A Decadent Way to Die by G A McKevett ****

In A Decadent Way To Die by G A McKevett (pseudonym for Sonja Massie), Grandma Helene Strauss is a very rich and feisty doll maker, but yet someone is trying to kill her. Could it be granddaughter Emma with inappropriate metal-rock musician boyfriend Kyd, or niece Ada who obviously wants to take over the doll making empire, or nephew Waldo is just wants to stay high on drugs forever?

Savannah Reid, the transplanted southern belle, retired southern California cop, solves this mystery with her assistant vegetarian-drinker-of-organic-water Tammy, and her perennial, not quite boyfriend Dirk. For this special occasion Tammy also has an inappropriate boyfriend: Chad.

The main attraction in this whodunit, as usual in this series, is Savannah and Dirk.

You talk too much. ... They say women speak twice as many words ... as men do.

That's because men don't listen and we have to repeat everything.

However, underneath this light mystery is a serious message about battered women with advice and references at the end.

Delightful summer reading and a possible gift for that friend of yours in an inappropriate relationship.

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).