Review: Interesting Concept, Jumbled Execution
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 19, 2013
"PALS: Women & Grenades" is a buddy/mystery story focusing on the lives and exploits of Joe Luca and David Stern, an impressive businessman and a successful plastic surgeon, respectively. They've friends since childhood, and the book flashes back and forth between the present, their shared past, and Joe's trip to Paris, where he meets the beautiful Alexis and is plunged into the middle of a murder and a mystery.Joe and David, in addition to their day jobs, also own a nightclub, and to secure funding they have a genius ploy: David lures the investor, and Joe takes out the investor's daughter, schmoozing her to the point of seduction--and then pulling back to demonstrate what a gentleman he is. Charmed, the investor-fathers pony up the money, and Joe and David repeat the scheme.With Alexis, however, Joe is in over his head--she's beautiful and they share a connection that can only be described as love at first sight. David is angry with this turn of events, and even more so when it turns out Alexis has been murdered and that Joe could be a suspect.I really liked parts of this book, and other parts not so much. For instance, I liked David and Joe's interactions as they grow up together--the way they meet and immediately bond is funny, and I could totally see two young boys becoming best friends and then cherishing that story forever. I also liked the romance between David and Alexis. However, the plot was just too far-fetched for me, and left some loose strings. It was like the book couldn't decide what it wanted to be--a buddy/bromance about the bond best friends share, a romance, a murder mystery, etc. It just didn't succeed in tying all of those elements together. It wasn't a bad read, and it held my attention to the end--just had some flaws that kept me from loving it.