Death and Taxes

Jill Smith #7

by Susan Dunlap

Until someone put a poisoned needle in his bicycle seat, Phil Drem was the meanest, most nit-picking IRS agent in Berkeley, California.

But when Detective Jill Smith began searching Berkeley's backwaters for the tax man's killer, she found a different picture of Drem: a caring Drem, whose once-beautiful wife was "allergic to the world" and whose friends and enemies, old hippies and would-be entrepreneurs, enjoyed a ghoulish pastime called The Death Game. Did the Death Game KO Drem? Was someone's schedule a motive for murder? And what about a CPA who drove a red Lotus ruthlessly and guaranteed his clients they'd never be audited?

Only one thing is for sure—somewhere in Berkeley's colorful backwaters, a killer is still on the loose. And for a detective who loves her city, doubts her lover, and has a knack for solving the toughest of crimes, finding the truth is about as inevitable as...Death And Taxes.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

247 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Susan Dunlap is best known for her Jill Smith detective series, but she is a prolific and much loved writer of crime and mystery fiction, including award-winning short stories.

Reviews

[Kevin J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure why I finished it. Never got invested with the character or the plot. Mostly it was in the van so I read it while waiting on various children and/or doctors.

[Beckah LaPlante · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book because of the mystery parts, the setting being Berkeley and the way the female detective did a sting on her partner to help him understand something. That was the best part and well worth reading.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the humor in this book and the Berkeley setting is delightful. That is particularly true for someone (like me) that lives here and knows the people and place well. The story itself is only so-so with kind of a rush to completion at the end that was not all that good. I was considering 4 stars until I go to the last part and then downgraded to three.

[Jan Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Dunlap book and I enjoyed this story more than I was expecting to.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much information about tax returns and bartering.

[Bea Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked that it was based in Berkeley.

[Catsalive · Rating 2 out of 5]

'Until someone put a poisoned needle in his bicycle seat, Phil Drem was the meanest, most nit-picking IRS agent in Berkeley, California.

But when Detective Jill Smith began searching Berkeley's backwaters for the tax man's killer, she found a different picture of Drem: a caring Drem, whose once-beautiful wife was "allergic to the world" and whose friends and enemies, old hippies and would-be entrepreneurs, enjoyed a ghoulish pastime called The Death Game. Did the Death Game KO Drem? Was someone's schedule a motive for murder? And what about a CPA who drove a red Lotus ruthlessly and guaranteed his clients they'd never be audited?

Only one thing is for sure--somewhere in Berkeley's colorful backwaters, a killer is still on the loose. And for a detective who loves her city, doubts her lover, and has a knack for solving the toughest of crimes, finding the truth is about as inevitable as... Death And Taxes.'
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you're interested in IRS audits, go for it. I couldn't raise much interest in the story nor the characters. I didn't like the protagonist, Detective Jill Smith, enough to make me bother reading any more in the series.

Rated 5/10 at http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/7....

Looking back, I have read another in this series back in 2007, Dinner to Die For , which I seem to have enjoyed more.

[Karla Huebner]

This held up all right--in certain respects Berkeley is much the same today as it was when this came out in 1993. On the other hand, the victim's character is rather implausible, as is the method of dispatching him. In a sense, the most interesting thing about it in 2012 is the airport portion toward the end. My first question, when the Berkeley cops struggled to reach SFO in time to stop a fleeing suspect, was why they couldn't rely on the airport police or other local police to round up the person (which may have been a flaw in the story in 1993, but I'm unsure). But more significant than the possible needless chase scene is the reminder of what air travel used to be like: you didn't have to prove your identity to get on a plane! This made me terribly nostalgic, as I recalled how in those days the National Writers Union's Bay Area local could simply buy plane tickets for unnamed delegates and if one delegate couldn't fly at the last minute, an alternate took his/her place with no fuss at all about the ticket. And of course there was none of that metal detector insanity, etc. etc. etc. Ah, the joys of the past...

[Cws]

M Dun

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the pro-police bias of many the detective cozy and the shiny-from-use- stereotypes about Berkeley, I like this series. Decent mysteries and characters ans some hot-button social issues.

[Cindy Grossi · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a paperback I picked up somewhere it was OK. One in a series and I will not be going out of my way to find another.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jill Smith #7

[bette · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very boring read