Vice and Virtue

An alcoholic ex-cop attempts to clear herself of a clown’s murder in this hilarious series launch from Klein (the Poppy McAllister mysteries). Layla Virtue was a member of Maryland’s Potomac County Narcotics Unit before her career ended in disgrace. Six months later, she lives in a trailer park and survives on a diet of ramen and convenience store burritos. Desperate for money, Layla plans to support herself through music, her circumstances dire enough that she’ll “play any venue for two hundred dollars.” One such gig is an eight-year-old’s birthday party, where Layla’s limited repertoire (she knows no children’s music and is ordered not to play “Baby Shark” despite several requests) proves only the second-biggest catastrophe after her fellow entertainer, Chuckles the Clown, dies of nicotine poisoning. An initial investigation suggests foul play and identifies Layla as the primary suspect, forcing her to dust off her sleuthing skills if she wants to stay out of jail. Layla is a lovably flawed, three-dimensional protagonist, and her sardonic humor will happily remind readers of Kinky Friedman (“Nothing says you’ve made a wrong turn in life like playing ‘The Hokey Pokey’ on electric guitar for an old couple’s fiftieth wedding anniversary”). This is a winner. Agent: Annie Bomke, Annie Bomke Literary. (May)