Book ~ "Speak Ill of the Dead" (1999) Mary Jane Maffini

From MaryJaneMaffini.ca~ In the first book in the series, Camilla's best friend, Robin Findlay, is found in a hotel room with a murdered journalist during Ottawa's annual Tulip Festival. Many many people felt like killing Mitzi Brochu but for some reason the police decide Robin has something to do with the crime. Maybe it's the blood on her hands. Maybe it's because she won't say what she was doing there. It's up to Camilla to keep Robin out of the slammer even as the killer strikes again. And again. Each time the danger gets a bit closer to home. Meanwhile Camilla's family, her so-called office staff member Alvin Ferguson and chain-smoking, sherry-guzzling nosy neighbour, Mrs. Violet Parnell, run interference every step of the way. To make matters worse, her favourite sister is making eyes at her least-favourite police officer. And what the devil are all those damn cats up to?

I read the third in this series in July and liked it ... so thought I'd go back and start the series from the beginning. I like the author's writing style so have been reading the other series she has written.

One of the reasons I like this author is because Maffini is a Canadian writer. She was born in Sydney, NS, (where I went to high school) and now lives in Ottawa.

This series is set in Ottawa. Camilla goes to the Mayflower Restaurant on Elgin Street ... I've been at that restaurant a few times when I've been in Ottawa.

I like the heroine in the series. She's a lawyer so it makes sense that she digs into these mysteries and ultimately solves them (unlike Charlotte who is a professional organizer in another series). And given Camilla's Cape Breton background, she and her family drink rum and cokes ... and you know I like them!

There were lots of kitties in this book which I found cute ... they weren't annoying like the two dogs in the first book of the Charlotte Adams' series.

I figured out who dunnit about half way through but not why so there was still some surprise at the end for me.

Like the other books I've read by this author, there are many typos. This surprises me since she had a career working in libraries. Why aren't the proofreaders or editors picking them up?