Psychologist Christina McMullen brings a refreshing breath of tart honesty in her thinking. She is convinced that nerdy J.D.Solberg isn’t worth the dust beneath her beautiful best friend and receptionist Elaine’s dainty feet, whom he has been unfortunately dating. Still, when that myopic computer geek inexplicably goes missing and Laney starts to pine for him, being the loyal friend that she is, Christina begins to investigate. Years of working as a cocktail waitress have honed Christina’s instincts for recognizing trouble when she sees it, and there’s plenty of it in Solberg’s not-so-clean life, as she soon discovers.
Like a bull in a china shop, Christina goes breaking into homes, spying on neighbors, stealing computer discs, pretending and lying her head off until she stirs up enough trouble to last a lifetime. That is, providing she has much of a life left, which is questionable since thugs are out shooting at her when they’re not trying to kidnap her. Sexy cop Lieutenant Jack Rivera makes a re-entry into her life at this precise time. He insists that it’s only professional but can’t seem to stop kissing Christina - or questioning her. Despite all these distractions and with some creative leap of thinking, Christina manages to solve the case. But the villains have a surprising ace in their hand that may just swing the tide of events their way. Or so it seems.
Lois Greiman and her Christina McMullen once again wow readers with a combination of madcap mayhem, zany investigating and hilarious witticisms. As usual, the non-stop suspense and relentless pace keep readers and Christina on their toes, racing to gather myriad pieces of evidence along with the obligatory red herrings. An interesting bunch of secondary characters comes along for the roller-coaster ride, although repeat characters Jack and Laney (with a brief appearance by the geeky Solberg) contribute in their own individual ways to provoking, motivating and aggravating Christina, in that order. Like a West Coast Stephanie Plum, Christina McMullen is here to stay.