Review | The Housewife Assassin's Handbook, Josie Brown

The Housewife Assassin's Handbook by Josie Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A great rom/com:

Fast-paced funny romantic/mystery, leaning heavily on the mystery element of the story and not too much on the romance. The latter is there - clearly visible - but what keeps you page-turning is the cleverness of the plot as it twists and turns to a great conclusion. Witty dialogue and great characters keep you chuckling throughout.

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Review | Follow The Stone, John Locke

Follow the Stone by John Locke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A caravan of comical and tragic characters:


This is a funny adventure of a gunman heading west through pioneer country escorting a group of prostitutes, along with a fine lady of the east – guided by and protected by his strange friend Shrug – a deadly rock thrower and a man who never speaks, unless he has his own motivation.

The setting is the real wild of the west… the story is packed with tragedy, lust, love, clashing cultures, Indians, nature, wild animals, mail order brides, a better life for whores and a rough way to survive for all. The description of Sod Houses probably gives us a more accurate glimpse of how tough life was in those early wild-west days than anything we’ve seen from Hollywood. We get a portrait view of a man who transverses the frontier with rough and ready and sometimes murderous characters.

The wilds of nature and the wildness of people are delivered in a picturesque and specific aspect, but narrated with a light comic touch – an excellent combination which shows the resilience needed to survive this harsh countryside.

The author has blended comedy and gritty reality to a perfect mix of exhilarating entertainment. Recommended!

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Review | Promise You won't Tell?, John Locke

Promise You won't Tell? by John Locke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads description:

“I think something might have happened to me Saturday night. Something bad.”

Private Investigator Dani Ripper’s client list is nuttier than the Looney Tunes conga line, but she diligently solves one crazy case after another, waiting for a game-changer. Enter Riley Freeman, 17-year-old honor student. Saturday afternoon Riley quietly placed a little strawberry sticker on her private area and pretended it was a tattoo. She didn’t tell anyone about it. That night she went to a slumber party that featured drinking and boys. Riley fell asleep, woke up the next day with no reason to think anything happened…Until Monday, at school, when a classmate called her Strawberry. Coincidence or crime? Dani agrees to investigate. And the roller coaster ride begins.


My Review:

Fast and funny mystery:

This is one of those speed-read books, as the plot drives forward with a furious intensity. Stephen King once said [paraphrasing] `anything that isn't plot I throw overboard'....and this excellent comedy/mystery couldn't be better described.

The mystery (while not styled like a King book - just to make that clear) is cleverly interwoven and (another simile) is in the best tradition of an Agatha Christie Whodunnit. So many guessing games running through my head about what happened in this quite simple but exhilarating plotline. But as the story opens up, I found myself thinking I had it all figured out, only to find I was nowhere close!

The narrative is stripped down bare - no wasted dragging detail and no fussy foreshadowing - along with a snappy dialogue between characters, and within the main character's commentary.

Danni Ripper is a fascinating woman, funny and intelligent. Her mission in this case is to find out what happened to a drunk teenage girl at a house party, whilst having to wrestle with those powers-that-be who would bury secrets.

The ending had a 'wicked' twist, leaving me surprised and smiling. Loved it!

Great read. Just what I needed. I am now definitely a fan of the enigmatic private detective, Danni Ripper.

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