Curse of the Kissing Cousins
Toni L.P. Kelner
Mass-market paperback
ISBN 978-0425228128
Berkeley Prime Crime
240 pages
$6.99
Kelner’s mystery style is softer than the hard-core/page clenching drama of a John Grisham book, but not as light as the silliness and fun of a Janet Evanovich story. In other words, Kelner presents a reasonably believable mystery to untangle, and the players come off like every-day (albeit a bit quirky) people.
The protagonist in Curse of the Kissing Cousins is Tilda, a journalist good enough to get her freelance pieces published in several respectable entertainment periodicals, but not good (or lucky) enough to have landed a permanent job with any of them. Part of the reason for this is that she lives in Boston, not L.A. or New York. Another deciding factor may be Tilda’s “specialty.” She is fascinated by—and likes to write about—sitcoms from an earlier era. Brady Bunch, Partridge Family, and her all-time favorite, a fictional series titled Kissing Cousins.
The problem is, the former child-stars of Kissing Cousins are dropping like flies. What appears at first to be random deaths begin to seem like something more sinister. The editor at one of “Tilda’s magazines” agrees to let Tilda dig deeper into the story. As she uncovers one clue after another, Tilda begins to wonder if perhaps Mercy, her favorite actor from the series (who has not been seen in years) is either next in line to be killed, is already dead, or the nearly unthinkable—is behind the other murders. The killer seems to have a timeline, and Tilda is in a race to find Mercy before the next murder.
Tilda is not the only person hunting for Mercy, and events escalate into an ending mystery leaders will eat up, with a surprise twist for extra flavor.
Curse of the Kissing Cousins is an enjoyable read and Kelner has a special talent for writing believable dialogue that flows well and makes her fun characters come alive.
Copyright ©2009 Gray Bridges