Roxy Abruzzo's architectural salvage business isn't doing so well; not only does she have a cash-flow problem, she is lacking the money that her daughter Sage needs for her tuition.

Roxy's Uncle Carmine, Pittsburgh's mob boss, knows this & sends his attorney, Marvin Weiss, to offer Roxy a job.

Someone has sent Carmine a cryptic contract note requesting a kidnapping. Local museum curator, Clarice Crabtree (Roxy's former high school nemesis) is on someone's short list and that person want Clarice gone.

But Roxy has a heart and goes to warn Clarice. Between Clarice being her same nasty self and Rooney, Roxy's dog, digging through a freezer of old bones; Roxy forgets what she actually came to do and Clarice leaves before Roxy can warn her of the contract.

When Clarice is found dead, floating in the river & trussed up in a rug the problems really begin.

It turns out that Clarice had two husbands and two children that she was supporting, all in a very expensive lifestyle; her daughter Sugar, an Olympian ice skater hopeful and her son Richie, an up & coming avant garde dress designer lacked nothing to aid them making their dreams come true.

Meanwhile Clarice had put her father, a famous paleontologist, in a nursing home for Alzheimer's patients, but he escapes & returns home in an attempt to protect his frozen bones...

Also in the mix are:
Nooch, Roxie's friend & co-worker
Flynn, Roxie's former, Sage's father, & chef extraordinaire whose newest soup (made for a rockstar who collects dinosaur bones) has a secret ingredient that not even Flynn knows about
Aunt Loertta, who raised Roxy
Sister Bob, former nun & Loretta's cousin
Gino Martinelli, who owes Carmine money & receives an unpleasant visit from Roxy
Zack Cleary, Sage's on-off again boyfriend & police academy cadet
Adasha Washington, Roxy's friend, neighbor & ER Doctor who helps abused women find shelter

Add all these people and several others into the mix and you have a zany, rollicking, funny story that rivals Carl Hiaasen. ( )

This was better than the first book. You got to know a little more of the characters and the relationships. The first book Roxy was just kind of scattered and all over the place, kind of on a destructive course. But this one was face paced and enjoyable. I like that she is tough and doesn't let things depress her. I look forward to reading the next installment if there is one. ( )

While I definitely prefer her Blackbird sisters mysteries, I have to say this one, while far more explicit and blue-collar, still has it's charms for me. The characters are interesting and engaging even with the myriad of problems and addictions. The mystery was very well written and the author managed to keep me from figuring out who the culprit(s) was until she wanted me to find out. If I had my choice, I'd ask Ms. Martin to go back to the Blackbirds, but if she keeps writing about Roxy, I'll probably keep reading about her. ( )

I just don't like Nancy Martin's Roxy series as much as her series about the Blackbird sisters. Roxy is a little harder to get to know and want to read about. Lots of action and plenty of colorful characters though. A fun read. ( )