DEATH OF A GIGOLO

A ghostwriter’s gig is threatened by her boss’s loutish paramour.

Days look sunny for LA freelancer Jaine Austen (Death of a Neighborhood Scrooge, 2018, etc.). Her slacker ex-husband, Dickie Elliott, has rebooted himself as a graphic artist/fitness freak with rock-solid abs and a hankering to rekindle their romance. And her best friend, upscale shoe salesman Lance Venable, has introduced her to socialite Daisy Kincaid, who wants to write a bestselling romance titled Fifty Shades of Turquoise with just a teeny-weeny bit of help from someone who has actually written something for publication. Any qualms Jaine might have about copyright infringement melt away when she sees the working conditions at La Belle Vie, Daisy’s Bel Air mansion, which offers scrumptious lunches prepared daily by Chef Raymond, a freezer stocked with Dove Bars that she and office mate Kate can scarf down at will, and limitless help from Solange, Daisy’s maid. Too good to last? Of course. Enter Tommy La Salle, the nephew of Daisy’s late companion, Emma Shimmel, who worms his way into Daisy’s affections and earns the hatred of everyone else. Soon shrimp scampi is off the menu, replaced by meatball subs and tater tots. (Jaine can barely choke down a dozen of the crunchy puffs while watching Tommy clean his nails with the platinum Swiss army knife Daisy buys him.) Raymond and Solange’s wages are cut, and Kate and Jaine have to fend off Tommy’s crude advances. Tommy’s murder is no surprise, and Jaine’s investigation is a classic cozy confrontation: The sharp-tongued writer quizzes each suspect until somebody finally bites back.

This by-the-book cozy will delight fans who like a sharp comeback—and maybe a tater tot on the side.