Recovering alcoholic Bruce Kohler and his friends, computer geek Jimmy and incurable codependent Barbara, take shares in a clean and sober group house in a Long Island resort community known locally as Deadhampton. Things turn lethal when the tide washes in the body of their beautiful housemate Clea. The cops don’t think it was murder. But Clea was an investigative journalist whose passions included environmental issues and more than her share of boyfriends. And one free spirit’s passions may be somebody else’s motive for murder. Soon Bruce and his friends are up to their necks in sleuthing. His housemates and the crowd staying with a clean and sober playboy in a big house on the dunes claim recovery from drug, love, and sex addictions, compulsive overeating, bulimia, and anorexia as well as alcoholism. But somebody's not abstaining from murder. As the summer heats up, secrets and lies start buzzing around this dream vacation like flies at a picnic on the beach.
The THIRD Book In The Bruce Kohler Series, formerly titled DEATH WILL EXTEND YOUR VACATION
“A perfect vacation book! Full of heart, full of humor—this honest and believable mystery put its straight-talking characters into a page-turner of a plot. Suspense plus insight plus compassion—equals a great read!” -Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Winner
“The Hamptons plus a juicy murder, with the added twist of addiction and recovery—what more could the intelligent reader want? ” –Carolyn Hart, Malice Domestic Lifetime Achievement Honoree
THE ULTIMATE BEACH READ—SECRETS, LIES, SUNBURN, AND MURDER!
A clean and sober group house might not be everyone's idea of a dream vacation in the Hamptons, but the aptly named Deadhampton seems just about perfect for recovering alcoholic Bruce Kohler, his main man Jimmy, and BFF Barbara the World-Class co-dependent. (Meaning she simply cannot mind her own business.)
Even the neighbors seem kindred spirits. Down the road's a big house in the dunes owned by a clean and sober playboy with a motley crew of house guests in recovery from drug, love, and sex addictions, compulsive overeating, bulimia, and anorexia, not to mention good old-fashioned alcoholism.
BUT SOMEONE'S NOT ABSTAINING FROM MURDER...
All goes swimmingly, so to speak, until Deadhampton lives up to its name in more ways than one way when the tide washes in the body of Clea, the trio's beautiful housemate . "Murder?" say the cops. " Piffle! You people are seeing pink elephants."
But Clea was an investigative journalist whose passions included environmental issues and men—lots of men. Our intrepid three aren't about to let this one go. So who needs the old addictions? Secrets, lies, and danger are the new sex, booze, and drugs!
"Interesting characters, a complex mystery with twists and turns, and a summer on the beach to remember ... Another solidly good one from the talented Elizabeth Zelvin." -Kevin Tipple on Kevin's Corner
"Zelvin brings [her characters] to life. A good plot, and action to keep readers glued to the pages. Good reading for the summer or anytime." -Mysterical-E
"Zelvin has mastered the male voice in a series that doesn't shy away from serious interpersonal issues. She has a natural ear for efficiently melodic prose." -Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
"The relationships between the three friends are as complex as they are fascinating. A credible and extremely interesting glimpse into the lives of the addicted." -Cindy Chow on DorothyL
Excerpt:
Jimmy and I set up the chairs, dug in the pole of the umbrella, and flapped the blanket. Barbara went and paddled in the water. Cheerful screams announced the temperature: too cold for me. She splashed around till we’d done all the work. Then she trotted back to us.
“Give me another bagel,” Barbara said. “I can’t sit still. I’m going to take a little jog. See way down the beach? There.” She pointed to the left. “About halfway to where it gets misty, above the waterline. It looks like a driftwood log. It won’t take long to run up to it and back.”
Holding the bagel in her teeth, she stripped off her shorts and T-shirt. She wore a bathing suit underneath, a serviceable black tank. Jimmy and I hadn’t even taken off our sweatshirts, much less our long pants.
“Where do you plan to put the bagel?” I inquired. “You’re not going to run the whole way with it in your mouth, are you?”
Barbara shook her head. She plucked the bagel from her mouth and tucked it into her cleavage. “Back in twenty minutes or so.”
“Have fun.”
We drank our coffee and watched her skim along the hard sand with an occasional leap like an exuberant gazelle.
We had just about finished our coffee when we heard Barbara yell. She came racing toward us like a steam engine. We heard the urgency in her cries before we could make out words.
“It wasn
From Booklist
Recovering alcoholic Bruce Koehler and his friends Jimmy the techie and professional codependency counselor Barbara buy shares in a Hamptons condo where occupancy is limited to the “clean and sober.” Their summer vacation is transformed into something very different, however, when they find the body of their housemate, Clea, an investigative journalist, while out on a hike. Clea was passionate about environmental issues, and she had several ex-boyfriends. The police are not interested in maintaining the anonymity that these 12-steppers cherish, so Bruce and his friends work hard at finding the killer before too much becomes known about their personal lives. Readers will enjoy the good-natured humor of the characters as well as some keen social satire as they try to blend in with the tony Hamptons setting. --Barbara Bibel