Penny Warner

When the murder mystery party at the de Young Museum in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park results in foul play and her best friend, who is dating the victim's son, is accused of the crime, event-planner Presley Parker must clear her friend's name before a twisted party crasher gets away with murder. Original.

How to Crash a Killer Bash

Sarah Sammis

Presley Parker is back in How to Crash a Killer Bash by Penny Warner. She's hosting another huge shindig in San Francisco, this time a fundraiser at the de Young Museum. When the curator and host, Mary Lee Miller is found murdered with museum property in the middle of the pary, Penny's best friend is fingered for the crime. Can she figure out who did it before she becomes another victim?

As with the first book in the series, How to Host a Killer Party, San Francisco is as much a character as Presley. The main points of interest are the museum, Treasure Island and points in between. I haven't been to the de Young but reading the book has made me think about getting tickets.

The characters are also entertaining. I'm quite fond of Presley's mother. She's forgetful thanks to Alzheimer's but helps keep the plot grounded at times when it seems like it's about to fly out of control. On the other extreme, there's the cleaning man who Presley's still trying to figure out. He has an air of mystery about him and I'm just as curious as Presley to learn his back story.

So then there's the mystery itself. I had the killer pegged on page two. Usually Warner's mysteries keep me guessing all the way to the end. Even though I was sure who would commit the crime and later who had committed the crime, I still enjoyed the book. But I'm knocking one star off the rating for the blatant bad guy.

How to Crash a Killer Bash

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