by Lisa Lutz & David Hayward
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, $24.95, 300 pages
Paul and Lacey are brother and sister pot growers from California. Having lost their parents in an accident, they find themselves with college educations, a house and land, and a growing pot enterprise. Paul is content with the arrangement, but Lacey is ready to head off for bigger and better things. One night while Paul is watching TV, Lacey takes out the garbage only to find a body dumped on their property – minus the head. Once they decide to dump the body elsewhere to prevent the local sheriff from investigating them, they think their problem is solved. When the body appears once again on their property, both Paul and Lacey start their own investigation.
Thus begins the tale as told by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward. Bouncing back and forth as Ms. Lutz writes the odd chapters and Mr. Haward follows with the even ones, the story and the bodies unfold. As a bonus the editor includes the notes that the co-authors wrote to each other following each chapter. The notes are as entertaining and enlightening as the story itself. Heads You Lose is definitely a mystery worth reading this summer.
Reviewed by Denise McMillan