Where's Mommy Now?

Krich's first novel is a toothsome blend of deceit, infidelity and murder. Ensconced in a posh Los Angeles home, Kate Bauers has a picture-perfect life: independent wealth, two delightful children and a loving husband, Mark, a doctor. Her busy schedule becomes even more hectic when she opens a shop with her best friend, Laney, so Kate hires an au pair. Demure and efficient, the young woman proves invaluable when Kate is shaken by her sister Barbara's sudden death. But then Laney makes an inadvertent discovery: less than two weeks before her fatal accident, Barbara--who had long implied to Kate that her husband was untrustworthy--hired an investigator to check up on Mark and the au pair. Laney's growing concerns with unsettling coincidences are shared by a L.A. homicide detective. The final unraveling of the mystery is somewhat awkward and there's little doubt as to whodunit, but there is definite enjoyment to be had in watching the plot move inexorably toward serving up just desertsstet one s/rl . (June )