Henry Simpson

Really liked the zany element to each of these stories where the humour ranges from believable to incredible in the blink of an eye. Despite the craziness of some of the plot-lines, what I like is that the author doesn't sell out his characters and have them become one-dimensional cardboard cutouts in order to serve the plot. What is also nice is that each of these stories are about real characters in real-life, everyday situations that makes them even more accessible and identifiable.

This is my first read in the Joe Costa series and apart from wanting to read more of the series I don't feel like I'm missing anything by starting the series at number four. In some ways this is a fish out of water story as we follow Lily Sutter move from the east coast to the wealthy enclave of Montecito in California. However, Lily may not know the local terrain but being an amazing "people person," it doesn't take her long to find out and get to know the local rich to whom she will sell show more her high yield investment securities to. However, just as she made the move away from trouble out east, it's almost as if trouble follows her and she becomes embroiled in deaths, murders, FBI investigations and mobsters. Luckily she has Joe Costa to help her sort it all out. This is a story that rumbles along at a good clip, the smart and crisp dialogue worth the price of admission alone! show less

I was pleased with this book.I enjoyed it very much. The story was interesting. The plot development was sound. I thought I had it figured out, waiting to see how Bell and Lane would prove my theory, only to be surprised with new twists. I found myself trying to get back to it as often as I could to find out how it ended. The author gave good enough descriptions so I could envision the island and the people on it, but didn't go overboard so that it became boring paragraph after paragraph I show more wanted to skip through to get to the good part. The only sections I found reading awkward were the scenes when the main characters were alone, Bell jogging, and Lane in the water. The style of writing in those sections was new to me, and I hadn't made up my mind if I liked it or not.
Over all, I would definitely recommend it.
I received this book for free in exchange for a review. show less

There was good writing here if you just took a few paragraphs at a time, otherwise it was extremely disjointed. Some of the events were completely unbelievable and didn't fit with the rest of the story at all. It was a freebee online. You get what you pay for.