_Miss Melville Regrets_ is a well-written story of an artistic, forty-ish former socialite who becomes a paid assassin. In this highly entertaining first book in the series, Miss Melville -- out of money, out of a job, and soon to be out of a place to live -- decides to kill herself at a banquet to publicize her plight. On impulse, she instead turns her gun on the man being honored at the banquet, a wealthy and uncaring man who has caused some of her misfortune, and kills him neatly and efficiently with a single shot through the forehead. In the hubbub that follows, she is hustled out of the banquet hall by a stranger. He turns out to be a hired assassin who had been assigned to kill the very man Miss Melville had shot. He is so impressed by Miss Melville's skill with a gun that he recruits her as a paid assassin. The remainder of the book recounts her adventures in her new profession and evolves into a mystery as Miss Melville tries to figure out who is the shadowy figure who sponsors the assassinations. One of the most enjoyable parts of the book is learning about the world of banquets. Banquets are usually held to raise money for charity; the people invited are the rich but rather dim social set who have inherited more money than brains. We also learn about people who entertain themselves by crashing these events; for them, it's an opportunity to dress up and get a free meal. Miss Melville's unique position is that she is a member of both groups -- a former socialite who is now penniless. The quality of writing is first-rate. Evelyn E. Smith's language and style are always intelligent, fluid, and correct. Unfortunately, the copy-editing and proof-reading were sloppy; the book abounds in typographical errors. There are three more books in the series: _Miss Melville Returns_, _Miss Melville's Revenge_ (out of print), and _Miss Melville Rides a Tiger_ (also out of print).

Miss Melville and Miss Manners have a lot in common -- they both hold courtesy to be an obligation and propriety to be an art. But only Miss Melville has to decide the appropriate response to a death threat! And where else but in Miss Melville's New York would Mafiosi, Middle Eastern royalty, and our resident artist share a tea at a home for pregnant teens and chat about the problems of the residentially impaired? With wittier-than-usual writing and better-developed characters, "Miss Melville Rides a Tiger" is one of the best in the series.

Miss Melville does indeed return, and is as witty and sincere as she was in the original. Unfortunately, her supporting cast doesn't live up to her high standards. Jill, her agent, is just not credible enough for her role in Miss Melville's life, and Alex has lost a lot of his charm. Other characters introduced in the original have not been fleshed out to the extent that made "Miss Melville Regrets" a virtuoso perfomance. The story holds together despite these failings. The plot, especially as regards deceased artist extraordinaire Darius Moffet, is undeniably a farce, yet plausible in the New York art scene Smith depicts. Overall a good story, despite the weakness of the characterizations.