Agatha-nominee Marcuse once again sensitively explores serious social issues in her fourth cozy (after 2002's Consider the Alternative
) to feature former New York social worker Anita Servi. Still reeling from the devastation of 9/11 and the death of her best friend shortly thereafter, Anita has found some solace in working for her husband, a cabinet maker. One day in the finishing room, however, she discovers the body of an unidentified young man in the vacuum press, a gluing machine that sucks the air out of a plastic bag and presses down on its contents. While willing to leave the forensics and the search for the murderer to the police, Anita sets out to give the victim a name and embarks on an investigation that ultimately puts her and her family in peril. The author brings to life the community of Orthodox Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses, drug dealers, artists and other residents of the Brooklyn neighborhood known as Dumbo (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) in the aftermath of 9/11. While those looking for a conventional whodunit may be disappointed, the independent, curious, gutsy, smart, humorous and above all caring Anita remains a model sleuth for the new century. Agent, Sandra Dijkstra. (July 7)
