title: Perilous Friends: A Barbara Simons Mystery
author:  Carole Epstein 
description: Epstein writes an amusing first novel set in the Jewish community of upscale Montreal, where even the dishy police detective drives a BMW. But, despite the lighthearted tone, the plot is thick with murderers, adulterers, kidnappers, drug traffickers and organized criminals pursued, variously, by amateur detectives, the Montreal cops, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and, of course, one another. Perilous indeed. A corporate takeover has forced Barbara Simons out as PR spokesperson for PanCanada Airlines. Despondent even though she's received a lucrative severance package, Barbara cheers up when two friends ask for her help. Susan Porter wants Barbara's assistance in finding evidence that Susan's ex-husband, Frank, has a large, unreported cash income. Joanne Cowan, a TV investigative reporter, asks Barbara to join her in uncovering a cigarette smuggling ring. Things heat up when Frank is murdered. As in many first novels, the story is undermined by too many subplots and overburdened with scenes and characters whose sole purpose is to plant clues. Yet Epstein has created a funny, appealing protagonist and friends, even though they can't live without their cleaning ladies and nannies, and a glimpse into a rich Montreal of close-knit ethnic communities bedeviled by language wars and snowy winters. <br />Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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  Renee Simons Special Edition
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ISBN: 978-1-927476-89-5
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Books We Love Ltd.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Chestermere
  
  
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  Alberta
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Canada
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Copyright 2012 by Renee Simons
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Cover art by Michelle Lee Copyright 2012
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved
  above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced
  into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means
  (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the
  prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher
  of this book.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](Image00000.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Safe Haven
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Renee Simons
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Prologue
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The man with the weird yellow eyes stared down at her but she tried not to be
  afraid. She sent her mind to this other place she'd found and she went, t