Don't Believe a Word

A light, easy-to-read chick lit romance with a touch of mystery. I enjoyed the book, especially the satisfying twist at the end. The writing was strong, the characters were well developed, and the mystery held my interest through to the finish.

I loved this book! Any book that mentions librarian as the main character catches my eye as a retired one myself, even if they are an ex-one. Angela inherits her grandmother’s old mansion but can’t sell it. She plans to turn it into a B & B. That’s where our hero comes into the story, Roen, as the one who is going to help her remodel the old house. When a body if found behind a wall, that’s when things get really interesting and many secrets are slowly revealed. I really liked the main characters and thought they had good chemistry. All the many other characters were well drawn and thought there were a lot of them, I didn’t have a whole lot of trouble distinguishing between them. The plot was very twisty and a couple of times show more I got a little lost but overall could follow what was happening. The final twist really surprised me. In the end I highly recommend this. Finished it in one day. show less

“Don’t Believe A Word” by Patty Blount is a wonderful Long Island mystery full of local color, history, gossip, and intrigue.
PLOT: The night of Fourth of July 1970, Walter Lowery disappeared from Pequot Point, Long Island, NY. There is no debate that he was bad news. He was a womanizer, scoundrel, and abusive to his wife and family. That night, he disappeared along with his teenaged mistress and approximately $200,000 of local money donated for three bogus municipal projects. For most it was good riddance to bad trash, but for those who donated money int was a generational thorn. Decade later, Walter’s granddaughter, Angela Austin, inherited the family home from Gram, Walter’s wife. There is one stipulation in Gran’s will: show more she cannot sell the house or property. Angela is determined to turn the massive home into a B&B, and she turns to the Wright family to modernize and upgrade the house. Roan “RJ” Wright is someone Angela had a crush on as a teenager. Now he is even sexier and they are working closely together. Then the body of Walter is found in the basement. Who killed him? Is Gram guilty? Was it RJ’s grandfather who was in love with Gram? What happened to his mistress who also disappeared? Her sister wants to know! And EVERYONE wants to know where is ALL that money? Some are willing to do anything to get their hands on it!
TRIGGER WARNING: There is violence and abuse against women in this book. If this is a trigger for you, don’t read this book. Most of the physical violence happens off screen, but it is discussed and the results are there. I was alive in the 1960s. Don’t try to apply 21st views to the past. Yeah, for some that is the way it was. Things were different for girls and women back then. Many lived with horrible abuse and male dominance. Few talked about it. Most turned a blind eye when they saw it.
POSITIVE: I love this book!!! I lived on the North Fork of Long Island and have a good idea where this imaginary town is situated. Some of the family names, especially the Reeves, are old family names with descendants still out there. I knew them. This book brought back many memories of my time there.
The historic mystery is great. I love mysteries when modern people try to solve mysteries from decades or even centuries ago. Angela is not an amateur sleuth. She is just trying to prove her grandmother was innocent. For her, it is personal. Gran was a kindhearted, loving person. She could not have possibly killed her husband…could she????
NEGATIVE: This book needs an editor. There are missing words, duplicated phrases, and wrong words. It is not horrible. The biggest books by well-known authors have one or two. This book, however, has more than that.
Just a note to the author from someone who was a college librarian. College libraries use the Library of Congress system of organizing books. Public libraries use the Dewey Decimal system. For example, in LC, Shakespeare begins at PR2750+ while in Dewey Shakespeare is 822.33. Quite different.
CONCLUSION: I recommend this book. Wonderful mystery. Lots of local color. Multiple love stories. show less