Tracy grew up in a very unconventional family as the daughter of two famous but eccentric movie stars, so of course, she marries Drew, an extremely conventional probate lawyer. Drew’s family is so stodgy she is elated to be an only child, but it takes her parents very little effort to “sometimes make her wish (she’d) been spawned in a test tube.” Tracy’s amusing insights about her family’s idiosyncrasies and caprices produce a particularly fun book.

Tracy and Drew travel to New York City to attend his sister Marisa’s wedding to Tony Lora. As the family sits down for a pre-wedding dinner, a telegram is delivered announcing the arrival of Drew’s Uncle Philly, the proverbial black sheep in the family. The family refuses to discuss him, making Tracy very curious to meet him.

The next morning, Marisa fails to appear for their final wedding dress fittings with the seamstress, so Tracy decides to go in search of her at the Gypsy Princess, Marisa’s and Tony’s restaurant. Tony seriously begins to worry, because he has no idea where she may be.

Tracy decides to head home, but as she leaves the restaurant, she recognizes her husband in a passing cab and hails one herself to follow him. Surprisingly, Drew is following another cab, one with Uncle Philly in it. Using her novice detecting skills, she figures out her cab has the better driver, and when Drew’s driver loses Uncle Philly, she continues the chase. He arrives at an apartment building with a doorman and goes in while Tracy sits at a neighboring café to wait. Preparing to follow him as he leaves, she is incredulous and thrilled when the police pick her up for questioning.

Returning to her in-laws’ home, Tracy finds everyone upset about Marisa’s disappearance. To make matters worse, Tony arrives babbling hysterically about Marisa being kidnapped and receiving a telephone call demanding a ransom. However, the ransom demand is not for money; the kidnapper stipulates they must turn over the deed to the Gypsy Princess.

At one point in the book, I had hoped Tracy would make her husband eat crow for not appreciating her special talents and loosen up, but I came to realize his stuffed shirt personality creates a wonderful foil for her innovative and unique style. Tracy’s innate sense of humor and appreciation of the absurd enables her to remain calm in the midst of her chaotic, blended family.

Her parents are involved in show business, highly theatrical, and zany, always putting her in the middle of their relationships because she is their only child. From Drew’s side of the family, there is her charismatic, but extraordinarily conventional father-in-law, and her rigidly ladylike and society-driven mother-in-law. Her brother-in-law is too indulgent with booze since the recent break up of his marriage, and her new uncle seems to be a cherubic con man. Tracy thinks the most normal member of her new family is her sister-in-law, Marisa, who might possibly be a changeling in this sea of dysfunctional relatives.

The characters form a colorful backdrop for an equally intriguing plot, which involves kidnapping rather than murder, moving quickly with several unpredictable twists and turns. Tracy’s fearless, indomitable, and cleverly inventive style and approach to life, like her hilariously abundant one-liners, have laid the groundwork for her continuing success.

--Monica Pope