Just Finished Reading....

Agnes & the Hitman (Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer)

I thoroughly enjoyed this! I remember reading a review on this somewhere - People maybe? And then I saw it on the Most Wanted shelves at the library so I picked it up on a whim.

A review/blurb on the back calls it a "caper" and that is such a perfect word for this book! I would classify it a romystery -- a blend of contemporary romance alongside a roughly cozy mystery, although cozy isn't exactly right either because the body count piles up throughout the book in hilarious fashion. Most of the time. That's what's so great about this book - it's a lot of different things all rolled into one and so has something for everyone.

It reminded me of Carl Hiassen's "Nature Girl" for some reason. It certainly had a cast of characters that would do him justice! Lots of madcap mafia meets Southern gentility craziness, a heroine that anyone would want as a BFF (although, Agnes? Who came up with the name Agnes? Or is that the point?) and the first leading man that almost (ALMOST!) rivals Janet Evanovich's Ranger from the Plum series. Ranger has always been my "fictional character" crush, but Shane is deliciously written as well. Come to think of it, he's a nice blend of Ranger and Morelli. Huh.

Anyway, if you want some light-hearted but sometimes poignant and often hilarious adventure during the cold winter months, read this book. It will have you laughing out loud. Just don't take it too seriously - you do need a healthy dose of suspension of disbelief.

Latest Book

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz

I haven't enjoyed a family this much since I met Janet Evanovich's Plums. The Spellmans are wacky, dangerously brilliant, and deceptively normal when it's all said and done. I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one after reading several reviews. I hope Lisa Lutz is locked in a room and writing furiously because I want more Spellmans! These are the kind of characters that get into your head and inhabit that shadow universe where you sometimes forget they aren't real. I'm not sure I'd want to be part of the family, but just being in the orbit of the Spellmans seems to be adventure enough.

If you haven't already read this, go buy or borrow it right now. You won't regret it!