Kiss Marry Murder by Faye Brann

After receiving a death threat Jessica Sinclair, investigative journalist, TV reality show host and D-list celeb, abandons her career. She thinks it will be easy to find a new job, but at fifty-one her options are limited. With bills to pay she sets up in business as a private investigator, but finds that carrying out surveillance on unfaithful spouses is not as straightforward as she expected. In search of support she goes to visit her former bestie Marianne, hoping for a reconciliation. Instead she discovers her estranged friend dead in a pool of blood. Jessica is under suspicion of murder and the gutter press are congregating at her door. To make matters worse, her cheating ex-husband is one of the police officers assigned to the case. Suspecting that the solution is close to home, Jessica sets out to use her investigative skills to track down Marianne’s killer before she also becomes a victim. Two middle-aged female assistants - cynical Darcy and combative Della - eagerly join her in the hunt. The outcome is a fast-paced murder mystery with a surprising conclusion.

Faye Brann won the Comedy Women in Print prize for an unpublished novel with her debut Tinker, Tailor, Schoolmum, Spy, which I also had the pleasure of reviewing. Brann has a fine talent for juxtaposing unrelated situations and characters for comic effect. She is also very good at finding humour in everyday details. I especially like the way she introduces mature women as leading characters.

I was given a copy of this book in return for an honest review.