A reef dance is surfing lingo for being stuck in one place, unable to move because of the physical as well as the emotional tide. This is where family court attorney J finds himself: stuck in a depressing grind, stuck in a deadend relationship, stuck in his dead parents' home, unable to move beyond his present rut. But when a high-profile custody case is dropped in his lap it awakens questions of the fate of his mother and he is lead into the heart of a great mystery. His own. Taut and deceptive, REEF DANCE is a breakthrough first novel.

This auspicious cozy debut from writer Sharon Fiffer combines the best of the cozy tradition with a modern voice and fabulously commercial hook-her intrepid sleuth is an antique "picker." Recently laid off from her PR job, seperated from her husband and colliding head-on with a midlife crisis, Jane Wheel is making ends meet by foraging for "killer stuff" at suburban Chicago's estate sales and auctions, garage sales and flea markets. When she stumbles over her next-door neighbour Sandy's dead body and realises she's the prime suspect-everyone on the block saw her kissing Sandy's husband at a recent neighbourhood dinner party-she hopes her knack for uncovering valuables in the least likely of places will extend to discovering clues as well. With the help of her best friend Tim, an antique gallery owner and Chicago police detective Bruce Oh, Jane goes after the truth. Like vintage postcards and Fulper lamp that figure into the mystery's solution, to Jane the truth just might be priceless.