Tally has just received a note that she is in grave danger and should meet the unknown writer of the note in LA When she arrives at the appointed time, she finds her informant has died. Even more afraid, Tally rushes to Lexy to ask for help. It turns out Tally was secretly adopted as an infant and her parents always told her she would be in mortal danger if her birth family found her.

Lexy says she knows nothing about the private eye business, but Tally prevails, convincing Lexy that software consulting and reading mysteries are the perfect prerequisites.

Armed with Molly, Lexy travels to LA to try and learn the identity of the woman who wrote the note. From there, she travels to Santa Barbara and then finally to Westchester in New York. With only a friendship ring inscribed with the initials P.J. and the name of the dead informant, Lexy begins to work through old yearbooks, questioning people who attended high school during the 1960’s, some of whom are not interested in reliving the past, putting Tally and herself in more danger as she gets closer to the truth.

At times, Chandler’s Daughter is an entertaining debut mystery and Lexy Connor is an entertaining middle-aged, overweight heroine, but some parts of the novel are not very believable. The fact that Lexy, a software consultant, does not turn more to the Internet, even for basic fact-finding is odd. When she tries to locate school districts in Westchester, she concocts an elaborate scenario in a real estate office, trying to get a districting map, which would most likely have changed over the past thirty-some years, and which are readily available from many sources and don’t need to be filched from a Realtor.

In one scene, Lexy is alone in her hotel room and opens the door to a stranger, an act she admits prior to committing, is foolish, but does anyway, leaving readers to feel she is closer to incautious that gutsy. When the final danger to Tally is revealed, it seems unlikely that someone would harbor such intense feelings of jealously all these years and a fear of sharing an inheritance. It is also unbelievable, given the alleged amount of money the family has, that no one was able to track Tally down sooner.

The mystery is fast-paced and complex enough to hold the reader’s attention, even if the conclusion isn’t entirely satisfying. Lexy does have the potential to grow into a formidable and entertaining character, joining the growing ranks of the middle-aged, professional amateur sleuths.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry