"A refreshing mystery"
For five years, bicoastal traveler Salome Waterhouse
rented out the Perfume Mansion in Holyrood off of Monterey
Bay to artist Palmer Fordham. Because she feels the place
has bad vibes, Salome, a practitioner of Feng Shui, has not
entered the place in years. However, this morning she goes
there because an anonymous person hired her to Feng Shui
the place as a birthday present to Palmer. Instead of her usual scenario, Salome finds a murdered
Palmer in the house and immediately calls her cousin
Phyllis, chief of police. Phyllis arrives and takes charge
of the crime scene while treating Salome with contempt and
as the prime suspect. Phyllis always blamed Salome for
inheriting the Perfume Mansion, a place she covets. After
feeling her cousin's negative vibes Salome knows that she
need some strong Feng Shui medicine to prove her innocence
and to clean the evil that resides in her mansion. A DEADLY ARRANGEMENT is a different type of police
procedural-amateur sleuth tale due to the large amounts of
Feng Shui incorporated throughout the plot. The story line
is cleverly designed but is disrupted by the swings back
and forth in time. Salome is an interesting and refreshing
lead character and the cast's varying degrees of acceptance
of her leads to greater understanding of the protagonist
and her practice. Followers of Feng Shui will feel the
positive vibes emanating from this plot while other readers
will say phooey to way too much Feng Shui. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted August 19, 2001
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