Death in a Funhouse Mirror: A Thea Kozak Mystery

From Publishers Weekly
Thea Kozak, an educational consultant in Massachusetts, was driven to find her sister's murderer in Chosen for Death. This time she's dragged in to murder by her friend Eve Paris, whose mother, psychologist Helene Streeter, was stabbed near her home. Eve claims that her father, psychiatrist Clifford Paris, killed his wife to be with his gay lover, and that Thea-unlike the police-would agree if she investigated. These charges raise considerable conflict in Thea's work-intensive life: she is negotiating with Eve's father about his hiring her firm to help his psychiatric clinic attract more patients; her partner is absorbed by her upcoming wedding, leaving Thea to get rid of an unscrupulous, incompetent Employee from Hell; and she is trying to preserve her rocky romance with Maine homicide detective Andre Lemieux. Then she is threatened by an intruder with a knife and her house is set on fire. With Thea's personal life so full, the murder seems peripheral, yet Flora wraps things up satisfactorily in a story that is successfully carried forward by the strength of its characters. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
In her second outing, amateur sleuth Thea Kozak investigates the murder of Helene Streeter, noted psychologist and mother of Thea's longtime friend, Eve Paris. Distraught, Eve wants Thea to prove the killer was none other than her father and Helene's husband, Clifford Paris. There's no hard evidence against Cliff, but nonetheless, Thea agrees to see if she can find some clues about the killer. Thea's own life is already incredibly complicated, though, what with the prickliness of her relationship with cop/boyfriend Andre, office personnel problems, lingering grief over the recent tragic deaths of her husband and sister, and a too-heavy workload. But there's more to come: when Thea starts asking questions, it's clear someone doesn't want her to find any answers. There's a disappointingly easy-to-guess ending, but despite that, the book is terrific, mostly because of the deft characterizations, the wonderfully original humor, and the in-your-face charm and chutzpah of heroine Thea Kozak. Well worth buying for all collections. Emily Melton


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In her second outing, amateur sleuth Thea Kozak investigates the murder of Helene Streeter, noted psychologist and mother of Thea's longtime friend, Eve Paris. Distraught, Eve wants Thea to prove the killer was none other than her father and Helene's husband, Clifford Paris. There's no hard evidence against Cliff, but nonetheless, Thea agrees to see if she can find some clues about the killer. Thea's own life is already incredibly complicated, though, what with the prickliness of her relationship with cop/boyfriend Andre, office personnel problems, lingering grief over the recent tragic deaths of her husband and sister, and a too-heavy workload. But there's more to come: when Thea starts asking questions, it's clear someone doesn't want her to find any answers. There's a disappointingly easy-to-guess ending, but despite that, the book is terrific, mostly because of the deft characterizations, the wonderfully original humor, and the in-your-face charm and chutzpah of heroine Thea Kozak. Well worth buying for all collections.


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