Review: Move over Stephanie Plum, there is a sassy, sexy sleuth in town!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 9, 2011
I discovered A CUTTHROAT BUSINESS after I found the short story THE BODDY IN THE SNOWBANK by Jenna Bennett, and I wanted to read more of her books.A CUTTHROAT BUSINESS is a mystery involving Savannah Martin, a Southern Belle turned realtor, who gets mixed up with a bad boy, by the way of sexy Rafe Collier, and trips over a murdered colleague. What follows is fun and adventure as Savannah tries to solve the murder, before the murderer strikes again!Before I start I have to tell my readers, that I have a long love/hate relationship with eBooks. I've had two eReaders and both of them were failed experiments. I just don't do well with the eReading phenomena. I like to hold a book and turn the page and yes *gasp* I like to crack the spine. I've all but given up the idea of reading full-length eBooks. However, after reading THE BODDY IN THE SNOWBANK, I connected with the author, Jenna Bennett, on Twitter and she convinced me that A CUTTHROAT BUSINESS was that good, and I just had to read it.So I abandoned my beautiful paper books and I picked up the iPad and downloaded A CUTTHROAT BUSINESS from Smashwords.Guess what I discovered? Jenna Bennett was absolutely right!!! A CUTTHROAT BUSINESS grabbed my attention from the very first page. There were so many laugh-out-loud moments, that at one time I almost coughed a mouthful of lemon gelato up all over the screen!! The sexual tension between good girl, Savannah, and bad boy, Rafe, had my toes curling repeatedly. After the first chapter, I was so immersed in the story and didn't even notice that I wasn't reading a paper book.I simply adored Savannah. Of all the amateur sleuths I've read recently, she has climbed up to the top of my list and completely knocked Stephanie Plum from the #1 spot. She has all of Stephanie Plum's sass and need for adventure, but with southern charm and she's not silly at all. With her southern ways you would expect her to maybe be a little silly, but she's not. She's sweet and assertive and oh so wonderful..."Top of the morning to you, Savannah!"I smiled back, or more accurately, showed teeth. "Hi, Tim.""You look smashing today. Have a good weekend?" His bright baby blue eyes were malicious."Great," I said dryly, knowing full well that I looked like death warmed over. "Stumbling over a bloody corpse, especially one I know, is definitely my idea of a good time. There's nothing quite like a whole lot of blood to give a girl some color in her cheeks."I really enjoyed the mystery. It kept me guessing right up to the end, and it was full of lots of realtor knowledge. By the end I actually felt like I'd learnt something about realtors and their dealings every day. This made the story feel very well researched, and as all the pieces of the puzzle fell in place together it left me feeling like I'd read a well put-together story.I give A CUTTHROAT BUSINESS five stars. If you enjoy your cozy mysteries with a good shot of romance, and a love triangle with a sexy bad boy and a Southern gentleman in the mix, then you will love this book. A CUTTHROAT BUSINESS is very reminiscent of the Stephanie Plum books, but the laughs are louder, the romance is sexier and there is a great murder mystery to top it off.Don't hesitate to add A CUTTHROAT BUSINESS to your holiday reading. Readers, you won't be disappointed!