Customer Reviews

Sex, A Mystery

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4 star:		(1)
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I can't remember the last time I had so much fun reading a mystery! By her own definition, Lydia Quess is an MBA turned Whistleblower turned Courtesan turned Private Detective. (Her scathingly humorous analysis of Corporate America really hit home for me, a similarly shipwrecked survivor of 2, count 'em 2, international corporations that went under due to outrageously blatant executive malfeasance.) It was a champagne treat watching Lydia, my more elegant spiritual sister, navigate through the high society sharks infesting Manhattan to pull together the clues needed to solve the murder of her client and friend. Highly recommended, and I eagerly await a sequel.

Hurray, Fiona, and thanks. Pure delight all the way through, and written by a master of the genre. I read it on a flight from Tokyo to Newark, wonderful story.

I have to say that chick lit mystery is a new genre for me. Actually, if anyone had voiced such a genre even a few months ago to me, I would have been hard-pressed to think of one book that fits the bill. With SEX, A MYSTERY, however, Ms. Quirina has hit the nail on the head. A delightful blend of humor, wisecracks, mystery, and an adorable amateur sleuth as a heroine-this book just plain works.

Lydia Quess is a Harvard graduate who believes she's found her niche as a corporate bigwig for a huge food conglomerate. That is, until she opens her mouth to blow the whistle on the company's baby food formula, which is less than nutritious and healthy for the babies. Now unemployed and unqualified for any job other than international marketing, Lydia finds herself on the wrong side of Manhattan's lifestyle chain.

Her good friend Dr. Sylvie Kahn, a renowned sex therapist, harbors the idea of Lydia becoming a "sex surrogate"-or, to Lydia's way of thinking-a courtesan of sorts. All is progressing quite well, with Lydia able to keep her Fifth Avenue duplex, stylish clothes on her back, and fashionable shoes on her feet, until one Michael Peabody Linscott III is found murdered-in Lydia's bed.

Suddenly, the former executive with the MBA turned surrogate sex professional is the prime suspect in a murder. What's a single woman at her peak to do? Turn in her therapeutic badge for one as a detective.

SEX, A MYSTERY is a real treat. Lydia's escapades are hilarious, the dialogue is funny and refreshing, and her quest to find out who murdered Michael Linscott is a hoot. Ms. Quirina has found a niche with this chick lit mystery, and I personally can't wait to see what she comes up with.

Lydia Guess has a degree from Barnard, and an MBA from Harvard. She had been a vice president in a corporation until her ethics caused her to blow the whistle on corporate wrongdoing. So, using her business training, she goes into a different line of work and becomes a high priced courtesan. As she puts it, "Just lucky I guess." She gets her referrals from a sex therapist - someone she knew in school who has a mail order psychology degree from India and a thriving business improving people's libidos, an equal opportunity business using both courtesans and gigolos.

Things are going well until a client ends up naked and very dead, with an icepick in his back lying face down on Lydia's bed. That leads to some interesting conversations with the investigating police about the nature of her business. It also involves Lydia in the investigation as she tries to prove that she did not commit the crime.

Lydia discovers things she did not know about some of the people in her life, and meets various interesting people along the way. Characters introduced in the story are her celibate roommate Paddy Riordin, a priest who administers to the needs of the moles living under Grand Central Station with some financial help from Lydia; Paddy's assistant Manuel, who lives in a dumpster as a matter of choice; Dr. Sylvia Kahn, the sex therapist friend; Angelica Linscott, the wife of the dead client (who does not seem to be overly crushed by his death); Captain Amy Liu of the police, who has some marital problems of her own (women should learn that primitive hunks are for weekend entertainment, not for marrying - there comes a point when you have to talk to them); and Danny Bloomster, a self centered gigolo who had been servicing Angelica and others for a price.

The case has its twists and turns as Lydia tries to identify the killer, and puts herself in some danger in the process. She declines to make herself an instant millionaire by cashing in on a secret Swiss bank account she discovers in the process (probably the same ethics that got her fired from the Corporation). The mystery is finally solved, but Lydia ends up unemployed again, or so it seems. The novel has a 2005 copyright, so possibly the author has a sequel in mind.

Lydia Quess has an MBA from Harvard and worked as Senior Vice President of International Marketing at a nameless Fortune 500 food conglomerate. However, having slept through the course on Business Ethics, Lydia blows the whistle on how the company's lucrative overseas baby formula was causing malnutrition. The company was fined and Lydia was unemployed and unqualified when she sought new executive work.

Wanting to maintain her Manhattan lifestyle, Lydia obtains work from a friend, sex therapist Dr. Sylvie Kahn who sends clients her way. The position proves lucrative enabling Lydia to pay her share of the apartment she platonically shares with Father Paddy as her stable consistently shows up for sessions. However, Michael Peabody Linscott III of Tuesday appointment fame is murdered in Lydia's bed. The police assume Lydia killed her client as opportunity for anyone else to have committed the crime is very limited with a doorman on duty. Unable to sit back and take the hit, Lydia investigates the murder starting with learning more about Michael.

SEX, A MYSTERY is a tremendous chick lit amateur sleuth romp that deftly handles a variety of social and personal issues with humor and intelligence. Lydia charms the audience as she provides an amusing Manhattan romp while seeking to prove her innocence, which she knows the man she saw flee the crime scene (for murder not bad sex) in the gray suit probably is one of her other clients. Fans of lighthearted with a serious undertone chic mysteries will enjoy Lydia's New York City joy ride.

Harriet Klausner