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Ann Charles has the "touch" when it comes to delivering the perfect blend of snarky realistic humor and fun. I fell in love with Violet and her twin 10 year-olds Layne and Addie with the first book in the series (well Addy and Layne if Addie has anything to say since she is 10 minutes older than Layne). I had picked it up on a lark when it was first released and ended up reading it instead of working on my classwork. It was well worth getting up at early to finish my work just to sit there and laugh so hard over and over again! How can you resist a little girl who liberates chickens and names them Elvis! Violet is at the top of my list as favorite female protagonists. Most lead female characters in today's genre fiction tend to be beautiful blonds with the prefect bodies and Kenjutsu form that look mighty fine with their rippled muscular bodies from the hours of Tai Chi with some ancient monk up in their secret mountain hideout. It is nice, occasionally and though I do read those books I tend not to admit to doing so. With Violet, you get a real woman struggling to support her children despite dealing with ghosts, misogynistic co-workers, crazy sex-addicted senior citizens, pet chickens and children who like to dig up bones in the back yard. Her boobs are sagging a bit, she still carries around her baby fat and her hair maybe blond, but it certainly doesn't lay perfect and is constantly looking like Elvis (the chicken) helped style it! Her ghost smelling secret boyfriend finds her sexy, doesn't mind a bit that occasionally she likes to snuggle up with a bowl of ice cream instead of him and that she sleeps in an Elvis t-shirt and boxer shorts (well he thought it was slinky satin nightgown but I digress). One way these wonderful books work is each ends with a bang and starts with a bang. Which is why you will have fans saying things like this in their reviews - "...And of course the end leaves you wishing the next book was ready to be read!! I am dying a slow death and may survive only if the 4th book comes out soon!!!" When I opened up the book and read the first sentence with her standing over a headless corpse (who was found clutching her business card) at the "butt-crack of dawn" I laughed so loud the cat ended up under the bed!. Violet still was struggling to keep her job and this time it was do or die hour. The little bit of sweat left on her freshly waxed lip was not from the caramel latte she just picked up, it was the fact that if she not only sell the houses she had on the market, but =she had to bring in an even bigger fish. So when an Abe Lincoln stepped into Calamity Jane Reality and asked if she would help him buy the hotel for sale in town and she asked which one... Murphy peeked out of his law office waving his magical gavel and Abe answered "the haunted one." The pace is fast, the dialogue is witty, smooth and natural. I can totally believe it all! Ask my friends heck read my blog! I have conversations like Violet has (both internally and out loud) ALL the time! For the true mystery aficionados this will keep you guessing and trust me, at the end will have you going "WHAT! WAIT when is book four coming out!" Heck, even the most despicable characters in the novel are so compelling you love to hate them! (Though I think in the end there is a special kind of justice for one specific one..*wagging finger* nuh uh uh! No spoilers my friends!) Congratulations Ann Charles!

2022-11-14 18:49