A cute little story about a young bartender, Marie-Plum, who's obsessed with mystery stories (I suspect they're cozies from their titles and the name of their lead, Shirley McSnuffles). One evening after work Marie-Plum finds her neighbour and
former limbo champion, Bonnie, dead in her apartment. Marie-Plum takes it upon herself to investigate when she finds the one police officer on duty in town uninterested in the death.
Marie-Plum wanders from one of Bonnie’s haunts to another, talking to people who knew the woman. Oddly, each of these people ends up dead soon after their conversations....
This story has a lot of charm. Marie-Plum sees nefarious deeds all around her thanks to her obsession with Mrs. McSnuffles' cases. She barges into situations, whether to question them or to urge them to read the mystery series, which she'll happily loan you a copy of book one. There's one scene in particular that had me laughing; it mimics the tight-jawed discussions of 007 and a potential target over drinks and a card-game: Marie-Plum and the owner of a bar (and convenience store) have a tense discussion over a game of Go Fish.
Bonnie’s case is pretty easy to solve, but this story is really about nice Marie-Plum and her love of mysteries.