TROUBLE FOR RENT

A Cincinnati video store owner finds herself embroiled in a real-life whodunit in this murder mystery set in 1990.

An irate customer of Annie’s Video and Music Hall claims the VHS copy of Cinderella she rented has a surprise porno scene. But owner Annie Fillmore watches it and realizes it’s much worse: What begins as sex between a man and a woman ends in the latter’s apparent death. Annie dubs a copy before turning over the original to the police, who clearly don’t take the matter seriously. She, on the other hand, watches the scene repeatedly, trying to identify the couple or location, and looks into the last few customers who rented Cinderella. But further troubles are brewing. A couple whose young daughter watched the tainted VHS copy threatens Annie with a lawsuit while a churchgoer accuses her of peddling “smut” in her store. Meanwhile, someone firebombs another video store that specializes in XXX-rated movies. Annie can’t help but see a connection between the firebombing and Cinderella, and when a body later turns up, she suspects the victim is the woman from the video. Her sleuthing continues and soon becomes dangerous, especially after someone fires a shot at her. Reed’s (Banking on Trouble, 2015) novel, a prequel to her debut, features an indelible protagonist. Annie is whip-smart, coolly handles insolent customers, and narrates with wit, such as thinking a $65,000 car should have “a butler in the glove compartment.” She’s moreover supported by intriguing characters, from romantic interest Neil Jakhar—who may be “too young,” at age 28, for her—to Annie’s two moms (maternal and paternal aunts, who both raised her after her parents’ deaths). The setting is likewise distinctive as well as nostalgic, with the tale including numerous movie titles and references via names (for example, Annie’s friend Marilyn Monroe, “née Klotzman”). Unfortunately, the mystery itself can’t quite match the first-rate subplots and characters. Though Annie’s amateur investigative technique is believable, a lack of suspects and clues results in an anticlimactic reveal—though the heroine in peril makes for an exciting conclusion.

A sensational gumshoe and engaging subplots turn a standard detective tale into something exceptional.