The fifth book in Viets’ lively Helen Hawthorne series doesn’t disappoint, despite Viets’ taking on another potentially boring job (pet store clerk) and somehow milking it for satire and interest despite the odds. This time around, Helen isn’t working in a boring chain pet store but in one of those fancy pet boutiques that sell cute little coats, booties and fancy treats for super spoiled dogs. Catering to the ultra rich of Ft. Lauderdale, Helen finds herself schlepping bags of dog food out to waiting BMWs and driving to client’s homes to pick up their pooches for a session with the fabulous groomer at the Pampered Pet Boutique, Jonathan. Helen, for the uninitiated, works off the books for cash so her ex-husband, whom she caught with her best friend, can’t track her down and take half her assets away (he wants alimony from her). So Helen lives in a picturesque apartment building populated with all kinds of interesting eccentrics, including her boyfriend, undercover agent Phil, who handily lives next door but who is frequently out of town on assignment. This is a rich background for all the stories, as the characters at the apartment building stay the same (except for the rotating bunch of criminals in a certain apartment), while Helen’s different jobs provide a whole new slew of characters in every novel. It’s a neat and useful premise. read more