AN AFFAIR TO DISMEMBER – Elise Sax
The Matchmaker Series , Book 1
Ballantine
ISBN-13: 978-0-345-53222-0
February 2013
Contemporary Romance
 
Cannes, California – Present Day
 
My name is Gladie Burger, and I've moved in with my grandmother, Zelda Burger.  Grandma Zelda is the local matchmaker.  She has a sixth sense that rivals the best psychics in the business, and she can make a romantic match for people just by looking at them.  She just knows these things!  Me, I'm not so good at matchmaking.  I've worked at lots of jobs, none of which I could hold for more than a few months, and now Grandma Zelda thinks I have the ability to take over her business and keep it running successfully.  Not so much.  It seems like the only thing I'm successful at is getting myself into trouble!  I just learned that our neighbor, Randy Terns, was found dead in his kitchen, and now his children, all five of them, have arrived at his home and are tearing up the walls, fighting with each other, and generally being a nuisance to the whole town.  Grandma Zelda says the entire family is crazy and I'm supposed to stay clear of them, but my skin is tingling.  I just know that Randy Terns's death was not an accident; it was murder!

Grandma's new neighbor, Arthur Holden, is tall and sexy.  He's quiet and has lots of secrets he won't share.  Arthur tells me he's going to dig up Grandma Zelda's prize winning roses to move the property line a couple inches!  He's a little strange, but he's, oh-so-cute.  And, today I met the hunky new police chief, Spencer, after Grandma Zelda sent me for junk food and I managed to get stuck up on top of a telephone pole.  That was right before I accidentally showed the entire Canne's fire crew (who were nice enough to help me get down) my pretty pink undies.  In the space of barely a day I have managed to annoy the chief of police, involve myself in a self-imposed murder investigation, and make the entire town think I'm loony.  My friends, Bridget and Lucy, are convinced that I have a knack for solving murders and, I must admit, I have more interest in finding Randy Terns's killer than becoming a successful matchmaker.

Welcome to Cannes, California!  This zany town has been quiet for years, nary a murder or a robbery ever, until Gladie Burger moves in to take over her Grandma Zelda's matchmaking business.  When Gladie begins noticing strange things happening across the street at the Terns's house, she's certain that Randy was murdered.  The clues are obvious, never mind the coroner's verdict, and Gladie is determined to solve the mystery.  And, while she's causing trouble for Spencer by butting into his police procedures, she's thinking about her sexy next door neighbor, Arthur.

Elise Sax's excellent debut novel, AN AFFAIR TO DISMEMBER is the beginning of a new series, The Matchmaker Series .  AN AFFAIR TO DISMEMBER is hilarious and just plain fun!  The characters are spot on, and the story does not miss a beat.  Gladie gets a handle on the matchmaking business and turns into a mystery solving whiz, all while settling into her new home with Grandma Zelda.  Watch for the second book in this series, CITIZEN PAIN, coming soon.

Quirky characters abound, and, of course, there is a love triangle between Gladie, Arthur, and Spencer.  AN AFFAIR TO DISMEMBER is a fresh and exciting new story!

Diana Risso