DEBUT OF THE MONTH ⭐️ STARRED REVIEW

Mack, Janey. Time’s Up: A Maisie McGrane Mystery. Kensington. Jul. 2015. 356p. ISBN 9781617736902. pap. $15; ebk. ISBN 9781617736919. M

After flunking her psych review, Maisie ­McGrane is booted out of the police academy. How will she face her policemen brothers and father? She decides to become the best meter maid in town. While performing her traffic enforcement duties, Maisie discovers the dead body of a City Hall employee in a no-parking, no-waiting zone. What’s a meter maid to do? Maisie can’t shake the feeling that this corpse may well be connected to the murder of Keith Nawisko, bus driver and officer of the Amalgamated Transit Union. It’s ­Chicago, where politics can turn murderous. With the surreptitious assistance of her shadowy ex-Ranger boyfriend, Hank Bannon, Maisie gets involved in nefarious goings-on in the Windy City. VERDICT Mystery buffs will not only be swept up in the ingenious and well-crafted plot but will love the irrepressible Maisie, who knows what she wants. Having grown up with several older brothers, she has fought for herself for years. Recommend for readers who miss the works of Eleanor Taylor Bland and enjoy those of Tim Dorsey.