The challenge in reading a consistently enjoyable series by an always excellent author, is finding new ways to express how good the books are. So, I find myself struggling a bit to review the latest from Country Club Murders series author Julie Mulhern.

Back Stabbers is the eighth books in the series set in 1970’s Kansas City. Ellison Russel is an artist and socialite who also–much to her own and her formidable mother’s chagrin–has a knack for finding bodies. As the story begins, Ellison is waiting for a meeting with her stock broker. Seated next to a client with a relentless cough, Ellison insists on being able to wait for her broker in his office. To everyone’s surprise, Ellison’s broker is also in his office . . . and in no condition to take a meeting. He’s dead–and in a shocking state of undress. In sort order, a second partner with the firm is hospitalized and Ellison is in the middle of something much more complicated than just another murder mystery.

What I think I enjoy the most about this series, is the humor that accompanies every scene. There is seriousness, of course, too, but the small touches that really elevate these books have a touch of levity. Ellison’s affection for Mr. Coffee that rivals her growing feelings for Detective Anarchy Jones, for example. In addition, each Country Club mystery is intriguing, intelligently written, and infinitely readable. A compelling combination that keeps this reader turning the pages and waiting for more.

About the Book
All Ellison Russell wanted was an update on her stock portfolio. Instead, she found her broker dead.

With an unexpected out-of-town guest at her house, Ellison is too busy for a murder investigation. Only this time, Detective Anarchy Jones wants her help, and she can’t deny the handsome detective. Can Mr. Coffee supply her with enough caffeine to keep her brain sharp and everyone else happy?

Juggling bodies (one, two, three, four), two-faced friends, her social calendar, and a cat (yes, a cat) is taxing but Mother might be the biggest challenge of all.

With a killer drawing closer, can Ellison put together the pieces or will she be the one getting stabbed in the back?

About the Author
Julie Mulhern is the USA Today bestselling author of The Country Club Murders.

She is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean–and she’s got an active imagination. Truth is–she’s an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions.