Other Indie Recommendations

Second in the Where Are They Now? series, recommended by Maggie Mason, Lookin’ for Books, San Diego, CA:
Tilda Harper is a freelance entertainment writer based in Boston. She has a good friend who works at Entertain Me, a magazine where celebrities are revered. Tilda is happy to accept assignments for the magazine, but she also enjoys the freedom of freelancing. She’s able to make a living, but doesn’t have a lot of spare money. She’s been interviewing a former pinup, Sandra Sechrest. Her friend Cooper, a fan boy, tags along. When Tilda realizes she’s left her camera at Sandra’s home, she returns and finds Sandra’s body. What is worse is the realization she could be a suspect.

When the stars of an old western TV show start planning a theme park based on their show, Cowtown, Tilda is hired to help with the planning. This is right up her alley. Part of her job is to interview the stars of the show, and many guest actors, at least those that are still alive. The show had a code of conduct, and it seems someone is no longer living by the code.

Strangely, the two assignments seem to be connected. Pinups and Cowboys aren’t usually found together, but Tilda is smart enough to make the connection; when she does, she brings the Cowtown Code back to life, and saves the day.

When I began reading this book, I had thought I was reading the first in the series, and when I realized my mistake, I was too hooked to stop. Kelner does a great job creating a historical TV show. She also has used her research on pin ups to great advantage. This series is a must for anyone with a love of popular culture, especially of days gone by. The only thing I’d change is have Tilda get rid of her roommate.
An IMBA Killer Book Recommendation

Recommended by Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen, Scottsdale, AZ:

The scene is Yaxnax, a minor Mayan city, abandoned for over a
thousand years. Smoking Frog, a great war chief of the pre -classic
period, decapitates a bound captive in a Mayan ritual ... but the time
is today. Switch to Nick Michaels, a private investigator with a bad
history and split from his girl who signs on to a dig in an attempt at
a career change. He is trained in archaeology.

When he arrives at the Yaxnax site, he quickly learns that his
fellows are, of course, pursuing different agendas, while Nick ends up
pursuing the elusive killer "Smoking Frog." Nick's eventual strategy is
to set up a lengthy con — will Smoking Frog be smoked out?

This is an excellent book for fans of Elizabeth Peters' Vicky Bliss series (The Night of the Four Hundred Rabbits,
for instance) and for those fans of the late Lyn Hamilton although
antiques do not figure into the story. I like author Goodman's
evocation of place. And of course, we've seen such rivalrous academics
in Tony Hillerman's Edgar-winning The Thief of Time.
From the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association's Killer Books site.