(Reviewed by JD Jung)
Twenty-four year old aspiring journalist, Copper Black, left the comfort of the East Coast to accept an offer at a newspaper, the Las Vegas Light, as an Assistant Editor. This was in spite of warnings from her mother, who believed the city’s sinful reputation.
She wouldn’t be alone there, though. Her brother, an Episcopal priest and his wife already live there. Her brother is making it his life mission to help the homeless and the less fortunate. He is close to opening a homeless center, but is impeded by his lack of business sense.
When Copper interviews a legal prostitute, Victoria, who later winds up dead in a suspicious accident, Copper can’t leave it at that. As she delves into this further she comes across the names of powerful Vegas people who could be cheating her brother. Some of these people also have shown up at the brothel that Victoria worked at. Could they have been involved in her death? As Copper snoops around she is suspiciously followed and her apartment is even broken into.
Full Service Blonde is closer to a “cozy” mystery than a gritty, dark thriller that I favor. However, what I particularly enjoyed about this book were all of the sub-plots and the lack of “black and white” . Copper learns how to deal with her misogynistic co-workers, but then finds out that there’s more to one in particular on a personal level. She also finds shocking details about her family . Needless to say, the characters and their distinct personalities actually make the story.
Personally I don’t care for Las Vegas, but there’s a lot to like about this Vegas-based novel, Full Service Blonde.
