From Publishers Weekly
Claire Reynier, the 50-something Albuquerque librarian last seen in Judith Van Gieson's Vanishing Point, returns to cope with a case of a stolen book (a first edition of Melville's The Confidence-Man worth thousands) and a stolen identity (her own) in Confidence Woman. Evelyn Martin was a friend from college whom Claire agreed to help get back on her feet, but when Evelyn turns up dead with Claire's credit cards, Claire becomes a suspect in her murder. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
The third book in Van Gieson's Claire Reynier series finds Claire in a difficult situation. Evelyn Martin, an old college friend, asks to stay at Claire's house while looking for a place to live. Later, Claire finds that someone is using her identity. When the police find Evelyn's body in a house in an upscale Santa Fe neighborhood along with credit cards belonging to Claire and three other women from their college sorority, Claire becomes a suspected murderer. As if that weren't enough, a rare signed first edition of Herman Melville's The Confidence-Man is missing from Claire's house. Claire uses her skills as a rare-book librarian to prove her innocence and solve the crime. This series grows stronger with each new case. This time Van Gieson combines solid character development with a fascinating plot, ambient New Mexico atmosphere, and a surprise ending. This series deserves a larger audience. Barbara Bibel
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Confidence Woman FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Claire's troubles begin because she helps a down-on-her-luck friend from college, Evelyn Martin, who asks to stay with Claire while deciding where to live and what to do following the loss of her job in Denver. A short time later Claire realizes she's the victim of identity fraud and thinks Evelyn might be the perpetrator. Not long after, police find the decomposed body of Evelyn in a house she rented in a desirable Santa Fe neighborhood. Also discovered are credit card with Claire's name on them - along with credit cards and personal items stolen from three other women Claire and Evelyn knew at college. A rare signed first edition of Herman Melville's The Confidence-Man, missing from Claire's house, is not among the items recovered by police." When a witness tells police about an argument she saw the evening of the murder, and the description fits Claire, suddenly all the twists of fate seem aligned against her. To establish her innocence, Claire draws on her expertise as a librarian at the University of New Mexico's Center for Southwest Research, contacts with rare book dealers, and her ability to see through pretense and guise - in herself and others.
FROM THE CRITICS
New Mexico rare book expert Claire Reynier is the victim of identity fraud-and the chief suspect in the con woman's murder-in this new mystery from a writer whose work has been praised as "crisp, taut, and utterly compelling."
Entertainment Weekly
New Mexico rare book expert Claire Reynier is the victim of identity fraud-and the chief suspect in the con woman's murder-in this new mystery from a writer whose work has been praised as "crisp, taut, and utterly compelling."
Publishers Weekly
Claire Reynier, the 50-something Albuquerque librarian last seen in Judith Van Gieson's Vanishing Point, returns to cope with a case of a stolen book (a first edition of Melville's The Confidence-Man worth thousands) and a stolen identity (her own) in Confidence Woman. Evelyn Martin was a friend from college whom Claire agreed to help get back on her feet, but when Evelyn turns up dead with Claire's credit cards, Claire becomes a suspect in her murder. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Van Gieson's atmospheric series featuring lawyer Neil Hamel (Ditch Rider, 1998, etc.) tempts readers to follow her to the vibrantly rendered Albuquerque area and take a lover so young he could be called the Kid. She has less success with her other series heroine, divorced research librarian Claire Reynier, whose main interests now are books and avoiding her supercilious boss. After a visit from Evelyn Martin, an old sorority sister, Claire finds her signed first edition of Herman Melville's The Confidence Man missing, along with a batch of her credit cards. Three other sorority sisters also been bamboozled by Evelyn now loom large as suspects when her badly decomposing body turns up. Who killed her: Ginny, who drinks too much? Elizabeth, who never met a woman she didn't compete with, even her second husband's daughter? Lynn, who could be the poster child for tranquility? And what about Miranda, driven by her roommate Evelyn's shenanigans from college to television stardom and a husband who plays around? Trying to clear herself, Claire drives from Santa Fe to Cave Creek, Arizona to Albuquerque interviewing the sisters-except for Miranda, who's off in Mexico filming-or is she? The Melville pops up (or does it?), and with the help of a friendly bookseller and a tolerant cop, Claire sets up a sting that resolves a case of authorial misdirection.
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