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The Primrose Convention (1998), former pathologist turned advice columnist (or "agony aunt," as the British say) Rosie Hollander returns in this delightful second installment. After writing a column about "tough love" to help a reader cope with her drug-addicted son, Rosie receives a call from the woman who begs for help as the son is holding her at knifepoint and demanding to see the person responsible for the "tough" strategy. Rosie rushes off to help, only to find herself the victim of a hoax arranged by a local TV show. Then one of the show's researchers is killed, and Rosie's psychic friend Shad confesses to the crime. Rosie doesn't buy it and decides to investigate, which takes her and her reluctant sidekick, Arthur Prufrock, on a very topsy-turvy chase. This series is distinguished by Bannister's ability to combine cozy and hard-boiled elements, masterfully mixing light and dark to produce absorbing and entertaining mysteries. Bannister is also the author of the excellent Castlemere series of police procedurals.
Stuart Miller