The Babbling Brook Naked Poker Club: Book One by Ann WarnerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I got this free from a newsletter. I don't usually read "cozy" books but the name was funny so I decided to give it a try. The rotating first-person is always a little annoying because I listen to the books in my car so I don't see the words for the most part, which sometimes makes it hard to know at first whose turn it is, but it wasn't too hard to figure out. Which really that's more my problem but I digress--
There is no nudity among the old people in the book. The "naked poker" involves telling stories. And at first you might think this is going to be the whole thing, but then the strong-willed Josephine and handwriting analyst Lillian find out that an aide is stealing money from residents and some valuable objects have gone missing. They enlist Devi, an aide with a mysterious past, to help them along with a local cop.
Most of it is pretty light until the last act. I was annoyed by the plot to steal the painting because it didn't really make much sense. Hide it under the victim's bed and then ransom it? That seemed really silly. Especially since there had already been mention of an empty apartment; they could have stashed the painting there where no one would be likely to look for a few days. And then I'm not really sure one character actually needed to be shot; that seems a little too hardcore for a "cozy" book. Couldn't the guy have just tried to grab her and she's saved by the cop? But then I suppose that would have complicated things with Josephine's plot. Still, times like that I wish I'd been a beta reader for it.
But for the most part it was a fun book and I enjoyed the main characters. I would like to read more about them, so I'm rounding up to 4 stars.
That is all.
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment