Emily Ellet – Carol's Notebook

A Perilous Pal is the second in the Friend for Hire mystery series. Emma Westlake is the "friend for hire" and I think it's definitely better to read the first one before starting this. It will give you a much better feel for Emma and the returning characters. Emma barely has enough time to meet Kim Felder, her new client, when Kim gets arrested for her estranged husband’s murder. Kim didn’t see it coming when her husband left her for his secretary and she wrote in her journal her feelings about her husband’s betrayal. It was what she put in her journal, tons of ideas for how to kill Roger, that led to her arrest for Roger’s murder. Emma believes Kim is innocent, so she, Dottie, and Stephanie set out to prove it. Of course, Emma's love interest, Deputy Jack Riordan, is not thrilled with her interference. I'm not sure about Emma's business plan. I love the friend for hire idea,...

I love Emma's idea for a business - well actually her friend's idea, but it's Emma's business. She's a friend for hire, someone to go to the gym with or take to a party. When one of her clients dies at an open mic night, Emma takes on the role of (very reluctant) amateur sleuth. Thankfully, she has some help - an elderly woman she has tea with once a week and a nurse who has paid her to be a gym buddy. I like how the three women work together and combine sleuthing with real life activities. We are immediately given a list of 4 suspects, a list put together by the dead man himself. Each of the four had a good reason for hating the dead man - a writer who was determined to bring all the town's corruption to light. The clues and red herrings were placed well. I liked the three main characters. Emma is sweet and honestly...

Narrator: Emily Ellet

A Perilous Pal by Laura Bradford

A Plus One for Murder by Laura Bradford