Just You Wait

Just You Wait: A Grace Street Mystery By Jane Tesh Poisoned Pen Press February 2015

Review by Cynthia Chow

Love is flowing through the North Carolina house on 302 Grace Street, but unfortunately it's not going too smoothly. Reluctant psychic Camden is marrying his fiancée Ellin Belton in one month, and as her sisters and mother arrive plans for the dresses, cake, and even number of bridesmaids remain unfinished. Ellin may love Camden, but she hates his career, friends, and current residence. So they have a few things to work out. David Randall continues to propose to his fellow boarder Kary Ingram, but their inability to even discuss the tragedies that should bond them has them unable to move past the Friend Zone. Even local jazz piano player Charlie Valentine thinks that his girlfriend and the band singer Taffy is straying and he even asks David to prove it.

The normally unemployed detective has a surprising number of cases to keep him busy. Aging and imperialistic actress Viola Mitchell has recently been reported missing, and her connection to the Parkland Little Theater catches David's interest considering that both Camden and Kary have joined their production of My Fair Lady. With Camden's psychic help, David immediately locates her, rather alarmingly buried in her own basement. A second case arrives in the form of fluttery Folly Harper, the owner of BeautiQueen Cosmetics who hires David to locate the missing business partner who disappeared with a good share of the company funds.

Although David's investigations proceed methodically and professionally, helping his best friend will prove far more challenging. Camden's psychic skills are growing by leaps and bounds, to the extent that he calls off the wedding out of fear for his future childrens' own psychic fates. Considering that Ellin is the television producer of the Psychic Service Network - and continually frustrated by Camden's refusal to profit on his gifts - her reaction to this new situation may be insurmountable to their relationship.

That very unpredictability of the plots is what makes this series so enjoyable. Camden's psychic gifts are handled realistically, as they are embodied in the one person most reluctant to use them. Since readers view Ellin from David's admittedly biased perspective, it can be a challenge to move past her domineering and exploitative manners. The damaged residents of the Grace Street house succeed in being more supportive than enabling, so Ellin's demands that Camden sell the house after their marriage has them torn. The author has fun wth the awe characters, but never at the expense of the plot, as she explores to a surprising extent the intricacies involved in the cosmetic industry. This mix of scientific technology, community theater dramatics, and diverse characters blends into a compelling novel that successfully ties together the plots into a satisfying and very surprising conclusion.