Synopsis/blurb ...
Del's a small time crook with a moral conscience-robbing convenience stores only for tuition and academic expenses. Brash and sassy Louise goes from being a holdup victim to Del's lover and accomplice. All they want is a fresh start, an honest life, and a chance to build a family together, but fate conspires to put ever-steeper challenges in their path-and escalating temptations, too. A real estate scam in recession-blighted Southern California. A wine heist in Napa Valley. A Vegas wedding chapel holdup. A kidnapping in an oil-rich North Dakota boomtown. Can Del and Louise stay on the right side of the law? On one another's good side? And when they head back to Louise's hometown in North Carolina, what new trouble will prove the biggest: Louise's nagging mama or a hidden adversary seemingly intent on tearing the couple apart? Or could those be one and the same?
From screwball comedy to domestic drama, and from caper tale to traditional whodunit, these six stories offer suspense with a side of romance-and a little something for all tastes. Related subjects include: cozy mysteries, women sleuths, mystery novellas, mystery novella series, short story collections, whodunnit short stories, novel in stories, book club recommendations, Southern living, Southern humor, murder mystery books.
A novel that I fancied on Net Galley about six years ago and only just got around to reading. Worth the wait? I think so. The novel comprises of six stories and they do link well together and form a cohesive narrative for Del & Louise's evolving relationship from stick up artist and victim to loving couple tying the knot and solving the mystery of which so and so is trying to ruin their big day by stealing their presents and souring the occasion.
Along the way there are family issues to resolve. Del's sister gets them involved in a real estate scam with Del as the intended patsy. You can't beat a bit of fraternal love. At the other end of their journey, Louise's mother tries just about everything to throw a spanner into the works and separate the couple. There is a lot of humour present in her machinations and some of the exchanges between her and Del are pretty funny. Mum always knows best, unless of course she doesn't.
The couple's relationship endures trust issues and arguments. Pretty much the same for all couples on a journey I suppose. Maybe the ones I know weren't also caught up in Vegas hold-ups, small appliance fencing deals and wine festival robberies. 
Fun was had.
4 from 5
Read - July, 2021
Published - 2015
Page count - 286
Source - review copy Net Galley
Format - Kindle
I have been wanting to read this for years but I never got a copy. It sounds great.
ReplyDeleteHope you find a copy, Tracy. I enjoyed it.
DeleteThis does sound like an enjoyable collection of stories, Col. And the fact that the stories are linked, and show the characters' growth, is appealing; that's not easy to do with a group of stories like that. I may have to look this one up.
ReplyDeleteI hope you find it worth your time if you do, Margot.
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