I do love Odelia and her family, friends and coworkers. In this book Odelia is trying to deal with the merger of her beloved "Woobie" with another firm. She is finding it difficult to deal with one of the new partners and her conflict with this woman results in less work for Odelia and some very inappropriate work being assigned, especially when Erica dumps her three-year-old niece on Odelia for the weekend, and then disappears.

There are lots of "old friends" here as well as some new characters that are a lot of fun. Not nearly enough of Steele but I hope he is around more in the next book.

One of the best thing about this series is that it keeps changing. There are relationship changes, family surprises, and work changes. More like real life than some series where the characters do the same thing and have the same result every time you read about them.

Kudos to Sue Ann Jaffarian, she knows how to write a mystery series that grows and changes her characters, just like it happens in real life. Sure, there are some things that are a little far-fetched, but on the whole these books do a better job than most in keeping the real. ( )

When Hide and Snoop was offered for review I couldn't resist even though it's the 7th in the series and I am yet to read any (though I own the first 3 books). Despite being unfamiliar with the previous installments, Hide and Snoop worked well as a stand alone and I enjoyed my introduction to Odelia Grey.

In Hide and Snoop, Odelia is unhappy at the legal firm she works for after a recent merger. Her new boss, Erica, funnels the best assignments to the paralegal she bought with her and now, in a final insult, has stuck Odelia with babysitting her sick niece, Lily. When Erica goes missing, Odelia, with the tacit support of one of the firms partners, investigates and stumbles upon the murdered body of Lily's mother.

It seems Odelia has an uncanny knack for finding dead bodies and winding up in the midst of dangerous criminal activity. With deft plotting, Jaffarian carefully draws several threads and characters together into a cohesive story that reveals adultery, a child abduction ring and murder for hire. Well structured, with crisp dialogue and nicely paced, Hide and Snoop is a smooth and quick read.

Odelia is a very likeable character, of the type that says 'feel the fear but do it anyway'. Sure her decisions are sometimes a little questionable but she approaches them in the spirit of doing the right thing, in this case it is Lily's happiness and well being that motivates her. I was a little worried Odelia's size would be used as a comedic prompt or overwhelm her personality, and was relieved to find that wasn't so. Odelia demonstrates loyalty and affection in her relationships with her husband and friends and a healthy sense of respect for herself, though she is not without flaws.

Hide and Snoop is an entertaining and satisfying cosy mystery with a cast of characters I will be happy to get to know better. Hopefully I can get started with Too Big to Miss sooner, rather than later. ( )