Sticky Fingers
A Roxy Abruzzo Mystery
By Nancy Martin
Hardcover, 294 pages, $24.99

'Sticky Fingers' by Nancy Martin is a bit of a departure from my usual cozy reviews, and it’s not exactly rated PG, but I loved this book so much I couldn’t help but share.

Roxy’s a hoot, the story’s terrific, and you’ll adore the cast of misfit characters she hangs out with In Pittsburgh.

“The first thing I noticed as I was sitting in a squad car was that police cruisers don’t have seatbelts in the back… but today my wrists were in handcuffs so tight I felt like a Christmas turkey, and I planned on bringing up the issue with my arresting officer.”

Is that a beginning of a marvelous romp or what?

Being in trouble with the law is nothing new to Roxy, who tends to step back and forth across the legal lines, but in her heart, she’s wants to skip down the path of law abiding citizen. But life sometimes doesn’t work the want she hopes it will, and with relatives in the mob, she’s learned a thing or 10 about the criminal element.

And, when short on funds because her architectural salvage business is lean on customers, Roxy reverts back to picking up small jobs, like collecting gambling debts, for her “relatives.”

“I strip stuff out of fancy houses and resell it,” but “I discovered I didn’t mind threatening the occasional gambler with a tire iron.”

But when she’s asked to kidnap a former classmate, Roxy draws the line. The problem is, the intended victim turns up dead. And although Roxy was never fond of the woman, she’s determined to figure out what happened, and discovers that Clarice Crabtree is leading a double life — with two families.

She’s got a favorite cop, Detective “Bug” Duffy, who got his nickname because he ate crickets on the elementary school playground, and a wingman named Nooch, who is the size of a triceratops but is working on turning the negative aspects of his life into positives ala 'The Secret.'

She’s also got a dog named Rooney, that’s “100-plus pounds of pit bull, Rottweiler, and mastiff mix.”

This book is a delightfully funny romp through the streets of Pittsburgh as Roxy follows the clues in the murder of a museum curator that include the theft of dinosaur bones, a former nun named Bob, a Jane Doe and more laughs per page than a comedy show.

Nancy Martin is the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award for mystery writing from RT Books reviews and also has another delightful series featuring the Blackbird Sisters, which is lots of fun as well.

Since this is the second book in this series, I'l sure you'll want to read the first title, 'Foxy Roxy.'

Lisa Allmendinger is a regional reporter for AnnArbor.com, who writes a weekly book review each Wednesday in a column called Cozy Corner. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com.