What a fun book! Lots of humor and several plot twists to keep you guessing. I won the second book, [bc:The Hot, Shot, and Bothered|9907991|The Hot, Shot, and Bothered (Lilly Hawkins, #2)|Nora McFarland|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51m7Q5kk1LL._SL75_.jpg|14800429] on GR, so I don't have to wait to read it! Cool. ( )

This is the first in the adventures of Lilly Hawkins. I had a bit of a hard time at first but it did not take long for me to get into the story line. It turned into a very fun read. I look forward to reading more adventures of Lilly. ( )

This novel started off well for me. I enjoyed Lilly's humor and wit. Then the story went south. As a part of this mystery, a young African-American male by the name of Val Boyle is killed. At this point I'm wondering where this story is going. Initially Val is introduced as this good guy that was saving for college by working for a local vineyard. Well apparently, Val hooked up with the son-in-law of the owner of the vineyard to steal almonds. Then they hooked up with the Eastside Crew. You guessed it, her version of the Crips. Do you see where I'm going?

Ya'll I try to read with an open mind but sometimes I'm pushed to the limit.

My problem with this story is that it adds to this fairy tale land that authors and readers of other races try to push African-American characters in. Yes, this box that is made for us in their minds influenced by COPS and the nightly news. For instance, when authors of color write about AA characters that are educated and well-off who are not pimping and tricking then our stories are unreal to some white bloggers. As if, all AA's live in ghettos and get welfare. The last I checked the ghetto was filled with people of various races and white people get welfare, too. The part that pisses me off is that when I go to sites like Goodreads and Library Thing to check out what people are saying about new books by authors of color, specifically African-American authors, they are given one and two stars. These low ratings are usually not due to the lack of skill by the author. The comments usually consist of rants about the stories being unreal, etc. These comments usually come from white book bloggers that don't have any knowledge of the AA community or culture but they are scouted by publishing houses to read our books as if they are spending our money or know what we want to read. Oh and the only successful AA person they recognize is the POTUS. Seriously.

Check out this post by a fellow blogger Reads 4 Pleasure about this ignorance.

This is the prime example that let me know that Nora McFarland does not know anything about AA or our dialect for that manner:

p. 227 Jason- AA gang leader is talking to Lily, the Caucasian heroine

"No, you don't girl." Jason was looking right at me. "You and your shorty come out here." He turned the gun on us."

Now in this scene, Lily was with Rod. You get my drift? Just in case you don't let me elaborate. Nora McFarland, in the hood we don't refer to men as a shorty. That term is designated for females that choose to answer to it, whatever their race may be.

I'll end on this note, Nora the next time you want to incorporate an African-American black-on-black crime scene in your mystery, do your research. However, I prefer you leave us out of your story. I'm sure you can find some Caucasian serial killer or cult leader or something. ( )

A breath of fresh air to the world of lighthearted mysteries, Nora McFarland offers readers a charming new series with the introduction of “A Bad Day’s Work”. McFarland’s wacky, behind-the-scenes slant on the day-to-day operations of a small town TV News station and the madness that can accompany it is simply delightful.

Lilly Hawkins is having a bad day—in fact, it has honestly been bad for a while—and she is determined to turn her luck around. When she receives a frenzied overnight call from her boss telling her to report directly to the scene of a murder and get tape for the newscast—without screwing up—she hightails it out the door. Lilly is going to get the scoop, save her job and repair her tarnished reputation no matter the cost and her string of professional blunders is going to end that night. Or it should have. She can’t imagine why the final tape is black. Her private interview with the detective on-scene and the carefully taped images of the body being removed with the backdrop of fog and flashing lights are gone and it is inconceivable that she screwed up again. Not everyone believes her when she claims innocence and incompetence, though and the visit she receives from two very crooked cops demanding the footage takes Lilly on an unexpected pursuit to solve the murder and exonerate herself.

Off the wall in the best way, McFarland never lets you see what is coming as one crazy antic swiftly follows another. The sequel to this excellent debut will be worth the wait.

Reviewed by Shannon Raab with Suspense Magazine
www.suspensemagazine.com ( )