When Wallflowers Die: A Phoebe Siegel Mystery

She's feisty, independent and aggressive, and in her third appearance (after By Evil Means) Phoebe Siegel, a Billings, Mont., PI, is the driving force in a mystery that never lets up. Potential gubernatorial candidate Bob Maitland has asked Phoebe to look into the 25-year-old unsolved murder of his wife, heiress Ellen Dahl Maitland. Phoebe, often uncannily prescient, correctly assumes that the glib and opportunistic pol has another agenda and, instead, agrees to help an impoverished parolee, Frank Chillman, whose sister, a prostitute, had been bludgeoned to death 24 hours after Ellen was murdered. Frank is convinced that the two killings are connected. Unfortunately, he's murdered before he can speak further with Phoebe. But Phoebe, with grit and considerable courage (she barely escapes several murder attempts), pieces together a string of pungent interviews that suggest a long-lived and sinister conspiracy. Her wide circle of friends (Maggie, an earthy lawyer; deputy sheriff Kyle Old Wolf, an intriguing romantic prospect; Dougie, a repellent but valuable snitch) are energetic and vividly portrayed. Her fractious but caring Catholic-Jewish family fills her with just the right amount of guilt. This mystery, nicely balanced between wit and terror, owes much to its outspoken heroine, whose motto, ""Investigations with an Attitude,"" says it all. Mystery Guild featured alternate; author tour. (July)