good light reading - mystery Vassar alums (money)

Maggie Elliott, a San Francisco private detective, arrives at Vassar for her fifteenth reunion only to find her alma mater up in arms over the murder of the elderly -- and extremely wealthy -- Chloe Warren. Chloe's niece Pudgie, heir to $50 million, has been accused of the murder. Her family hires Maggie to find the real culprit. But then Deborah Marten, a would-be dancer from Minnesota, is found strangled just a few days after Chloe's death. And suddenly Maggie finds herself in a race against time and a murderer -- a race it will mean her own death to lose!

Maggie Elliott, newly established as a private investigator in San Francisco, returns to Vassar for her 15-year reunion, only to find an acquaintance accused of the murder of her vastly rich aunt. Hired because she is "one of us", she must sort out a web of greed and gile, deceit and danger. I enjoyed the story, which was well-plotted and has mostly engaging characters. The author isn't afraid to let her detective follow the wrong scent at times, which is a fairly intelligent attitude. ( )