Lucas White

Patricia Lucas White’s latest historical novel, To Last a Lifetime, was an Eppie finalist for 2003. To Last a Lifetime and two of her fantasy romances, the Sapphire Award-winning A Wizard Scorned and The Godmother Sanction, can be ordered through Hard Shell Word Factory. Her recent contemporary, PS, I’ve Taken a Lover, is available from Lionhearted Books.