Now instead of working in a high-powered, six figure job, Helen is working in low-level, low profile, low paying (but untraceable cash paying) jobs, living a simpler and generally more enjoyable life.

Helen has found a home in The Coronado, an apartment complex with oddball tenants - but tenants who accept you as you are and, best of all, don't ask a lot of personal questions. It is here that Helen meets landlord Margery and Peggy, with whom she often shares glasses of wine and sunsets, but not much personal history. It is this anonymous way of life that puts Helen in the midst of her second murder investigation.

Helen's latest dead-end job is at a local bookstore chain, Page Turners, run by the smarmy Page Turner III. In a short amount of time, Page has managed to destroy the small but respected chain his grandfather created. Page strings along aspiring female authors, often filming them during sexual encounters in his office, but never helps them advance their careers.

Page has just announced the closing of one of his stores, causing rumors to abound among already disgruntled employees. No one is surprised when Page Turner is found dead, but they are surprised when he is found dead in Peggy's bed in an apartment that has been sealed off for termite fumigation, a knife in his back.

Peggy is immediately arrested for Page's murder and when the fact that she was once engaged to Page is revealed, the police think they have all the evidence they need to convicted her. Though Helen is shocked to learn her friend was once engaged to the awful Page (and knows Peggy would be shocked to learn her past), she believes Peggy when she says she is innocent and agrees to see if she can find the real murderer.

Murder Between the Covers is a quick, entertaining read, though the characters are not as interesting as they were in the first Dead-End Job Mystery. Helen is still spending a considerable amount of time looking over her shoulder. She is also having a run of bad luck choosing boyfriends, something she might consider putting off until she is more comfortable in her new surroundings. She also spends a lot of time looking for her next job, even before her current job is over and because she wants to be paid in cash, runs across some very odd characters.

Helen is a plucky character, who is becoming very independent and self-reliant. Readers will find themselves cheering her on. She may, at some point, need to figure out a better lifestyle, but for now, this way of life seems to suit her. Suspects abound, from the mysterious Madam Muffy, to new author Melanie, to a chorus of disgruntled employees, none of which is every really fleshed out as a viable suspect.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry