Cold Call [Hardcover]

Dianne G. Pugh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1993

Amateur sleuth Iris Thorne tries to solve the murder of a handicapped coworker and deal with the fact that the detective assigned to the case happens to be an old boyfriend. A first novel.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Cliched characters and a predictable plot contribute to the formulaic flavor of this shallow first mystery. Alejandro "Alley" Munoz, a handicapped man who worked as a gofer at an L.A. banking firm, was often mocked by the firm's self-absorbed young execs; after Alley is murdered, his loyal defender, investment banker Iris Thorne, opens an envelope he'd recently given her. The key inside opens a safe-deposit box containing $200,000 and valuable stock certificates. Shortly thereafter, Iris overhears some shifty co-workers refer to a thwarted stock-market scam. Refusing to believe Alley was an embezzler, Iris hides her findings from the LAPD, even though the investigating detective turns out to be a former college beau. Brash and tough, with an MBA from UCLA, Iris is also depicted as a shopaholic with weaknesses for expensive trinkets, casual sex and makeup, characterizations that make her hard to take seriously even when she's being harassed by repugnant, chauvinistic colleagues. The action pulls together the transfers of millions of dollars, the demands of unforgiving loan sharks, another murder and near-death for Iris, who, after all the action winds down, can still log in 25 cold calls before noon.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Investment counselor Iris Thorne--a teacher of the deaf who changed careers to run with the wolves in L.A.'s financial district- -offers a fascinating mix of the contemporary and the nostalgic as she tracks down the killer of her deaf, polio-stricken office mailman Alley. What's new here is the don't-tread-on-me attitude (vital to the Ice Princess's daily survival among her maliciously detailed male officemates) and the accessories (Adolfo, Anne Klein, Vuitton, a '72 Triumph); what's old is Iris's touching faith in Alley's essential goodness despite mounting evidence that he passed himself off as the firm's chief of Mexican operations in order to touch an in-house money-laundering account for $10 million, and her finally needing to be rescued by a bunch of men (though not the ones you might expect). Along the way Iris will rediscover her first love, John Somers, when the LAPD puts him in charge of the investigation (``You shaved your beard.'' ``About nine years ago'') and deal with an amazing number of plausibly smarmy, probably felonious males. A first novel that's breezily on target about sexual politics in the office, though it's a shame that only one of these guys actually gets tabbed for the killing. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Atria (September 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671778412
• ISBN-13: 978-0671778415
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,018,358 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Funny and suspenseful, August 16, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: COLD CALL (Iris Thorne Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Though she has a tendency to drag because she sometimes goes into unnecessary detail, this one had enough happening and interesting and sympathetic enough characters that you couldn't help but get pulled in.