Just Murdered, Elaine Viets, Signet, $6.50.
The real charm of this series lies in the setting - Ft. Lauderdale as seen through the eyes of the working class, as well as whatever dead end job Helen has in each book. So far she's worked in a dress shop, a bookstore, and as a telemarketer; the South Florida bridal biz is obviously a rich field to be mined, as Viets turns her sharp pen and eye to the ultra nouveau riche who are spending as much on a wedding as most sane people (here in the midwest anyway) would spend on a house. The other great strength of these novels is, of course, Helen herself, a heroine for the new millennium. Helen, on the run from a cheating ex-husband who wants to be paid alimony by Helen, works off the books for cash so he can't find her. She seems to fit into today's culture of uncertain, floating employment all too perfectly, while at the same time offering the reassurance that if this were to happen to you, you too could find a cute but cheap apartment owned by a charming landlady and perhaps find the man of your dreams living next door (known to regular Viets' readers as Phil, the invisible pothead). After finally getting together in the last installment Helen and Phil are having some problems - but that only serves to spice up the fast moving, entertaining and very funny plot. Viets is a dab hand at characterization too - she is very adept at fleshing out the character of the hapless Desiree, who comes into her own after her mother's death. Viets makes this all look easy, and the result is a more than enjoyable read that is unfortunately over all too quickly. I can't wait to see where Helen ends up next.
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