Review: 4 3/4 Stars!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 14, 2011
This book was previously reviewed at redadeptreviews.comAlice Harte's life is falling apart. Her boss at the real estate agency where she works is a litigious and murderous man with ties to "The Mob" in Florida. She KNOWS he has literally beheaded someone in the past.Her whole life she has dreamed of living in England and meeting a man similar to John Cleese. In an attempt to start breaking away from her boss who is threatening her with a lawsuit, she flies to England to meet Nigel Channing, who has been charming her through e-mails and phone calls.As her life in Miami falls apart, with mobsters and a pending fraud lawsuit, her romantic savior in England looks more and more tarnished by the hour.How will she ever keep her head and win the lawsuit? And what about love?Overall Rating:  4  StarsPlot/Storyline: 5 StarsThere is a saying that there are no new stories, only new ways to tell old stories. Ms. Silkstone took the original Alice in Wonderland, and deftly wove it into something uniquely her own. Throughout this story there are continual references to the original, as the main character is enamored with AIW. Alice tells her story as a series of diary entries (instead of chapters) as her life falls apart.This book was a fun, fast paced read and almost as strange as the original AIW, in a good way. Her trans-Atlantic relationship with Nigel keeps her hoping for a HEA, but Nigel has many strange people and things going on in his life too.The climactic scenes in the courtroom were fascinating. The many threads of the story pulled together at the end came together smoothly and I really enjoyed it. I loved watching the courtroom scenes play out. Ohhh the dirty little secrets all coming to light and taking out the bad guys one by one... great!Characters: 4 StarsI really enjoyed the cast of characters.Alice's boss Leslie is a frightening sleezeball.His wife Maris is an amalgamated combination of neurosis, scheming, vindictiveness, and loneliness. Any woman willing to pee in her ex's cologne bottle is .. just wow!Alice's romantic interest Nigel turns out to be a rather inept conman juggling multiple relationships.Nigel's ex-wife is psychotic & deranged.Surprisingly the character I did not believe perfectly was Alice herself. At 42  and twice BADLY divorced, she is still far too trusting and willing to blatantly ignore warning signs in her relationship with Nigel. His British accent and excuses are all she needs to fall for him time and time again even though she has evidence throughout the story of his infidelities and livelihood inconsistencies.Writing Style: 5 StarsMs. Silkstone's story was very well written. I loved the descriptions throughout the story, they covered everything from the sights and sounds of Alice's life to the smells of rotting fish and fright and horror.