BOOK REVIEW

Title: Clearing Customs

Author: Martha Egan

In ten words or less: Gift shop owner is targeted by customs officials.

Review: Folk art dealer Beverly Parmentier is being pursued by crooked agents from the U.S. Customs Service. Beverly is an honest businesswoman who can't figure out why her store is being targeted or why she is being followed, even on a rafting trip on the Yampa River. Could it be that she spoke out on behalf of a fellow importer unjustly accused of smuggling? Or is it her Peace Corps background and her ex-hippie lifestyle?

Martha Egan wrote this novel in 1988 in response to the U.S. customs Service war on small import businesses. Egan was raised in DePere, WI and is a graduate of St. Joseph's Acacemy in Green Bay.

Why bother? Great combination of humor and mystery with a dash of over zealous government agents thrown in for good measure.