The Man on the Washing Machine

English transplant Theophania “Theo” Bogart, the narrator of Cox’s delightful debut, runs a small business called Aromas in San Francisco with her new friend, Nicole. Theo has created a family of sorts with nearby residents and business owners, who share a community garden. Among them are a women-chasing doctor, Theo’s stiff-upper-lip grandfather, an abused teen, a garden designer, a blundering bookkeeper, an elderly man on a snail-killing rampage, and a mysterious, good-looking man who runs a women’s shelter—all well-developed characters, many with secrets and intriguing backstories. It’s clear from the get-go that Nicole is up to no good. When painter and petty thief Tim Callahan falls off a roof to his death, it appears to be a case of foul play. Another death follows and is likely related to Tim’s. A hearty dash of humor enlivens this complex, multilayered tale, which won the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award. [em](Dec.) [/em]