Desert Getaway

In this enjoyable series launch from Craft (the Claire Gray series), Dante O’Donnell’s gig as a concierge for Sunny Junket, which rents out vacation homes in Palm Springs, Calif., gives him an opportunity to play sleuth after he’s framed for the murder of an elderly wealthy tenant and the theft of a David Hockney lithograph. Dante effortlessly escapes that bind by bluffing the real killer and thief, a man he was once sexually attracted to, into a confession, which is witnessed by an old frenemy, ex-cop Jazz Friendly, who blames Dante for wrecking her career and is launching a PI business. Dante and Jazz have a harder nut to crack when Dante stumbles on an apparent drowning victim involved with L.A.’s Museum of Anti-Academic Art, and he again becomes a homicide suspect. The deceased had been at a Sunny Junket property as part of a fundraising effort on behalf of the museum, organized by another potential romantic interest for the randy concierge. An intriguing puzzle keeps the pages turning, and the romantic subplots don’t overwhelm the whodunit. Fans of lighter mysteries will look forward to Dante and Jazz’s further adventures. Agent: Mitchell Waters, Brandt & Hochman Literary. (May)