Title:
January Kills Me
Author: Evan Katy
Review: Samantha Rialto, middle school music teacher, is
trying to pick up some extra cash after divorcing her abusive ex-cop husband.
She has a fear of moths and tries hard to do the right thing but ends up making
a mess of everything. She decides to employ her photographic skills by
following cheating husbands and providing evidence to the wives. After
witnessing the murder of a client's husband and his paid "date", she
finds herself in a whole lot of trouble and on the run from a killer, who now
wants her dead.
Evan Katy created a
loveable and funny heroine who is surrounded by a cast people who could be your
best friends. Sam finds herself in the
middle of a mystery she wants nothing to do with but can't get away from
because the Killer seems to be attacking everyone she knows or cares
about. Ben Parker, Sam's ex husbands
partner, cares for Sam but never asked the right questions when her ex-husband
drunkenly killed another cop. They are
now are forced together and he is asking the right questions causing Sam to
tell him the truth about what happened to her marriage. Ben finds himself drawn to Sam hoping to keep
her safe and hopefully a possible romance.
Sam has an inner monolog
that seems to be vocalized causing the reader to laugh out loud and enjoy the
funny places Sam finds herself.
There is a romance
triangle but it’s more fun to read causing for some good laughs. Ben needs to wire Sam to figure out who might
have murdered the man in the alley, but when someone tries to kill Sam, coming
out of nowhere, she is reminded of Batman. The more Sam wants Ben out of her
life the more he finds ways of being there.
Maxie, Sam's best friend,
is every girl’s best friend and someone you want by you side though thick and
thin. She is a strong person who keep Sam sane when she feels she is losing her
mind and will protect Sam at all cost.
Maxie is brilliant but also very feisty and wants nothing more than to
kick someone butt to prove she is scary.
As I finished the book I was excited to find
there were two more and I quickly bought them and enjoyed reading them from
beginning and end and can't wait to see what happens next to Sam, Maxie, Ben
and the rest of the cast who you can't help but fall in love with.
This book is a laugh out
loud fun read with dark moments that are lighten with humor. The reader will find themselves reading this
book over and over again. The reader
will never guess who the murderer(s) are until the end of the book and even
than she keeps you guessing until the last page. I couldn't put this book down even if I
wanted to because it drew me in from the first chapter with the attack of the
moth to the very end.
The book is .99 one kindleAmazon and well worth it and more. Thanks Heidi for the review.
Publishers: Published May 1st 2011 (first published 2011)
ISBN: B004YWQKVS
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 228
Kindle Edition
Quick Review: 5 stars (out of 5)
Why did I read it: It looked funny and was only 99 cents at Amazon.
Synopsis: January Kills Me is a romantic comedy, an action filled
mystery and a cautionary tale of how not to go about recovering from a divorce.
For those who like laugh-out-loud funny alongside poignant self-discovery and
reclamation of a life gone askew, this novel will fill that requirement.
Samantha
Rialto, a recently divorced, defensively snarky middle school music teacher,
has taken up surveillance photography as a way to fill the gaps in her
educator’s salary. As the daughter of the former Chief of Police it seemed like
a reasonable choice for a side job. That is until a particularly cold week in
January when Sam finds herself entangled in a mystery involving dead people,
copious amounts of cash and a nutty Tai Chi enthusiast.
In a
deserted alley two people are murdered and Sam is the only witness. Ben Parker,
the detective assigned to the case, is not happy to see her again. A year ago
his former partner, Harry Rialto – Sam’s ex-husband – killed a fellow cop in a
bar brawl, single handedly tarnishing the local police reputation. Sam never
spoke about how Harry treated her while they were married and she isn’t going
to start now, even though Ben’s questions about the alley crime scene and her
inability to answer them bring up old frustrations and ignite a surprising (and
inconvenient) attraction.
Before long,
Sam finds herself outfitted with a wire at dinner, nearly run over by a car,
and shot at by a trained sniper. Her carefully constructed existence,
post-divorce, begins to crumble as the widow of one of the victims refuses to
leave her alone, her ex-husband begins stalking her and Ben’s sexy crime
fighting skills cause a mild anxiety attack. When key evidence shows up linking
Samantha to the murders, things become much more sinister. With the help of her
best friend Maxie, Sam will tap into reserves of inner strength left scarce
after her wrenching divorce and will have to use more than her considerable wit
to stay alive.
Author Biography: Evan Katy was born and raised in Southern
California. True to her roots she frequently visits Disneyland with her
children, loves the Dodgers, and relaxes to the sound of ocean waves. She is
currently busy writing the continuing adventures of Samantha Rialto and working
on her middle grade science fiction story - A Breach in the Boundary.
Other Reviews:
No comments:
Post a Comment