Seems the cameo is actually a valuable piece of Russian art work. When their homes are burglarized, the jeweler turns up murdered, and Paavo’s foster father is shot during a supposed burglary attempt, Paavo begins unearthing family secrets. Having never known his father’s identity, and abandoned by his mother at 4 years old, Paavo soon learns that his family and the brooch are tied up with the Russian Mafia. The closer he and Angie get to the truth, the deadlier the game becomes.

While subtitled as “An Angie Amalfi Mystery,” Pence’s eighth book in this series rests more squarely on the shoulders of Paavo. The mystery is entirely wrapped up in his family history, and his search into his parents’ background. Angie plays a more peripheral role, doing some light snooping, interviewing a few people related to the case, and passing information along to her boyfriend.

Paavo is a to-die-for mystery hero. I was immediately infatuated with him, and drawn in by his personal demons. This being the first book in this series I have ever read, I was sucked in by Pence’s dynamite characterization of a cop with a turbulent past.

However, it took me considerably longer to warm up to Angie, and even then I was never totally enamored with her. At the beginning of this tale, Angie has this “great” idea to do video restaurant reviews. She then sets out to local eating establishments with video camera in tow, never considering that the restaurant management or the general public might not like having their privacy trampled on. She then goes through some failed covert attempts, which I think were supposed to illustrate her quirky and amusing nature. Instead, I found her flighty and flaky.

That said, Angie does, at times, display a practical and intelligent nature when her back is against a wall. There is a particularly clever scene where Angie uses a cell phone and her neighbor to thwart some hired goons who are watching her apartment. It’s also apparent from her scenes with Paavo, that she deeply cares for him and wants to help him deal with his past. Since I was a big fan of Paavo, Angie’s treatment of him did quite a bit to soften her image in my eyes.

Fans of this series will undoubtedly enjoy this latest installment, as it provides scads of insight into Paavo’s psyche. Newcomers will also find quite a bit to like in Pence’s imaginative tale, that incorporates a nice romantic couple and cozy atmosphere with a harder edge. I had a nice time, and hope that Pence continues to exploit Paavo’s past for reader gains.

--Wendy Crutcher