Feb 05 2015
Death at the Dojo: Murder trumps serenity in 'Gilt Trip'
Written by Barbara Clark
'Gilt Trip' by Arlene Kay
ImaJinn Books, Memphis, TN
Paperback, 196 pp., $14.95
What’s your unique wedding present for your one and only? Author Arlene Kay has led us a merry chase into the third book of her Boston UnCommons mystery series, and by the time we open “Gilt Trip,” mystery novelist Eja Kane is puzzling over what to buy her fiancé as a present for their upcoming nuptials.
To hear Eja describe her beloved, Deming Swann is a hot, hunky, buff, hazel-eyed guy (of Asian/Swedish descent, no less). He’s filthy rich besides, with a successful law practice that pretty much swims among the “uber rich.” And he’s a former romantic rake and Harvard man to boot. With this info, and depending on your requirements for an evening’s distraction, this book may be for you.
If you’ve followed Eja’s adventures in Kay’s previous two books (“Swann Dive,” “Man Trap”) you know that she’s now engaged to this gorgeous guy from a moneyed family, and the wedding is on the horizon. Seeking a present for her Someone Who Has Everything, she notices a tony Newbury Street door sign that reads “Shaolin City, Sound Mind, Toned Body.” Eja decides that a little toning and a body beautiful might make the perfect present. And a little martial arts training could hardly go amiss, either – with her nose for deadly situations, Eja seems to be accumulating a lot of experience with murder.
Eja and her friend, socialite and mother-in-law-to-be Anika Swann, sign up for martial arts lessons at the dojo. Eja notices a couple of well-heeled and beautiful dojo groupies, Phaedra and Heather, who hover around Master Moore and his assistant like bees to honey. There seems to be a mean competition under way to snag the teachers’ attention and favors. This time, Eja’s edgy sense for crime needs no sharpening, because one evening at the dojo, Phaedra’s dead body tumbles out of the supply closet right at her feet.
As events unfold, it turns out that not only were the two women competing for dojo favors of one sort or another, but Phaedra was also seeing Heather’s hubby, Horton, on the sly, and Horty just happens to be Deming’s client. Got it? Throw in a scam to defraud a philanthropic organization that Horty controls and some hefty speculating in gold bullion, and you have plenty of plot to get on with.
It takes a lot of martial arts and kung fu forms to discover the culprit in this fast-moving, snappy plot, but Eja’s on the case, with a little help from Anika and Deming. Unfortunately, this well-constructed story is marred by a gloss of unreality that goes beyond the normal frippery of romantic suspense. For all her avowed independence of mind and spirit, Eja seems like putty in the hands of Deming and his well-to-do family. They coddle, protect and treat her like a child. I, for one, would have a hard time getting sizzled over any guy, no matter how rich and good-looking, who calls me “baby” a lot or, worse, follows me to find out what I’m up to. According to Eja, Deming’s “Come on, I’ll drive you home” is “more order than offer.”
Suave and educated they may be, but insulated from real life big-time. Eja is too accepting of this coddling, which seems like something out of a bygone era. After reading, you just may want to run outside for a breath of unencumbered air.
Registered User
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote