The Belvedere Club by Nicola Trwst (not a typo)
In full disclosure, Nicola is a friend. We met at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference one year, and have kept in touch since. I liked her wit and writing style, and looked forward to this book because I had heard a few excerpts from earlier drafts.
In this entertaining Who-Done-It, Nicola has paired Briana, a snarky Boston photo-journalist who is addicted to caffeine and tobacco, with Dusty, a sandal wearing, Zen/Yoga/Veganish, Marin County Sheriff. Their different views on lifestyle provide great banter throughout the story, while they traverse the San Francisco landscape working to investigate a murder. It soon turns into two murders, and probably three.
Aside from the upper-crust members of the exclusive Belvedere Club, Nicola has sprinkled her tale with a collection of eccentric characters, and then threw a yapping little poodle into the mix for extra humor. There are plenty of suspects along the way, and Nicola’s pacing keeps us guessing until the very end. This book made me nostalgic to visit San Francisco again, and I can’t wait for the next book in this series. In the mean time, I’ll read her newly released novel, Bayou Nights.
