From Publishers Weekly
Was Benno Servi having an affair with his babysitter, Ellen Chapman? That's what the police suspect after Benno's wife, Anita, finds grad student Ellen with a screwdriver plunged into her chest and Benno's fingerprints on the murder weapon. In this second Anita Servi thriller (after The Death of an Amiable Child), Marcuse explores the doubts a wife has when faced with the unexpected, and the suspicion and distrust that may poison a marriage. Mideastern carpenter Benno and white Catholic social worker Anita are raising their black, adopted seven-year-old daughter, Clea, in multicultural Harlem. Following a romantic Friday night on the town, the Servis return home to Ellen, their loyal sitter of many years. The hour is late and Benno walks Ellen the few blocks back to her apartment, returning over an hour later. When Ellen doesn't pick up Clea from school Monday afternoon, a worried Anita goes to Ellen's apartment and finds the sitter dead. Benno pleads innocence, to no avail. As Anita delves into Ellen's life, she uncovers a cast of possible suspects including Ellen's ex-boyfriend Jamie; her charismatic married boss (and possible ex-lover), Arthur Nessim; and her dad's fianc‚e, whom she resented for breaking up her parents' marriage and who seemed to want Ellen out of the picture. As if Anita didn't have enough problems with Benno in jail, she is also worried that Clea could be removed from her custody because the adoption has not been finalized. Anita is a likable heroine, but the plot is watered down by extraneous characters, intentionally misleading clues and unfulfilled expectations. Some readers will be disappointed by the ending, but at least they'll enjoy the vibrancy of the Manhattan scenery along the way. Agent, Sandy Dijkstra.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
After a romantic evening spent celebrating their seventh wedding anniversary, social worker Anita Servi and her husband, Benno, return to their Upper West Side apartment. Benno escorts home their attractive babysitter, Ellen Chapman, and comes back almost two hours later, not explaining where he has been. When Ellen fails to show up for work on Monday, a concerned Anita goes to her apartment, where she discovers the young graduate student dead, stabbed through the heart with the screwdriver that Benno, a carpenter, had given her as a graduation present. Were Benno and Ellen having an affair? Did he kill her in a fit of passion? Devastated that she might not know her husband as well as she thought and worried that his arrest might jeopardize custody of their black foster daughter, seven-year-old Clea, Anita is determined to clear Benno's name. As in her first mystery, The Death of an Amiable Child (LJ 6/1/00), Marcuse is strong on character and setting but weak on plot. From the Cathedral of St. John the Divine to the colorful Harlem market, she captures Upper Manhattan's vitality and diversity. And in the tender relationship between Anita and Clea, she reflects on the question of how a white mother should raise a black daughter. But the mystery itself is not that interesting and resolved clumsily. For larger collections. Wilda Williams, "Library Journal"
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
