Odelia is horrified when she arrives at the reunion and sees that the room has been decorated as an exact replica of the prom that has pained Odelia for all these years.  Not only that, Donny Oliver, Odelia’s first, and the source of the embarrassment on prom night, hasn’t changed a lick. 

But Odelia isn’t the only one with less than fond memories of Donny who is shot and killed while Odelia and Dev trip the light fantastic. The next day at work, Odelia realizes that womanizing boss Mike Steele has disappeared, and appears to have been altering some legal documents for an upcoming case that would do a real disservice to his clients. 

While Mike may be a snake in the grass where women are concerned, Odelia knows he is as upstanding an attorney as they come. Odelia has a lot of access to Mike’s life (keys and passwords) and begins poking around, causing Greg to tell her if she continues they will need to “take a break” from each other. 

Soon Odelia realizes that the same players are involved in both of the cases, either directly or through someone else connected to the case.  She finds herself turning to an old contact who has all but disappeared from real life, to find out some things that she wishes she never knew.  Odelia desperately wants to get back with Greg, but also feels a certain loyalty to locate her boss. She also want to make sure her newly acquainted friend Sally, who is the mother of Donny’s young adult son, is cleared of Donny’s murder (even though Sally admits to trying to kill Donny once before). All this and she has managed to catch Greg’s nasty cold and he isn’t even around to nurse her back to health.  

Odelia is an enjoyable character who knows her shortcomings and weaknesses, but is willing to put them aside for the better good.  She can be stubborn when warranted and accommodating when it is to her advantage. 

There is a lot going on in the plot with many different relationships and who knows who and who does who and who works with who.  It gets confusing at times, and although it is all sorted out in the end, it may not be entirely satisfactory to some readers who will go back through the story to pick up threads they may have dropped along the way.   

All in all, Thugs and Kisses is an enjoyable mystery with a down to earth heroine who does not let her personal problems overshadow murder and who shows everyone that there definitely is life after high school.  

                                    --Jennifer Monahan Winberry