Dead Lift: An Emily Locke Mystery    by Rachel Brady Order:  USA  Can Poisoned Pen, 2010 (2010) Softcover, CD     Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth Emily Locke is a single mom rebuilding her life with her daughter (read of the reason for the rebuilding gig in author Rachel Locke's first novel, Final Approach). She's moved to Houston to work part-time with PI friend Richard Cole. Richard has hidden the fact that their new client is the attorney who defended the killer of Emily's husband. Talk about a conflict of interest! The accused, Claire Gaston, is awaiting trial for murdering a local plastic surgeon. The plot thickens as more characters bounce onto the scene. The most fun one is Emily's childhood friend, Jeannie, who has a devil-may-care wild-child attitude. Her take on life clearly is not simpatico with Emily's. However, some of this savoir faire rubs off on Emily. Emily's main concern is her daughter. The child was abducted when her husband was killed and Emily now shares her with the child's adoptive parents. Emily and Jeannie join the local – but high brow – day spa. More things are happening here that cast suspicion away from Claire. That's all you get from me about this finely tuned plot that is full of humor as well as mystery. Find out for yourself if Claire is really guilty as life takes a frightening turn for Emily. Dead Lift is a good read. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Mystery books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews