Well Bred and Dead

by: Catherine O'Connell

Published by: Harper

Reviewed by Sharon Broom

A High Society Mystery

Chicago's society landscape is littered with new money, old money, and the "I have no money, but I have the pedigree.' Newly widowed Pauline Cook loves her position in Chicago's high-society, but she is pretty well near the bottom of the 'cash barrel.' And that's a problem. She may not have money, but she's beautiful in that 40-ish sort of way, and she has her best friend and writer, Ethan Campbell to keep her company.

When Ethan appears to have taken his own life, it is up to cash-strapped Pauline to give him the proper burial (one fitting her station in life). But Pauline questions Ethan's suicide. It really appears more like murder. And when she discovers several birth certificates in Ethan's possession, she embarks on a quest to discover the truth about her best friend. Her investigation just might get her murdered.

O'Connell writes a fun (and stereotypical) take on society and the people who inhabit the small world the rest of us only view through photographs and gossip items. This has the markings of a series.

Armchair Interviews says: If you like cozy, amateur sleuth mysteries, you might enjoy Well Bred and Dead.