Jane Candiotti is a familiar character to mystery readers who enjoy female sleuths: many failed romances, eats on her ironing board, good at her job but unlucky in love. When Jane is called in to investigate the murder of wealthy socialite Jenna Perry, she seems to be just doing her job. Jenna’s mega-rich father has recently died in a plane crash, and who stands to benefit from these two untimely deaths? Her estranged husband David, of course. The problem is that David Perry is charming, distraught, handsome and kind. These qualities seem to slowly have their effect on poor Inspector Jane -- she gets dumber as the chapters go on.

The author has chosen San Francisco and the famous bridge as a backdrop for the story. (The wealthier characters have bridge views from their homes.) He deftly creates the setting with a sense of foreboding -- the bridge is a crucial element to the story.

Phillips does a nice job weaving various characters in and out of the tale. Lily is the young daughter who is struggling to make sense of her mother’s and grandfather’s deaths. Clarissa is her college-age friend and baby-sitter who is miserably unhappy after being rejected by a mysterious lover. Barton Hubble is the frightening ex-con who seems to be too interested in David. And then there is puppy-dog faithful Kenny Marks, Jane’s sometime boyfriend and handsome younger partner. Although he sometimes has an irritating manner, Kenny is the one who keeps his head during the investigation of Jenna Perry’s murder, something the reader wishes Jane would do.

Fall from Grace is a decent thriller in a Hollywood sort of style. The plot is reminiscent of a good TV movie and the array of characters hold their own through the tense finale. Hopefully, the lovestruck Jane will smarten up a bit if she is to reappear in another story.

--Martha Moore