Caught Dead in Philadelphia

I am happy to see that the publisher re-released this wonderful Amanda Pepper caper. I tried special ordering it at my local Borders, with no success. The series is dear to me: the protagonist a no-nonsense, endearing personality; the author, a talent whom I have queried on a few occasions about the series. I will miss this interesting creator and her adventurous amateur sleuth/English teacher when the series wraps-up in January 2007 with the final Amanda Pepper adventure, ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS. Thanks for all the fun reads over the years. All best!

This is the third book I've read by Gillian Roberts but the first in the series -- I'm doing it backwards. This was still an excellent book, but not as polished as the two later books I've read. Still, Philadelphia "detective" heroine English teacher Amanda Pepper is just as likeable and funny from the start (although I think the books get funnier), and the romantic chemistry with Louisiana-born CK (in later books boyfriend and meets her as homicide detective in tihs book) is there from the start. Amanda's involvement with murder mysteries begin when a rain-soaked part-time teacher at her school shows up first thing in the morning on the doorstep of her charming little colonial home. The ditzy visitor (she's an actress) is not making much sense, but Amanda has to get to work and leaves the jabbering woman (unwillingly) in her home where the soon-to-be victim says she's going to take a nap. In no time at all, as the reader discovers in the first few pages, she has been killed. The police at first suspect Amanda -- it was her home, she knew the victim, was the one who found her, and has apparently been telling some untruths to the witchy school secretary. Amanda is quickly drawn up into solving this murder, in part because it becomes clear quickly that her life may be in danger. I am looking forward to reading the whole series. OK, maybe this is a series for literate women who like funny, gutsy women "detectives" with sexy boyfriends... but the writing is high quality and the plotting improves in future books in the series (in this one, I spotted the killer about half-way through the book, but then I read a LOT of mysteries and like to think I'm good at that.)

Amanda Pepper is a thirty-year-old unmarried English teacher at elitist Philadelphia Prep and an amateur detective. She is a very likeable heroine and the book is consistently funny throughout. It is easy to understand why the author received an Anthony Award for best first mystery for this novel.

I read this entire book on a long plane flight, I was unable to put it down. That's rare in a book...I look forward to the rest of the Amanda Pepper series!