Antiques Knock-Off -- Barbara Allan (Barbara and Max Allan Collins)

Brandy Borne, seven months pregnant with a child that isn't hers, and Vivian, her mother, who is really her grandmother, are back on the scene, and sure enough, there's another murder. This time it involves Brandy's sister, who is really her mother. If you think that sounds confusing, it's not, and it's all actually very funny. In fact, the first page of this book is so funny and so well done that I just had to stop reading for a while and admire it.

I enjoy Brandy's narrative voice, and Vivian's, too, though she gets short shrift, only one chapter per book, or one-and-a-half in this case (and two in the previous book). This time, both Brandy and Vivian are off their meds for most of the book, and that makes things just that much more entertaining.

I mentioned the murder, right? Okay, Vivian immediately confesses to it, and her fingerprints are all over the murder weapon. Her time in jail is great reading, and it provides a nice coda for the whole book. This one is highly recommended.