Knock Off (Finley Anderson Tanner Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Rhonda Pollero (Author)

Book Description

Series: Finley Anderson Tanner Mysteries | Publication Date: March 1, 2007

Get ready for a rollicking, wickedly fun new mystery series from USA Today Bestselling Author Rhonda Pollero, featuring the most delicious sleuth ever to solve the crime, get the guy, and save a bundle on discount Gucci, all at the same time. Once Finley Tanner’s on the case, shopping and murder will never be the same… Meet Finley Anderson Tanner. F.A.T. to her enemies. Underachiever extraordinaire. This West Palm Beach paralegal hates the gym, still rents her condo, and loves two-hour lunches with her friends. But what really gets Finley’s blood pumping is the thrill of the hunt—shopping for deeply discounted designer goods she can wear at her upscale law firm. Hey, if she holds that Chanel bag just right, no one will ever notice the weird smear on the pale pink lambskin. Too bad work isn’t all about fashion. Especially when a grieving widow is sitting in your office, convinced that her husband’s accidental death was really murder. Okay, so she’s sincere…but crazy. She’s also a close personal friend of the boss, and the boss wants Finley to personally oversee the investigation. Good-bye outlet malls; hello pain-in-my-Asprey. Investigating murder isn’t really Finley’s bag. (That would be Prada, 75% off.) But the deeper Finley digs, the stranger things get. There are an awful lot of “accidental� deaths out there. This discount shopper knows slightly irregular when she sees it, and this case is clearly not right. Kind of like sexy Liam McGarrity. Everything about the hot, hunky P.I. assigned to the investigation screams, “Get out while you still have your underwear!� When he’s not working the case, he’s working on Finley. Who knew crime could be this much fun? Now, for a girl whose biggest ambition was take-out Moo Shu at exactly 5:01, life is taking some exciting, unpredictable, and decidedly dangerous turns. But someone doesn’t like Finley’s new work ethic. And if this paralegal wants to bring home the real goods, she’ll have to keep from becoming a killer’s total knock off…

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With more than 25 contemporary romances (Automatic Proposal, etc.) under the pen name Kelsey Roberts, Pollero makes her frivolous but fun mystery debut featuring Finley Anderson Tanner (F.A.T.), a 29-year-old West Palm Beach paralegal whose designer name-dropping prattle and discount shopaholism obscure her smarts. Bored silly by her job in the estates and trusts department, she agrees to help a senior partner handle a client convinced that her deceased husband didn't fall asleep at the wheel but was actually murdered. Finley's sweet but boring boyfriend is out of town, and her credit cards are maxed out, so she applies her bargain-hunting instincts to the investigation and finds a statistical improbability in the "accidental" deaths of several jurors after a medical malpractice suit. She meets the obligatory bad boy detective, Liam McGarrity, and wriggles out of several tight spots in this lighthearted romp. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

When it comes to putting together a killer couture wardrobe on a tight budget, paralegal Finley Anderson Tanner knows exactly what she is doing. When it comes to catching a clever killer, Finley doesn't have a clue. But Finley's boss insists that she meet with Stacy Evans, who is convinced her husband Marcus' death was no accident. At first, Finley thinks the widow is just having a difficult time adapting to loss, but she discovers that not only was Marcus a juror on a high-profile medical-malpractice trial but also that several other of the jurors have recently died in "accidents." Pollero fashions the first volume in a stylishly entertaining new amateur sleuth series that is certain to be a runway hit with mystery readers who like a dash of chick-lit sass and a pinch of romance with their detecting. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Kensington (March 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758215576
• ISBN-13: 978-0758215574
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,956,987 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I sold my first book in 1993 - huge thrill since it took me 10 years to get published. 30-something books later, I've switched from writing romantic suspense for Harlequin Intrigue to writing mysteries. The first release is Knock Off from Kensington, available in March, 2007.

I'm down in South Florda, dividing my time between my recently retired husband, my elementary school-aged child and writing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Breezy mystery--very nicely written, May 18, 2007

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Knock Off (Finley Anderson Tanner Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Paralegal Finley Tanner takes long lunch hours, arrives at her office late, and is always happy to get a high-limit, no questions credit card. What she doesn't get is interesting cases, which is why she knows there's something wrong when the managing partner assigns her to work with an important client. Sure enough, the client doesn't want help with her estate, she wants Finley to investigate a murder. That would be bad enough if a murder had actually happened, but the police are convinced that the woman's elderly husband fell asleep at the wheel.

Finley starts by going through the motions--in between long lunches with her girlfriends and sexy fantasies about the investigator she brings in to help with the case. Gradually, though, she comes to realize that the crazy client just might be right. How likely is it that three men from a jury just happen to die of accidents?

Author Rhonda Pollero writes a fast-paced mystery with a chick-lit feel and plenty of romantic tension between Finley and investigator Liam McGarrity (when Finley isn't making time with perfect boyfriend Patrick.) At times I thought Pollero tried a bit too hard to make Finley fit into the chick-lit conventions (do we really need the shoe moments?) but Pollero definitely sustained my both in the mystery and in Finley.

If you're looking for a sassy sleuth with attitude, a well-written story, and romantic tension that doesn't unfold too quickly, KNOCK OFF is a definite winner.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun murder mystery !, May 13, 2008

By 

Caroline Myddelton (London, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Knock Off (A Finley Anderson Tanner Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

"If I could find a way to deep-fry chocolate, my life would be whole." This first sentence sets the tone for the book. The heroine, Finley Anderson Tanner (nickname 'Fat'), is a para-legal with an eye for cut-price fashion and accessories - she's building her own Rolex from parts bought on e-Bay - and a nose for an investigation. She works for the Estates and Trusts Department of a prestigious law firm, but her safely dull routine is up-ended when a distraught widow is determined to prove that her husband has been murdered. Finley gets pushed into investigating what has happened, then the death threats start...

There are shades of Janet Evanovich and Sarah Strohmeyer here, with the slightly ditsy but spunky and good-hearted heroine surrounded by loyal girlfriends and a confused love-life. What I most enjoyed was the dry humour and the way we get to hear Finley's wry unspoken thoughts - especially when she was dealing with her snobbish mother. Lots of puzzled glances came my way on the train as I laughed out loud in mid-page!

I'm happy that further books in this series are planned; can't wait for the next one, 'Knock 'em Dead', and I thoroughly recommend this one if you're into the comedy-murder genre.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really enjoyed it, October 9, 2007

By 

alpha_grrl (Olympia, WA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Knock Off (Finley Anderson Tanner Mysteries) (Hardcover)

"Knock Off" was a great read. It is exactly what I look for in this kind of book. Likeable characters, a clever mystery, not too much "romance novel" emotional blather and a sense of fun. Finley is a paralegal who is more interested in shopping online at work than climbing the corporate ladder until she is drawn into solving the death of the husband of one of her probate clients. The only gripe I have with the story is that the motive of the culprit is weak (or weakly developed). Finley's character and attitude definitely make up for it though.