The fifth novel in Serenella's bestselling 1980s saga (No Human Involved, etc.) featuring Miranda "Munch" Mancini, onetime junkie, hooker and California biker chick, gets off to a fast start with the brutal murder of the mother and stepfather of Munch's old running buddy, Ellen Summers. Alas, the plot then goes off in several directions and bogs down. With Munch providing the only homecoming welcome, Ellen is about to try the transition from prison life to normal society—again (she came out of the can once before, in 1999's Unwanted Company). Ellen still behaves more as if she has unfinished illegal business to transact than as if she's ready for the straight and narrow. Various parties unknown appear to think this business involves a large amount of missing money. Meanwhile, Munch has managed to put it all together—as a well-paid auto mechanic, owner-operator of a limousine service and single mother to an adopted eight-year-old daughter, Asia. Munch can testify to the rewards of a virtuous life, but reminders of her dark past return in the form of a jealous woman's spiteful pranks. Ellen's father appears and acts mysteriously. Munch's efforts to shield Ellen complicate old and new relationships with members of the local police. The result is mayhem and a litter of prostrate bodies. Established fans will lap this one up as eagerly as earlier books in the series, but new readers are likely to be more taken with the eccentric characters than the wandering plot. (May 22)
