My First Murder

 My First Murder (1989) by Susan Baker

Mavis Davis used to be a probation officer in Houston, but got tired of the bureaucracy, red tape, and those who were more interested in rules than helping those who needed help. So she got herself a license and opened up a private investigation office. Most of the work is just routine document searches to support the probation service she no longer works for. But as an investigator she sets her own rules and can own all the success earned. She never expects to get caught up in more criminal investigations.

But when Carl Singleton shows up begging for help in a murder case, she's interested. Carl owns a diner and one of his waitresses, a woman he had grown very fond of, has been strangled. The police believe Doris Jones is just the latest in what looks to be a serial killer's agenda, but Carl is certain that Doris's death was more personal. He's sure there's something in her mysterious past that led to her death. That's right--mysterious past. Doris showed up out of the blue looking for a job and was very secretive about her past. She got no mail at the apartment above the diner and didn't seem to have any friends. Mavis isn't sure what she can do that the police couldn't do better, but Carl asks that she try. Especially since the police are more focused on the serial killer than the individual women who have been strangled. If nothing else, maybe Mavis can discover where Doris came from and who she really was.

Once Mavis and her assistants start digging, they discover that Doris Jones wasn't the woman's real name. And that there was good reason for her to hide out in a town far from where she belonged. The difficulty is figuring out which of the characters from her real life found out where she was and killed her. And will Mavis be able to find out the answer before the killer decides to get rid of the nosey private investigator as well?

This is a decent debut mystery for Susan Baker, a probation officer/lawyer/judge turned mystery author. It is definitely a procedural-style rather than a puzzle plot and readers who hope to spot the clues and figure out the killer and the motive before Mavis Davis may be disappointed. If you're okay with riding shotgun with a private eye on her first murder case, then this makes for a pretty enjoyable read. For myself, I just wish I liked the main characters more. None of them were quite right. I particularly had difficulty with Mavis and her boyfriend--they didn't seem to click until the very end and by then it was a bit late for me. Ben Sorensen could have been in her corner a little bit sooner instead of coming down so heavy on her. But at least he was there when it counted. ★★★

First line: I could almost feel more freckles popping out on my face as I parked my Mustang and walked through the glaring morning sun to my office.

Last line: It was a good thing I was over two hundred miles away.

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Deaths = 4 (three strangled; one hit by car)