August 9, 2004
In Krich's third entertaining thriller starring spunky L.A. true-crime writer Molly Blume (after 2003's Dream House
), Molly at last gets on the trail of the killer who murdered her best friend, Aggie Lasher, six years earlier. Molly is blissfully preparing for her upcoming marriage to Zack, an ultra-cool rabbi (who doesn't mind if Molly wears jeans under her skirt), when Andy Connors, her friend at the LAPD, asks her to identify a locket found on the body of aspiring actor Roland Greeley, an apparent drug overdose victim. Molly identifies the locket as the one she bought 10 years before at Rachel's Tomb in Israel and gave to Aggie. The locket contains a sacred red thread "whose mystical power wards off the evil eye lurking behind envy and arrests its malignant reach." Was Greeley guilty of Aggie's murder? The more Molly digs into his past, the more she doubts the recovering addict killed Aggie, a dedicated social worker at Rachel's Tent, a haven for at-risk and abused women. Krich never misses a beat as her heroine unravels the dark tangle of the senseless crime, affirming Rachel's legacy and the blessing behind the red thread: the healing power of truth. Krich once again expertly mixes Orthodox Jewish faith with crisp whodunit plotting. Agent, Sandra Dijkstra.
October 15, 2004
The popular Molly Blume series returns with a whodunit that, however well written, somehow falls flat. As mentioned in Blues in the Night and Dream House, Molly's best friend, Aggie Lasher, had been murdered six years earlier, but the killer was never found. The story picks up here two weeks before Molly's wedding: a necklace that Molly had given Aggie turns up in the personal effects of a dead drug dealer, which leads the cops to close the case. Molly, however, isn't so sure they've got their man and becomes obsessed with finding the truth. Everyone becomes suspect, the cops aren't as forthcoming as Molly would like, and the murdered girl's family and former co-workers tell conflicting and confusing stories. Molly eventually ferrets out the facts, has a few close calls, and marries her fiance. But gone are any hints of romance or those warm and funny moments we've come to expect from the Blume family, which makes the book feel one-dimensional. Recommended for larger fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/04.]-Stacy Alesi, Palm Beach Cty. Lib. Syst., Boca Raton, FL
Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
August 1, 2004
Crime reporter Molly Blume is busy planning her wedding to Rabbi Zack when Detective Andy Connors appears with a locket that belonged to her best friend, Aggie Lasher. Someone fatally stabbed Aggie six years earlier, and the crime remains unsolved. The locket turned up with the body of Randy Creely, an aspiring actor and drug addict who overdosed. The police assume that Creely was the murderer. Molly, who has been obsessed with her friend's death, is not sure that the actor committed the crime and begins investigating. Her family and her fiance would prefer that she concentrate on the wedding, but she has other ideas. Her curiosity exposes corruption in prominent families and puts her in danger. As always, Krich mixes a good mystery with L.A. lore and a glimpse at Orthodox Jewish traditions. Her fans will enjoy Molly's latest case even as they await a new adventure in Krich's other series, starring West L.A. detective Jessica Drake.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)