Review: Combination bodice-ripper and mystery/thriller
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 03 26, 2012
This book is what I'd call a woman's brand-name-dropping, combination bodice-ripper mystery/thriller. Rather short on the mystery /thriller part.Beautiful, successful young woman (BSYW) with a fiance who wears Amani suits and Burbury coats and picks her up in a stretch limo returns to her hometown to care for an ailing parent and solve anold mystery. (stop me if you've heard this one.)BSYW stays at a B&B; decorated in Laura Ashley and Ralph Lauren and meets her new BFF. Of course there is the obligatory,  handsome, rude, mysterious , brooding stranger. We know where this is going.The assorted characters sit around in their brand-name, designer clothes, on brand-name furniture sipping their brand-name vintage wines from Baccarat glasses. There is the usual sophisticated picnic with french bread, cheese and a vintage brand-name wine. Just once I'd like someone to show up for a picnic with peanut-butter sandwiches and a thermos of koolaid.The book did have two surprises for me. I expected  the cat to end up hanging in the closet or gutted out on the front step.  And I thought the fraternal twin sister would turn out to be a Russian orphan raised by the saintly murdered mother so you could say the book was full of two surprises for me.If you get the book free, or pay $2.99 as I did, you will probably get your money's worth.