Library Journal
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Between homes and recently divorced, antiques picker Jane Wheel returns to her hometown to spend time with her parents. She finds the place in an uproar while a special for Lucky Miller, an older comedian who is looking to renew his childhood memories, is being filmed there. There isn't much mystery or suspense in this eighth episode of Fiffer's cozy series, but it offers a charming and smoothly plotted story of a woman moving into middle age and redefining both her life goals and her relationships with friends and family. The author's daughter, actress Nora Fiffer, narrates in a pleasant tone and with a straightforward, polished style that moves things along at a steady pace. VERDICT Standing well alone, this is a good addition to larger mystery collections and will appeal to folks who like their mysteries gentle.-Janet Martin, Southern Pines P.L., NC (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

In Fiffer's charming if lightweight eighth Jane Wheel mystery (after 2011's Backstage Stuff), antiques picker Jane decides it's time for a new life, now that her son has gone to boarding school. After putting her Evanston, Ill., house on the market, Jane sends her treasured curios to her friend, Tim Lowry, for safe storage in her hometown, Kankakee, Ill., and heads there for a brief visit. She finds the town has been turned upside down by comedian Lucky Miller, there with a production crew to film a roast for his comeback. Jane's mom and dad, who run the EZ Way Inn, are in the thick of all the hoopla. Then, Jane learns that Lucky is looking for much more than a comeback, and a death from peanuts casts a pall over the proceedings. Leave it to sleuth Jane to figure out what's going on by the time of the climactic bowling tournament. Agent: Gail Hochman, Brandt & Hochman Literary. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Antiques picker and PI Jane Wheel's divorce is now final, and her son is happily attending a math-and-science boarding school. Her house is on the market, and her many prized possessions are on their way to a storage facility in her hometown of Kankakee, Illinois. When she arrives in Kankakee, where her parents still run the EZ Way Inn, she finds comedian Lucky Miller is shooting a comedy special, trying to re-create the Kankakee of his youth. Lucky hires Jane as his assistant, so she can investigate the strange things that have been happening to him and help him remember past events that he fears might link him to a crime he may have committed as a child. When a crew member dies, Lucky fears he may be next. Complicating matters, Jane's belongings are missing, and she begins to realize that her parents need help running their bar. Jane, along with her partner, Detective Oh, solves the mysteries as she begins to forge a new, and perhaps very different, life for herself.--O'Brien, Sue Copyright 2010 Booklist

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A part-time detective and full-time collector finds that her old hometown is more exciting than it used to be. Jane Wheel is recently divorced, her son is off to a boarding school that suits his talents, and her house is on the market. She's packed up years of collectibles to make the house more appealing, and her best friend, Tim, is having it all shipped to a storage unit, when the house suddenly sells. So Jane stays with her parents in Kankakee, a quiet Illinois town suddenly energized by the return of a former resident, second-rate comedian Lucky Miller, who's filming a roast for himself. Lucky has paid a big crew to restore many of the old businesses he remembers from the short time he spent there. Struggling to recover memories of his life in Kankakee, where he fears he may have done something awful, Lucky hires Jane as temporary help. Her task is to discover who's messing with Lucky's head by disturbing his box of lucky charms and leaving cryptic notes accusing him of unspecified crimes. With help from her partner, Detective Oh, Jane looks into Lucky's past and discovers a number of things that don't add up. In addition to her latest job, she's also worried about her parents, who are struggling financially, mourning the loss of an old friend and still spending long hours running the EZ Way Inn. Can Jane solve Lucky's problems, help her parents and settle into a new and vastly different life? Jane's eighth doesn't live up to some of her earlier adventures (Backstage Stuff, 2011, etc.) but still provides a pleasant, if unexciting, read.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.