Well Read and Dead by Catherine O’Connell

One of my favorite heroines Pauline Cook is back and better than ever in Well Read and Dead, the second novel in the high society mysteries by Catherine O’Connell. This time, Pauline returns to America after an extended European vacation, only to come back after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Her once exceptional stock portfolio has now crumbled, leaving her without much money to go of off- again. To make it worse, her beautiful Chicago penthouse that was highly damaged in a fire still isn’t in a livable condition yet, one of her closest friends Whitney has gone missing, and Whitney took Pauline’s precious cat, Fleur, with her! Pauline becomes determined to find Whitney, so she can get her cat back and score a cool multimillion dollar reward promised to her by Whitney’s husband if Pauline can find her. What Pauline doesn’t know is that Whitney has stumbled upon a very disturbing secret regarding her husband’s lingerie business, and Pauline finding Whitney and discovering the truth could cost the woman both their lives.
Again, I was highly entertained by the antics of Pauline. Losing 20 million dollars when her Enron stock collapsed? A missing best friend and no place to live? Pauline doesn’t let these obstacles bring her down, she continues her shopping, luncheons, and staying in the best room at one of Chicago’s finest hotels. There was something different about Pauline in this novel compared to the first, Well Bred and Dead, and those occurrences happen when two very devastating occurrences happen. I won’t say what they are because I don’t want to ruin it for anyone, but I was shocked more than once in this book. I thought O’Connell’s writing was once again exceptional for the character and her story, and I highly look forward to the third novel, Well Wed and Dead.
Rating: 5/5