Late for His Own Funeral

October 11, 2021
Death investigator Angela Richman has her hands full in Agatha finalist Viets’s solid sixth mystery set in Chouteau County, “a pocket of white privilege some thirty miles west of St. Louis” (after Death Grip). First up is Chouteau Forest businessman Tom Lockridge, who was shot dead in his bedroom. Everyone believes the infamous Ghost Burglars, who have been terrorizing the Forest’s elite, are responsible. Yet valuables were left behind, and Tom was killed while sound asleep. Both Angela and Det. Jace Budewitz are suspicious of the dead man’s much younger widow, Cynthia, who was spending money faster than Tom could make it and rumored to be sleeping with their lawyer. After another death ties into the Ghost Burglars and the Lockridge investigation, Jace is under pressure to solve the case quickly or else. Angela, as usual, is keen to help, but is distracted by other death investigations as well as her steamy romance with a cop. Colorful characters match the crafty plot twists. Viets consistently entertains. Agent: Joshua Bilmes, JABberwocky

September 1, 2021
Missouri death investigator Angela Richman investigates the demise of a powerful developer. Tom Lockridge built much of the commercial real estate in Chouteau Forest, amassing a vast fortune in the process. In order to share his wealth, he married his office manager, Cindy, who grew up in Fairdale Manor Mobile Home Park. Seeking to fit into Tom's upscale lifestyle, Cindy remakes herself as Cynthia Lockridge, a budding socialite who drives a red Jaguar and hosts lavish parties at their vacation home in Lake of the Ozarks. She's in the office of her spacious home, trying to figure out how to give their attendees at the upcoming Chouteau Forest Christmas Ball the steak dinners they deserve while still making millions for charity, when her husband is killed with three shots to the head in the bedroom wing. Naturally, she's Detective Jace Budewitz's leading suspect in the murder, especially when he hears rumors of her affair with attorney Wes Desloge. Angela isn't so sure. She's swayed by Fairdale manager Shirley Rawlins, who describes Cindy as a hardworking teenager who avoided the park's more unsavory residents. As Angela helps Jace with his investigation, the body count soars. A dog walker is shot by a vigilante with an assault weapon, a bank teller is run over by a drunk octogenarian, and Lockridge's new bookkeeper is poisoned. Not all the deaths she investigates stem from the Lockridge murder, but whatever their origin, steady, efficient Angela makes sure no detail is overlooked. Viets' fans should enjoy her latest corpse-filled outing.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 1, 2021
Angela Richman, death investigator for Chouteau County, Missouri, is kept busy processing the scenes at a rash of deaths caused by several murders, manslaughter, a DUI resulting in a death, and an overdose, as well as assisting detective Jace Budewitz with his investigations--not a part of her job description. The widowed Angela's developing romantic relationship with patrolman Chris Ferretti complicates matters as she is conflicted about whether or not she is ready for a serious relationship. Angela, Jace, and Chris fight the current police culture that protects the rich and powerful in the county while attempting to resolve all the cases on their plates. Richly framed by details of death investigations from the moment the investigator arrives at the scene through the autopsy and the criminal case itself, this fast-paced series entry will appeal to fans of Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

June 30, 2022
When Sterling Chaney turns up at his own funeral, the assembled mourners are stunned, none more so than the deceased's wife, Camilla, a childhood friend of Angela Richman, ""death investigator"" for wealthy Chouteau County, Missouri. Camilla is unhappy that her philandering husband is still alive, and she's overheard when she says she wishes he were dead. Later, when Sterling does die in a fiery car crash, caused by someone tampering with his vehicle, Camilla is the chief suspect. Refusing to believe Camilla is a killer, Angela investigates, running afoul of her friend and colleague Jace Budewitz. It turns out Sterling ran a shady business, and his exploited female employees as well as former lovers could also have wanted him dead. As she works to clear Camilla, Angela also investigates other deaths in the county, including one connected to Sterling. The principled, widowed heroine, who is conflicted about her deepening romantic relationship with a patrolman, combined with plenty of forensic detail, will appeal to fans of Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 4, 2022
Viets’s enjoyable seventh mystery featuring Chouteau County, Mo., death investigator Angela Richman (after 2021’s Life Without Parole) opens at the funeral of wealthy Sterling Chaney, who died after losing control of his car at high speed and hitting a rock face. Angela attends the church service because she’s an old friend of his estranged widow, Camilla, who has followed his last wishes and given him the ostentatious coffin he wanted. Then Sterling walks into the church and explains he was on a business trip in the Bahamas when the police informed him that his car had been stolen from the airport parking lot back in the U.S. Unfortunately for Sterling, he meets his maker soon after, and this time it’s murder. Camilla must deal with the shock of her husband’s death twice, as well as the truth about how he earned his money. Next comes scandal, another death, and Camilla’s arrest for Sterling’s murder. Determined to clear her friend’s name, Angela starts rattling skeletons in high and low places. Angela’s usual snark and fondness for wine help propel the twisty plot. Viets reliably entertains. Agent: Joshua Bilmes, JABberwocky.

May 15, 2022
A boorish businessman just can't stop dying. Even though Sterling Chaney was a drunken lout who cheated on her at every opportunity, his long-suffering wife, Camilla, still arranges the send-off of Sterling's dreams, complete with a burnished-bronze Promethean casket that sets his estate back a cool $30,000. Which turns out to be money well spent, since, in the middle of the eulogy, who should appear at the door of the church but the dearly departed himself, drunk as a skunk but still able to appreciate Camilla's last generous gesture of love? Camilla's appreciation, on the other hand, is fleeting. Days after she learns that the corpse found in Sterling's Porsche actually belonged to a thief who stole it shortly before the fatal crash and welcomes her errant husband back, she finds orange lipstick on the collar of his shirt and throws him out. Meantime, Sterling's become a celebrity, appearing on news shows across the nation and drawing the eye of investigative reporter Valeria Cannata. She turns a feel-good piece about the man who crashed his own funeral into an expos� of his phone-sex business, complete with interviews with the women who work there. Now Camilla is not only a wronged wife, she's also a social outcast, married to a man whose vast fortune rests on the exploitation of the most desperate. When he crashes his brand-new red Ferrari and dies for real, she's in a jam: The police have ample cause to arrest her, and the judge won't order release on bail. Only her best friend, death investigator Angela Richman, believes she's innocent. Angela takes on the whole police force, including her boyfriend, to prove her point. Catchy hook, draggy investigation, and a solution from out of left field. At least that pricey coffin doesn't go to waste.

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