Claire Fontaine, Crime Fighter by Tracey Enright

Since I'm going to be gone next week when most of my library books are due, I have to finish up some of them (if possible, sadly, some will go back unread). So yesterday I decided I was going to read Claire Fontain, Crime Fighter by Tracey Enright. And it's a nice, cute, fun read.

A Novel of Life and Death...and Shoes

Claire Fontaine is sassy, sexy, sophisticated, and rich. Henry Bennett is fat, sloppy, slow, and a bad dresser. He's a private eye, and as far as he's concerned, she's his assistant. As far as she's concerned, he's her partner. Their entire relationship, in fact, is one big difference of opinion, and the results are hilarious.

Now Henry has been hired to investigate the murder of a young woman who liked to party. Claire helps (or hinders, depending on your point of view) when she can drag herself away from her Brentwood mansion and the James Bond-like hunk who lives next door. As Claire and Henry try to trace the victim's last known companions, they stumble across streets that the rich and famous desperately try to hide.

If you like sleuths who are stylish, seductive, and full of great fun, then Claire Fontaine is the crime fighter for you.

Like I said, this is a quick read. But it's also chock full of fun. I'd definitely classify it in the chick lit mystery section. Claire is high society and only has her job with Bennett because she has friends in high places. It's not really mentioned why she pulled strings to get the job, but it's implied that she's just bored with her life and wants something meaningful to do. And oddly enough, it works.

There's a bit of romance with a mysterious neighbor, although it gets a bit derailed halfway through when Claire does a monumentally stupid thing. Not TSTL, just stupid. More of a "what were you thinking?" moment. I liked how all the clues are shown, it's fun to see Claire working through everything.

The relationship between her and Henry is also a great one. It's obvious that she's starving for attention and really want to be good at something. This really isn't that annoying, just there. She's not exactly your everyday woman with her designer clothing and accessories (and we do get those designer names, but they're important to Claire, so it fits in how she thinks of them). But she's also a sympathetic character and I really enjoyed getting to know her.

So I'm going to definitely read the next book. I think this is the start of a fun series. Also, as far as I know, Tracey Enright doesn't have a website. And this is her first book. but you can read an excerpt here, just scroll down a bit.