Talked to Death

Shaffer (All My Suspects) moves from TV soaps to talk shows in the second Angie DaVito mystery. The perky, occasionally caustic 30-something TV producer has caught the eye of mega-personality Cee Gee Jones, who wants to hire her. Angie doesn't think much of Cee Gee's touchy-feely brand of entertainment, but she needs the work. What she doesn't need is a situation. But that's what she gets as she learns that Cee Gee has been receiving threats, and that there's been a rift in Cee Gee's inner circle. In fact, Cee Gee, known for being fiercely loyal, has fired producer Grace Shipley. Then there's a murder, of which Cee Gee herself is suspected. Angie teams up once again with her alter ego, the NYPD's coolly professional Detective Teresa O'Hanlon, to get to the bottom of things. She also teams up in a less professional sense with Teresa's younger brother Patrick. Shaffer's ending may not ring true, and her characters can border on the one-dimensional, but there's nothing flat about Angie or her barbs at talk-TV's expense in this satisfying confection. (Sept.)