55632

Fun - could be a good series. ( )

When police are called to the home of widow Edna Pratt, they are baffled by what they see there. Mrs. Pratt is dead. Why is her face green, why does she have pieces of Styrofoam between her toes, and if the red stuff coating her hair is blood, why is it covered with a shower cap? Why are shower caps scattered all over the house underneath her plants? Why is a lamp burning inside her dresser drawer? And what is that awful smell? Free-lance photographer Danny Watkins, hired by the police to photograph the scene, suggests they call on his best friend, Jo Tulip, to examine the scene. Jo's newspaper column, "Tips from Tulip", features household hints, and Edna Pratt was a faithful column reader. When the police discover that the terrible odor is the result of a mixture of ammonia and bleach, Jo is immediately convinced that Edna was murdered. No one who took cleaning as seriously as Edna Pratt would make the mistake of mixing these two household cleaners. Since the police are satisfied with an accidental death ruling, Jo launches her own investigation to prove that Edna was murdered.

This is the first book in a trilogy of Smart Chick mysteries. Although this might suggest that the book fits in the "chick lit" genre, it's a bit misleading. It's actually a combination of cozy mystery and Christian fiction. Although the mystery isn't particularly well developed, it was still an entertaining read. Since it incorporates a number of household hints, it was educational, too. I'll probably pick up the other two books in the series to see if Jo and Danny's friendship develops into something more. I'm not sure that I'll be in a hurry to start on any of the author's other series, though. ( )

A cute, fun mystery book. We got this for Paula for Christmas 2006 and when she finished she gave it to me to read. I would definitely read more written by Clark.