Perilous Friends

Epstein writes an amusing first novel set in the Jewish community of upscale Montreal, where even the dishy police detective drives a BMW. But, despite the lighthearted tone, the plot is thick with murderers, adulterers, kidnappers, drug traffickers and organized criminals pursued, variously, by amateur detectives, the Montreal cops, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and, of course, one another. Perilous indeed. A corporate takeover has forced Barbara Simons out as PR spokesperson for PanCanada Airlines. Despondent even though she's received a lucrative severance package, Barbara cheers up when two friends ask for her help. Susan Porter wants Barbara's assistance in finding evidence that Susan's ex-husband, Frank, has a large, unreported cash income. Joanne Cowan, a TV investigative reporter, asks Barbara to join her in uncovering a cigarette smuggling ring. Things heat up when Frank is murdered. As in many first novels, the story is undermined by too many subplots and overburdened with scenes and characters whose sole purpose is to plant clues. Yet Epstein has created a funny, appealing protagonist and friends, even though they can't live without their cleaning ladies and nannies, and a glimpse into a rich Montreal of close-knit ethnic communities bedeviled by language wars and snowy winters. (Nov.)