The first thing Dyce finds is a nest of seven baby rats.  She makes several phone calls to try and foster them out, but realizes that most people want baby rats for their value as snake food.  She can’t bear to do that to her new pets so she sets up an aquarium and feeding schedule (complete with tummy rubbings) with her best friend from high school, Ben. The added bonus to having Ben around is Dyce’s toddler son, Enoch, (E), loves Ben, giving Dyce extra free time to refinish furniture, or snoop into her latest mystery which also came from the piano. 

Dyce also finds a 100-year old letter from Almeria Martin to a man named Jacinth which makes Dyce think the two were having an affair and were planning on running away with each other.  Intrigued, Dyce begins to look into what happened to the couple, and learns they vanished without a trace. 

Alemeria’s descendants still live in Goldport (CO) and Dyce begins to ask questions about Almeria and what might have happened to the ill-fated lovers. Before long, she is being threatened about keeping the rats and investigating the letter. She and Cas don’t think the two are connected, but someone wants Dyce to back off and is willing to use desperate measures to make sure she does.  

A very funny mystery with a likable cast of characters, French Polished Murder will win new fans to the series. The characters are much stronger than in the first book, and much more believable. Ben is nursing his broken heart, but Dyce, E and the rats are fitting the bill nicely, though a stray cat and animal poisonings in the area might provide a new man in his life (with a little help from Cas). 

Dyce despises her ex-husband and his new wife, but makes sure they contribute time (and money) to E’s upbringing, in spite of E’s protests.  Cas is utterly devoted to Dyce and, though they’ve been together a short while, seems to want to make their situation more permanent. 

The mystery that began 100 years ago is very intriguing and has modern day connections that prove very interesting. While it is reasonably easy to figure out what occurred, the who-dunnit is a little harder and a little bit unbelievable, but that does not detract from the overall plot.  With Dyce’s eccentric bookstore owning parents and refinishing tips added in, French Polished Murder is sure to please and leave readers eager for the next Daring Finds mystery.                                                              

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry