Groomed for Death

Robin is a housewife and a horse person; her husband Jeet is a culinary writer and gourmet cook. Opposites attract, though, and they seen quite satisfied with their ordinary life on Primrose Farm in Texas. Then Jeet gets a chance to be a big-time writer of cookbooks in New York City, so they travel there for some serious wooing from a couple of publishing houses.

Jeet does his best to warn Robin of the dangers of the Big Apple, but Robin strikes out on her own anyway and meets Flora, a young, kind and colorful lady who is currently down on her luck. Flora works for the Claremont Riding Academy in the heart of the city, and shows Robin around, embroiling her in a slapstick mystery. Then a body falls out of the sky, and Jeet is accused of murder.

Then there’s a weird vegetarian clothing designer Mia who simply must be involved in the whole scheme somehow. Mia is everywhere, and she’s not a very nice person in spite of all of her success.

Groomed for Death was, in spite of its title, a hilarious book. Robin is practical, naive, and pragmatic and her encounters with assorted New Yorkers made me chuckle. A horseback chase through the bridle paths in Central Park only added to the hilarity. I enjoyed the funny references to The Fugitive and Tommy Lee Jones, but I nearly peed my pants laughing when Robin hooked up with a couple of sistas from Harlem and got a 7-hour hairdo and a disguise.

I love horses, and as a horse aficionado have taken many riding lessons over the years, so I was intrigued by the theme of this book. The attention to detail was excellent, and Ms. Banks descriptions of stable life were dead on. Groomed for Death is sure to liven up your day, as well as leave you laughing!

Reviewed by: Michelle