Bonnie Indermill is a responsible and hardworking woman who moves from job to job in her role as a temp. She lives alone (well, there is a cat) and generally seems to enjoy her independence. In this novel, Bonnie is working hard to save money to pitch in on a new side-by-side refrigerator for her brother and his wife. She has the typical family ups and downs, with an especially annoying sister-in-law who can't understand why Bonnie doesn't want to marry, have kids and live in the New Jersey suburbs.

At work, Bonnie finds herself confronted with a face from the past. Tom Hurley, another new guy at R & G, went to high school with her brother. The handsome and charming Tom puts Bonnie to work in personnel, where she conveniently has access to everyone's files. Bonnie also finds herself summoned by the rude and intimidating Carl Dorfmeyer – who quickly finds fault with her shorthand. Oh, but he gets his comeuppance later when someone shoots him between the eyes! Was it the disgruntled manager of security? Or the grumpy and angry office mate? Or could a previously "down sized employee have brought revenge? As evidence seems to mount implicating Bonnie, she begins to do some sleuthing on her own.

Death of a Downsizer is Carole Berry's eighth mystery featuring the office clerical heroine Bonnie Indermill. It is the first one that I have read. As a new reader to this series, I had conflicting feelings about this story. On the one hand, Bonnie is a pleasant and regular person – working hard to make a living, the single woman in New York City. She is very normal, very like the rest of us working to get ahead in her professional life while also wondering about Mr. Right. While I enjoyed reading about a "normal" person and her attempts to clear herself as a murder suspect, I also found her a bit boring. Can Bonnie be a bit too average? Maybe readers think they want a regular guy (or gal) sleuth, but perhaps we really desire someone whose life is more adventurous than our own? It made me think that while Bonnie is perfectly nice, I'd enjoy her more if there was a bit more spice and spunk in her.

The plot also lacked pizzazz. The first half of the book moves very slowly, detailing Bonnie's filing, transcribing, and dictation exploits. Anyone who has ever done this work knows how boring it is – and reading about it is even worse! The second half of the book is much improved. Once we finally have a murder and a few suspects, the pace picks up. Still, there are some weak points in the plot. For example, Bonnie is able to piece one big clue into the puzzle when she conveniently runs into a character she suspects at a liquor store in New Jersey. How many millions of people live in the New York vicinity? And she sees her one suspicious woman while out buying wine for her brother's anniversary party?

Death of a Downsizer is not a strong introduction to the Bonnie Indermill mysteries. Perhaps some of the others are more entertaining and less run of the mill. Frankly, as Bonnie is a likeable character, I hope I just happened to read about her while she was having a bad week!

--Martha Moore