Embarking On Murder: A Beanie And Cruiser Mystery
By Sue Owens Wright
Five Star, $25.95
ISBN: 978-1-59414-780-7

For Elsie “Beanie” MacBean's big 5-0 birthday, "cruise" is the word of the day. There's the brand-new Inferno Red PT Cruiser she just bought for herself, there’s her constant, loyal basset hound companion Cruiser, and finally, there's the Fourth of July Lake Tahoe dinner cruise on the Dixie Queen with her daughter and best friend Sheriff Skip Cassidy. Not among her birthday presents is witnessing a confrontation between 23-year old child bride Ivy Diggs and her old-enough-to-be-her-very-rich-father Frank Diggs. Shortly after the fight Frank reports his wife missing, presumably haven accidentally fallen overboard. Needless to say, Beanie suspects murder and she puts her reporter skills to use as she discovers that there were a number of suspects all too willing to give Ivy a boost overboard, including some very unremorseful adult stepchildren.

Working as a freelance reporter for the Tahoe Tattler, Beanie meets the intriguing professor Crispin Blayne, a British paleontologist, geologist, and cryptozoologist studying new fissures at the bottom of Lake Tahoe...and the possibility of Tessie, Tahoe's version of the Loch Ness Monster.

Beanie's fragile relationship with her daughter is rocked by her once again having the worst taste in men and dating Frank's son, and Skip seems to be acting unusually jealous in the presence of Crispin. Getting chased down in her car seems minor in comparison to the confusion in the rest of her life.

Wright continues to display her talent in creating highly entertaining, very funny mysteries that still maintain focus on the plots. Stronger than the previous entry in this series, Embarking contains very humorous elements, all centered around the very likable protagonist Beanie and her GPS’d canine. Feisty, engaging, and still realistic, Beanie is a character strong enough to carry a series. Never too over-the-top despite its unrealistic element, this is a very fun mystery that will have readers loyally clamoring for more.

Review by CINDY CHOW

©2009 Lorie Ham. All rights reserved.