Back in the 90s it seemed that there were a flood of new mystery books and writers. Part of this was that the genre got very popular, part of it was a solid 'mystery community, part of it was that there seemed to be a lot of small publishing houses opening up that devoted themselves to mystery (and many of them have since disappeared).
One of the writers that emerged in this group was Jane Rubino whose debut novel was called 'Death of a DJ'. The principle characters were Cat Fortunati Austen, a thirtysomething cops widow with two small kids who was making it as a local reporter - her family consisted of a live-in best friend and six older brothers - five cops and one priest - and her mother. The other main character is a police detective Victor Cardenas who is to die for - sexy, mysterious and with a dry sense of humor. The two of them meet over the murder of a shock jock that Cat had been interviewing and the investigation of his death leads down a sad path.
Because this is a first in a series the mystery has to be less complex than the later books - first mysteries have to deal with a lot of introductions so you cant throw a lot against the wall - but this still manages to be a memorable tale for the characters that i think are the best cast i have ever come across in a mystery series. Cats relationship with her kids and her six overprotective brothers and Victor makes for some snappy and often LOL dialogue - i think of her as a Janet Evanovich for a smarter audience.
Set around the South Jersey Shore - NOT the TV Jersey Shore! - the book gives a real feel for the locale in the 'off season'. While the book being written in the mid 90s may make some of the references a little dated - because of technology changes - the plot, the great cast and the very funny way with dialogue make it worth looking for.
Rubino went on to write 5 more in the series as well as a book of Sherlock Holmes tals and is the co author of a new Jane Austen adaptation called 'Lady Vernon and Her Daughter' (also very good). ( )