No Offense Intended

It's 1977 and Munch (nee Miranda) Mancini, first seen in No Human Involved (1997), has indulged in her share of street scams and drugs, which is why she's on probation. The street-smart Munch is a babe in the woods, though, when it comes to leading a regular life--working as a car mechanic, visiting her parole officer and attending a drug rehab program. When Sleaze John, Munch's old friend from her using days, shows up at the garage, it's not because he wants her to tune up the truck he's just stolen. Sleaze asks Munch to pick up his baby girl and drop her off at his sister's in Venice Beach. Munch is wary of being drawn back into her old life, but that afternoon, on her way to visit her parole officer, she passes a fatal traffic accident in which Sleaze is the victim. Should she get involved or keep on driving? What about the baby, now orphaned and waiting for someone to pick her up? Munch does the right thing, but her good deed drags her into a mess involving drug running, the burglary of an armory and several murders. Thrown in the clapper for violating parole, Munch is released by a detective named Jig Blackstone, who joins forces with her to take down the bad guys--and save the baby. As in her first appearance, Munch, bruised but not beaten by life, again gets under the reader's skin. Her adventures, while hectic, remain generally plausible, with Seranella's gift for snappy dialogue and descriptions of domestic chaos bridging any gaps in believability. This is a mystery series with legs. (Jan.)