WORKING STIFF - Tori Carrington
Sofie Metropolis, Book
Forge
ISBN: 978-0-7653-1744-5
September 2008
Cozy Mystery

Queens, New York

The past few months, Sofie Metropolis has had quite an initiation into the life of a PI. She’s rescued lost pets and found missing husbands, along with some other high profile cases, and it’s helping to drum up business. In fact, she’s now so busy she has hired her cousin, Pete, and has taken on two new cases: finding a missing body for her aunt and proving the innocence of a man accused of murder -- even though he is about to go on trial. Which one should she concentrate on? Her family is pressuring her to find the missing corpse because he’s Greek, but the other man about to go on trial for murder has a pressing need before he’s convicted and sentenced to prison. When attempts are made on Sofie’s life, it’s soon clear somebody doesn’t want her to solve a crime. But, which case is aggravating the attacker?

Tori Carrington has done it again in the continuing misadventures of Sofie Metropolis. I simply adore this well written series and WORKING STIFF is no exception. Sofie isn’t perfect, but don’t try to call her a failure. She’s sharp on the uptake and solves mysteries that she sometimes happens to land in the middle of. Right now she’s juggling not only the two cases, but the two men in her life, Dino Antonopoulos and Jake Porter, as well as her meddling family. Her canine sidekick, Muffy, is as cankerous as ever, and he gets even more so in WORKING STIFF. What’s bothering Muffy? Meanwhile, Sofie reflects on the changes in her life during the past six months and wonders if she is moving forward or backward.

The case of the missing corpse has her puzzled as to how a body can leave a funeral home. The missing man had no known blood relatives, but he was part of the Greek community and led a decidedly mysterious life. Was he offed by the Mob? Why is Jake Porter telling her to back off? There’s something not right that Sofie can’t put her finger on. Will she figure out what it is and recover the body?

The man on trial is accused of killing his girlfriend, despite the fact that no body has been found. All evidence points to his guilt, but his sister has hired Sofie as a last resort. Sofie has a gut feeling that maybe the man is innocent and goes about trying to prove it. Several uncooperative people are telling her to back off, but when has Sofie refused a challenge? When another girl goes missing, Sofie wonders if there’s a connection and perhaps a serial killer on the loose. Is she right?

Once picked up, WORKING STIFF is hard to put down. You’ll laugh, cry, and add up the clues as Sofie solves the mysteries. Meanwhile, things heat up between Sofie and one of the men in her life. Will he be around at the end of the story? Will Muffy get over his crankiness? Can Sofie crack another high profile case or two to add to her resume? With its heart stopping action and funny but realistic characters, I highly recommend you add WORKING STIFF to your book shopping list today.

Patti Fischer