Phyllis Smallman

Book #7, in the Sherri Travis Mystery

It has been too long between installments, 3 years in fact since Ms. Smallman picked up this series. I missed Sherri and her no nonsense personality. Although the author has not been idle since then, her fertile imagination was set on “Singer Brown Mystery” her latest series. I am mostly happy she came back to her roots and once more with a wonderful touch and oodles of ideas she has plunged one of my favourite protagonists into an entertaining saga. show more This time Sherri is in Key West with her best friend Marley for a little fun in the sun. Or so they thought. After leaving Rawhide Saloon, Marley vanishes…..

If you are a lover of soft mysteries or an aficionado of female sleuth protagonists you will love this one. What is Florida without a hurricane today we have Alma turning toward Keys West leaving Sherri to look for Marley amidst the chaos of the evacuation.

This tingling adventure is a fast and fun read very hard to put down. The storyline has a lot of momentum and keeps the tempo all through. Sherri is a colourful and down to earth character who plays well her part and is amazingly well described. The style is simple and a bit wry with a narration that is somewhat rough but this has not distracted me from flipping the pages and enjoying this entertaining story to the max.

Reading Ms. Smallman “The Last Call” is a pleasant change, the story is not taxing at all, you can zip through it in no time and be captivated by Sherri who is thrown into the middle of a mysterious saga searching for Marley accompanied by Lexi Divine, a six-foot drag queen…..what is not to like.

Thank you Ms. Smallman for this ARC show less

I had never heard of this book, apparently the first in a series, but it was offered as a free monthly selection by Kobo, so I took a chance on it. It was worth the price, anyway.

Sorry, that's an easy cheap shot. It's really not a bad book at all. There are some abrupt scene shifts where it almost seems like some paragraphs got chopped out for space, and some of the descriptions and characterizations lean a little too heavily on cliché, but the mystery is fairly satisfying if not show more surprising. The book reads like a poor woman's Janet Evanovich, but where Stephanie Plum is a wisecracking Jersey goil with an unfortunate tendency toward the madcap screwup, Sherri Travis just seemed a bit pathetic and the antics seemed a bit forced. Then again, maybe I just prefer Jersey to Florida.

Diana Gabaldon offers a list of recommended reads on her website for fans to fill the gaps between books in her Outlander series. I think she calls it The Methadone List. Similarly, if you are a Stephanie Plum fan looking for some methadone to fill your time between books, you could do worse than this series. For me, although I like the Plum books (at least the first dozen or so), I'll likely pass on the rest of the Sherri Travis series.

If, on the other hand, you are looking for quality mysteries with farcical humor set in Florida, you could do far worse than read any Carl Hiassen book you can get your hands on. Even if you have to (gasp!) pay for it. show less

*Reviewed for NetGalley*When her husband's boat explodes in Jacaranda Bay, Sherri doesn't believe he was on board. Detective Styles however is convinced that Sherri had finally had enough of the cheating, lying, manipulative b**d. A videotape , buried in the pot plant on Sherri's balcony seems to provide some clues but before she can figure out just what it means, the tape is stolen and someone tries to kill her.Margarita Nights is the first in The Sherri Travis Mystery series by Phyllis show more Smallman. Sherri lives in the small coastal community she grew up in, bartending at the Sunset and helpless to resist her bad boy husband. Sherri is a character with spunk and is wholly likeable. She hides behind a wild-child persona, developed to protect herseld from her mother's chaotic love life. Fiercly independent and yet vulnerable, Sherri is satisfyingly complex.She is supported by an array of equally flawed characters. Andy suffers schizophrenia, Evan and Noble share a secret, Peter and Dave prop up the bar at the Sunset dispensing advice and she can't figure out what Clay wants with her.The premise is a mystery, as Sherri tries to unravel the mess her husband has left behind and Smallman sustains the who/why done it quite well to the conclusion. I did feel that the pacing circled itself a few times, going nowhere and then jerking ahead, only to stall again. I think part of the reason for that is the crowded cast and at times teh author sacrifices flow for character development.For me, Sherri and the quirky Florida beach town community of Jacaranda are appealing and the mystery held my interest. An entertaining mystery I look forward to reading the second in the series, [b:Sex in a Sidecar|6080280|Sex in a Sidecar|Phyllis Smallman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1278793072s/6080280.jpg|6256968] show less

The third installment in the Sherri Travis Mystery series follows [b:Margarita Nights|3220779|Margarita Nights|Phyllis Smallman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1277070072s/3220779.jpg|3254805] and [b:Sex in a Sidecar|6080280|Sex in a Sidecar|Phyllis Smallman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1278793072s/6080280.jpg|6256968]. After a hurricane and a psychopath tore the town of Jacaranda apart, bartender Sherri is rebuilding the Sunset with the investment of her new lover, Clay. Just as things show more seem to be returning to normal, Sherri is shocked to find the man who beat her mother and molested her as a teen is involved with one of her tenants, Reena. Though reluctant to get involved, Sherri finds herself dealing with Reena's troubled teen daughter, a vicious stalker, light fingered staff, duelling chef's, her best friend's relationship crisis and then Ray is murdered and her gun is missing.There is no lack of momentum in this crowded plot, Smallman juggles themes of domestic abuse, teenage 'cutting', stalking, blackmail, alligator poaching and greedy property developers as Sherri finds herself involved in one crisis after another. It certainly keeps things interesting, but the threads of the plot connected naturally and tied up neatly at the conclusion of the book. I did feel at times that the story didn't flow easily and scene jumps were sometimes abrupt but that may have had something to do with the ebook formatting. The mystery aspect is well plotted with a number of suspects that keep you guessing.As in the two previous books, Smallman pays as much attention to her characters as her plot. Sherri struggles with being relied upon and relying on others after her tumultuous childhood and marriage, and this book concentrates on the development of these aspects of her character. Despite her reluctance, she can not turn away from Lacey's desperation or Reena's situation, even though her involvement means her life is threatened and she is accused of murder. When family friend Ziggy is injured in a move designed to make him leave his property, Sherri teams up with her father to track the men responsible and then moves Ziggy into her and Clay's home for his recovery. Sherri is also finding the management of the Sunset more complicated than she expected, and she doesn't want to let Clay down. With Clay absent through the novel (sailing in a race, Sherri doesn't have his immediate support and dealing with these situations are big steps for Sherri who values her independence and generally dislikes being responsible to, or for others.A Brewski For The Old Man a quick and engaging read with plenty to recommend it to readers who enjoy a cozy mystery with an edge. With so much nuance tied to the characters, could be a little bewildering for someone who hasn't read the previous books in the series, though I think the plot holds it's own and it could work as a stand alone. show less