Dead Copy: A Cauley MacKinnon Novel

Kit Frazier
Midnight Ink (2007)
ISBN 073870959X
Reviewed by Stephanie Rollins for Reader Views (4/07)

Cauley is in her twenties and stuck as an obituary writer.  She is even known as “Obituary Babe.”  This is not a title she likes, and a want-to-be reporter considers obituary writing as a form of purgatory. 

Cauley is a Texas girl through and through.  Her mother is the typical Texan homemaker who can make awesome sweet tea and fried chicken.  Her mother also thinks that Vapo rub is a cure-all.  She has her door open for all, and there is always room at the table for an extra person.  She has a “front porch family” which includes those who are family by proxy.

Cauley has an “in and out” guy, Tom Logan, in her life.  He is a good guy, but he is an FBI agent.  That does not make for stability in a relationship.  He reminds me of “Ranger” in the Stephanie Plum novels.  I wish his character was developed more.  Frazier developed his character in a tantalizing manner; she gives just enough information for the readers to know that he is hot.  “His Levi’s were worn and faded in all the right places, and his black tee shirt revealed the fact that he worked out. A lot.”

Helping out her boyfriend by writing a fake obituary ends up being the beginning of trouble for Cauley.  She is caught in the midst of crossfire on the courthouse stairs.  She is sent dead birds.  She sets out on a journey to find a lost soul.

My favorite line in the book is:  “My aunt Kat says that there are three kinds of men:  the ones you play with, the ones you stay with and the ones that just need killing.”  How philosophical. 

If you like Stephanie Plum novels, you will love “Dead Copy.”  Cauley is bit like Stephanie Plum; she just has a bit more direction and a lot more goals.  “Dead Copy” is a chick book that has a hot guy, a funny love-struck young woman, murder, and mystery.  What more could you ask for?

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