Review: Is that a philly cheese steak in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 12, 2013
When Brandy Alexander fled South Philly four years ago, she had only one thing on her mind:  Put as much distance as possible between herself and the man that broke her heart,  Bobby DiCarlo.  But she's 28 years old and it's time to face the music.  Brandy returns to Philadelphia for her best friend's wedding and she couldn't care less about Bobby.  OK, that's not entirely true, but Brandy's pretty sure she can fake it...sort of.  Maybe.As it turns out, Brandy doesn't have much time to dwell on the Bobby situation.  When something terrible happens to someone Brandy cares about she's not willing to leave it to the cops to figure things out.  And if her "unofficial investigation" just happens to throw her in the path of a gorgeous Latino mystery man, well sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.The best word to describe this book is "fun".  The first person narrative really works here because being inside Brandy's head is the grown-up version of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.  The girl is just plain nuts (in a good way).  I really liked this character.  It's so refreshing to read about a 28 year old who actually acts/thinks/does things that make sense for someone that age.  I loved the way the author brought South Philly to life on the page; she really made the location an integral part of the storyline.  The supporting characters were nicely done also - they have distinct personalities so there's really no problem keeping them straight.Was it perfect?  Not by a long shot.  Brandy's "investigative skills" consist of a lot of bumbling around and putting herself in dangerous situations.  A few things (the junk food, no sleeping) started to get repetitive and Brandy had one too many damsel-in-distress moments for my taste.  Overall though, I thought the author put her own unique spin on a tried-and-true formula and it worked.  I'm glad I read this and I'm really looking forward to reading more about Brandy and Company.Some strong language and sexual innuendo (though no explicit content).Book One:No Such Thing as a Secret: A Brandy Alexander Mystery (No Such Thing As...A Brandy Alexander Mystery)Book Two:No Such Thing As a Good Blind Date: A Brandy Alexander Mystery (No Such Thing As: A Brandy Alexander Mystery)Book Three:No Such Thing as a Free Lunch (No Such Thing As...: A Brandy Alexander Mystery)Book Four:No Such Thing As A Free Ride...A Brandy Alexander Mystery (No Such Thing As...A Brandy Alexander Mystery)Book Five:No Such Thing As a Lost Cause...A Brandy Alexander Mystery (No Such Thing As...A Brandy Alexander Mystery)