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0671778447 From Publishers Weekly As a guest on a TV talk show, L.A. investment counselor Iris Thorne, introduced in Cold Call, reiterates events of her first adventure, including the embezzlement of a still-missing $1 million. Soon she is approached by potential investor Barbie Stringfellow. Initially wary of the older woman who dresses in signature purple and speaks in a honey-toned Southern accent, Iris finds her suspicions dispelled when Barbie gives her money to invest and begins to act like a friend. Meanwhile, Iris's fellow investment counselor Art Silva, longing to own his own nightclub and seeing Barbie, in addition to his uncle, as a source of revenue, begins to wine and dine the woman. Wily Barbie gets Iris drunk and finds out where the embezzled funds are; she has Art give her his uncle's earnest money in the nightclub venture-and vanishes. Days later, her body is found at a posh California coast resort. Who is the killer and who has the loot? While the answers may surprise some readers, an unfocused and unnecessarily complicated plot confuse the story so much that few will care, despite Pugh's first-rate prose and characterizations. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Library Journal More tightly written than Cold Call (Pocket Bks., 1993), Pugh's second title looks once again at L.A. investment manager Iris Thorne, whose televised reference to unrecovered embezzled funds attracts a masterful female con artist. "Barbara" presents herself as a wealthy widow with money to invest. She catches Iris's attention and that of a Latino co-worker who wants to open his own nightclub. As in her previous work, the author gives subplot space to sexual harassment, racism, and failed relationships. A relatively easy and straightforward plot, then, told with verve. For most fiction collections. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
