Review: Fun and fast paced tale
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 13, 2012
The Scent of Jade is a fun and fast paced tale of misadventure in the Costa Rica jungle. Julia Fraser uncharacteristically decides to surprise her husband on his latest business trip in Costa Rica but their holiday idyll is short lived when Julia finds him inflagrante delicto amongst ancient ruins. Furious and upset, Julia flees into the jungle only to become hopelessly lost. After two nights in the bug infested rainforest, Julia is grateful to be found by blue eyed Juan until she discovers the jade stone she has been carrying since running away from her husband is a national treasure, and everyone wants to get their hands on it. Julia has to evade the bad guys and the police, rescue her husband from jail and figure out how to return the idol to it's rightful place.The Scent of Jade is a fun story though not without its flaws. I had a few small issues with the plot, but the major problem for me was the lack of reason for Julia to have taken the jade stone that becomes pivotal to the plot. Whereas some of the more outlandish facets of the story (like the pot smoking monkey) can be taken in the spirit of comic misadventure, I feel that this plot point is something that should be resolved (perhaps she picks it up to throw at him but runs before she throws it?) as it is a sticking point that has the potential to derail a reader.The story has a small element of romance but really its an adventure/comedy and there is plenty of both. Julia has to deal with a thieving monkey, a big breasted opportunist, gun toting mercenaries, annoyed police and a stone that controls the climate of an entire country. While the accumulation of the events verge on the ridiculous, the pace is convincing enough to ensure almost everything makes perfect sense. It's obvious DeTarsio's intent is to exaggerate for comic effect, which she does well.The humour of the writing makes up for the minor technical errors with the occasional muddled tenses. I giggled quite a few times at Julia's witty one liners, though being in the first person, much of the dialogue is internal rather than conversational.I liked Julia, despite her self involvement and questionable common sense. When she has to she fights for what she wants and tries to do the right thing. The other characters, including her husband Colin, rescuer Juan and his sister Julia (Hoolia) play their part well enough and fill out the story.It would be a shame to dismiss the entire book based on its flaws though because with its snappy one liners, likeable characters and plenty of action The Scent of Jade a light and entertaining read. It certainly made me smile and distracted me for a couple of hours on a lazy Sunday afternoon.