Murder Under Her Skin - Pentecost and Parker, Book Two

Willowjean ("Will") Parker and Lillian Pentecost return in this second mystery novel by Stephen Spotswood.  I enjoyed the first mystery enough that I bought this second book without hesitation.  Parker and Pentecost are by far one of the most unique private investigative teams I have read to date.  Pentecost is an aging private investigator suffering from multiple sclerosis, and Parker is a former circus performer turned P.I. that Pentecost has taken under her wing.  Pentecost is unusually observant, unbelievably patient, and undeniably persistent, while Parker is a "fly by the seat of your pants" type of gal who has a tendency to let her anger get the better of her.  Set in the mid-1940s, this series does what every murder mystery series should - it allows the protagonists to sift through clues, follow-up on leads, and make intelligent deductions, all without the aid of cell phones, computers, and the internet.  

Murder Under Her Skin opens at the end of a case, as Pentecost is called upon to testify at a Court hearing where a man is charged with arson, burning down some tenements in a neighborhood that most people wouldn't give a second glance.  But Pentecost believes everyone deserves justice, and she utilizes all of her best tricks to reveal the arsonist's true nature right there in the courtroom for the jury, the judge, and the public to see.  But what she doesn't know is that Parker has already received a communication requesting aid for a new case.  And this one hits way too close to home for Parker.

The tattooed woman at Hart & Halloway's Traveling Circus and Sideshow has been killed - a knife in her back, literally!  Ruby Donner was one of Parker's friends while she traveled with the circus back in the day, so Parker wants to find out exactly what happened.  Especially since the only suspect in the case, who is sitting in the small town jail in Stoppard, Virginia, is the circus' knife-thrower - a man who took Parker under his wing, trained her, and became her friend and mentor.  She knows there is no way he would have ever killed Ruby, regardless of the tensions between them.  But someone spotted him in the very place where Ruby was killed just moments before the body was discovered - and that is all the evidence the small town sheriff needs to lock him away.

Pentecost and Parker make the trek from New York to Virginia, and Parker reunites with her circus friends.  But there are a lot of new people under the big top, and Parker soon discovers that even those people she thought of as friends are not being honest with her.  Spotswood is the king of misdirection and red herrings, as this mystery is full of false leads, lies, misconceptions, misunderstandings, and betrayals.  He keeps Parker on her toes as she weaves her way through the sideshow of freaks, the small town of hypocrites, and an admirer who is keeping his own secrets from her, his preacher father, and the whole town.  Pentecost, though, sits back and takes it all in, slowly deducing what is really going on and just who really did kill Ruby Donner.

I thoroughly enjoyed the romp through the circus world, and I think Spotswood perfectly captured the camaraderie and the loyalty that a circus family creates for one another, along with their shared distrust of outsiders, even if the outsider did used to be one of their own.  In a world where "freaks" and "outcasts" are viewed with disgust and as less than human, it is nice to see the tables turned, where it turns out to be the small, church-going community who is actually hiding the dark secrets and deadly sins.  Plus, it was great to learn a lot more about Parker's past ... now if we could just delve a little bit deeper into Pentecost's past (although we do learn a few things in this book about her father).  

Parker gains a few more scars to add to her collection before this mystery is solved, and I can tell you right now - whoever you think the killer is, you're going to be wrong.  I was completely taken by surprise at the identity of the killer - although once everything is explained, it does make sense.  But the revelation does have a huge impact on both the circus and the Virginia town, causing ripples that will change both of them in drastic ways.

The third book has already been solicited, so there's no doubt that I'll be picking it up when it comes out.

RATING:  9 bouquets of daisies out of 10 for a great mystery, some unusual and fun characters, and some exploration of the protagonists' pasts!