Dying For Millions by
Judith Cutler
pbk out May 98
(Piatkus)
at £5.99
Sophie Rivers teaches in a Technical College in Birmingham and her otherwise mundane life is interrupted when her celebrity cousin Andy becomes the target of someone who clearly wishes him harm. Andy is a pop star who has turned his back on sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll to throw himself heart and soul into fund-raising for the third world. He's clean, respectable and has a partner in a relationship where there is mutual adoration, so who would want him dead and why?
The first disaster occurs at a charity gig where one of Andy's readies plunges to his death after drinking a substance originally intended for Andy. Nasty letters start and obituaries appear in newspapers. Andy goes into hiding and thwarts the would be killer so that his attentions turn to Sophie instead.
There are a couple of sub-plots concerning an Asian student who is on work experience at a small airport and Karen, a student who is infatuated by Andy and will seemingly go to any lengths in order to secure his affections. Both of these situations are interfused with the main plot and all is revealed in the closing pages.
Although this book was easy to read, it was hard to get involved with the story as is often possible with crime novels, principally owing to the rather bland nature of the characters. Sophie is reasonably feisty but not interestingly so, Chris, her policeman boyfriend, is wooden, suspicious and dull, and Andy, who obviously has something to hide, has none of the quirky personality traits which could be expected of an ex-rock star with such a chequered past. The most interesting character is 'Acting' Detective Stephenson, a hard-bitten, angry woman who is sarcastic and uncompromising.
All the same, 'Dying for Millions' will definitely appeal to cosies who like a contemporary setting.
Dying For Millions by
Judith Cutler