Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun by Lois Winston is the first book in the new “Anastasia Pollack Crafting” mystery series. Publisher: Midnight Ink, January 2011

When Anastasia Pollack’s husband permanently cashes in his chips at a roulette table in Vegas, her comfortable middle-class life is suddenly kaput. She’s left with two teenage sons, a mountain of debt, and her hateful, cane-wielding Communist mother in-law. Not to mention stunned disbelief over her late husband’s secret gambling addiction, and the loan shark who’s demanding fifty thousand dollars.

Anastasia’s job as crafts editor for a magazine proves no respite when she discovers a dead body glued to her office chair. The victim, fashion editor Marlys Vandenburg, collected enemies and ex-lovers like Jimmy Choos on her ruthless climb to editor-in-chief.But when evidence surfaces of an illicit affair between Marlys and Anastasia’s husband, Anastasia becomes the number one suspect.

I haven’t had this much fun in reading about the life and tribulation that has befallen Anastasia Pollack. After finding out that her dead husband has wiped out all their money, a loan shark is now looking to squeeze her arid dry. When she finds the dead body of her worker in her cubicle with the murder weapon her own glue gun, the forces are against her and she becomes the prime suspect. Believing the cops are not looking at others who have stronger motives, Anastasia takes upon herself to investigate and find the killer to clear her name. The quirky characters, the situations that she becomes involved in and the hilarious dialogue will have you fully entertained in the adventures of Anastasia Pollack. This is a delightful must read.

*new-to-me author