But when Fortune kills an arms dealer’s brother with her stiletto heel, she’s forced to go into hiding, posing as her boss’s niece, Sandy-Sue Morrow, in the small town of Sinful, Louisiana. Her stay there doesn’t keep her out of trouble for long, though, since her aunt’s elderly hound turns up a human bone in her backyard. The bone belongs to an abusive husband who’s been missing for years, and everyone in town thinks his long-suffering wife Marie killed him, including handsome but easily-exasperated Deputy LeBlanc. Fortune is roped into helping Gertie and Ida Belle, two elderly members of the Sinful Ladies Society (a.k.a. the “Geritol Mafia”) rescue Marie from arrest and prosecution. Can she get the job done without blowing her cover or getting herself eaten by an alligator?
This is an entertaining, light, and funny tale with a heroine who finds herself not as far out of her normal world as she thought she would be. Fortune, with her brash wit and tough-girl exterior, more than meets her match in Gertie and Ida Belle, and finds herself actually having fun. The reader is led to almost pity poor Deputy LeBlanc, who has to deal with being attracted to a woman who appears to go out of her way to make him crazy. Stereotypes are handled deftly, subtly pointed up and undermined at the same time, which is a neat trick. The resolution is satisfying, while still leaving the reader wanting more; luckily, there’s a sequel.
Sometimes, especially at the beginning, Fortune comes across as a little too brash, even a bit rude, but thankfully, she gets more likeable as the book goes along. Some of the plot points strain credulity, but it doesn’t do much to damage the story’s charm.
If you’re in a bad mood, and need to read something zany and cheerful to brighten your day, pick up this book. You won’t regret it.
Reviewed by Catherine Langrehr for IndieReader