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Number, Please
by Sheree Petree
Oak Tree Press
July 2002
Setting: 1965 California
Patricia "Trish" Malcolm cannot convince the police nor her coworkers at
the Santa Cruz, California, telephone office that the hit and run of Emma
Baily, a forty-year phone company veteran, was deliberate. To add to
Trish's remorse, she is sure that a verbal altercation she had with a long
distance, call box (pay phone booth) customer is the reason that Emma was
killed. With very little to go on, Trish sets out to prove that Emma's
death was a cold blooded murder.
When Trish locates the call box that the caller used she is fortunate
enough to find a small efficiency apartment for rent in the area. Trish
believes that the killer lives in this vicinity since there is only the
one call box nearby, and she plans to set a trap for him. Her apartment is
in a historical mansion, Ocean View, owned by an elderly lady, Harriet
Abbot. Harriet's grandfather had built the house in the eighteen hundreds
and had sold most of the land surrounding it so that a town could be
erected. The home has been converted to six apartments plus Harriet's
living quarters. When Trish is introduced to the other tenants, she cannot
help but wonder if one of them could be Emma's killer.
NUMBER, PLEASE is a tautly written mystery set in 1965, when telephone
technology as we know it today was unavailable. Debut author Sheree Petree
has written her story with skill and an understanding of her subject. The
characterization and dialogue have been beautifully developed. This is
definitely a one sitting read!
NUMBER, PLEASE is a refreshing, highly entertaining story and the first
one of what -- we can only hope -- will be a long running series by this
new, talented author.
Review by Betty Cox
Gatex@aol.com
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