See Isabel Run
Elizabeth Bloom
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
2005 Mysterious Press
ISBN: 0892967854

She made headlines by dancing on the tables at what was supposed to have been her wedding reception.

Except Isabelle's fiance got cold feet & left her at the altar. So, being young, from Vermont & all alone in the world, she stayed in New York to hunt for a job to pay the rent on the apartment in which she'd been expecting to start her married life.

Except in a fit of pique she'd had the Salvation Army haul off Laurence's furniture, & now is on a starvation diet of pride, peanut butter & panic.

At the beginning of See Isabelle Run our heroine is not exactly the shiniest dime in the roll, although she starts to wise-up rather rapidly, especially when she learns co-workers having been dropping like flies.

Oh yeah! Isabelle got invited to join the staff of lifestyle maven Becky Belden's mega empire. She turns up for an interview & is bounced around like a pinball, &, in her inept way, makes friends without irritating anyone.

Meanwhile, she's watching Becky's live tv show from the wings, listening to company gossip & working all hours for her new boss of special projects, Lisa. To make ends meet Isabel waits tables at a little Greek diner on weekends, & that's where one of Becky's golden boys finds her. Now Isabelle has been burnt to the quick so it's only at Mrs. Mendes' insistence, that she joins Mac in a delicious tuna melt, & then they're off to do New York tourist things.

Several weeks into her new job, Isabelle starts noticing that there's a distinct cult-ish undertone to the enterprise after having to join in a weekend at Becky's stylish country estate for a staff get-together. Then she hears about the odd ways co-workers have been “passing away” -- under subway trains, beneath oncoming cars.

When she finds her boss floating face down in her apartment swimming pool, Isabelle's really spooked. Then, while she's soaking in her tub, someone breaks in & tries to electrocute her. Now her alarms are ringing in overtime, especially when her predecessor's boyfriend tells her how she died.

Why are so many staff members meeting such odd & idiosyncratic demises?
Why is a man stalking her?
What happened to Kenny Chesbro?
Who can she talk to?

See Isabelle Run is a merry evening's mystery that uncovers a little known insurance scam that brings benefits to all the wrong people. The bottom line? Read the fine print on everything before you sign!

I look forward to Elizabeth Bloom's next adventure.
(02/27/05)

Rebecca