Review: Remember The Alimony
Remember The Alimony
Author: Bethany True
Mass Market Paperback: 321 pages Publisher: Dorchester Publishing Company (January 30, 2007) Language: English ISBN-10: 0843957883 ISBN-13: 978-0843957884
Retail: $6.99
From the Back Cover
"Tips from Delaney Davis-Daniels, former Miss Texas:
Avoid sleeping with the enemy. Even if your ex-husband's divorce attorney is the most luscious man you've ever met and you had no idea who he was when he gave you the most incredible night of your life.
Never let 'em catch you crying. When your slimeball former husband turns up dead and you're suspect #1, stay strong. After all, you have a gorgeous lawyer willing to do anything to help you prove your innocence--as long as he doesn't get disbarred first.
Know that love never follows the rules. All you can do is hang on for what's sure to be a wild ride."
Remember the Alimony is a terrific first novel by author Bethany True. Murder, mystery, romance and hot sex all rolled into a satisfying read. Unlike most cozy mysteries our heroine is not a sleuth, she's just trying to stay out of jail, keep her charitable foundation for girls afloat and possibly find the love of her life. Lucas, is torn between his friends opinion of the former Ms. Texas vs. the Delaney he has come to know, and possibly love. Possibly that is if he believed in love, which he didn't, at least not for himself.
The beginning of the book is mostly focused on Delaney and Lucas, their meeting and subsequent discovery of who they really are. Is she just looking to coerce the lawyer to ensure she gets the millions because she is the gold-digger her ex-husband describes her as, or is it just a matter of coincidence and is she really the injured party he suspects her to be, thanks to an unfaithful, scheming jerk she was unfortunate enough to marry. About mid way True adds the Killer to the mix, now that all the characters have been introduced, we get the killer's observations & thoughts from his POV, and while this doesn't always work in books, however in this case it does with using them sparingly in italics to identify them, also the author manages to keep these intervals short and relevant in moving the story along quickly.
I have to admit I waffled between a couple different suspects and it wasn't till nearly the end that I was fairly sure who the killer was. Even then with a bit of miss-direction I wasn't totally convinced, until about chapter thirty five or so was I sure I was correct, only to find I was correct but my second guess wasn't innocent either. The suspense isn't gripping, but just enough to keep you from wanting to put the book down until you find out what's going to happen next.
Anyway all's well that ends well and of course Delaney and Lucas get their HEA. All in all it was pretty well written, characters were likeable, or not, as they needed to be. Our hero definitely had some issues and was not exactly with out flaws, but I tend to like that in my fictional men. I loved the little "Pageant Tips" at the start of each chapter, never having done any pageant-ish things with my girls (thankgod!) I have no idea how applicable they are except they sound like really good advice, add to that they were amusing and each one very relevant to it's subsequent chapter I thought they were definitely a nice touch.
I really enjoyed this author's writing, a nice mix of dialogue and not overly heavy on the descriptive side. Sometimes authors get so involved in describing clothing, locations or even relationships of characters, the story gets buried. Ms. True describes just what is needed to set the mood, or the character and lets them tell the rest of the story. Her story moves along at a comfortable pace, and makes for a good and satisfying read. I would definitely recomend this book, and will be looking forward to more from Bethany True.
I give this book
Author: Bethany True
Retail: $6.99
From the Back Cover
"Tips from Delaney Davis-Daniels, former Miss Texas:
Avoid sleeping with the enemy. Even if your ex-husband's divorce attorney is the most luscious man you've ever met and you had no idea who he was when he gave you the most incredible night of your life.
Never let 'em catch you crying. When your slimeball former husband turns up dead and you're suspect #1, stay strong. After all, you have a gorgeous lawyer willing to do anything to help you prove your innocence--as long as he doesn't get disbarred first.
Know that love never follows the rules. All you can do is hang on for what's sure to be a wild ride."
Remember the Alimony is a terrific first novel by author Bethany True. Murder, mystery, romance and hot sex all rolled into a satisfying read. Unlike most cozy mysteries our heroine is not a sleuth, she's just trying to stay out of jail, keep her charitable foundation for girls afloat and possibly find the love of her life. Lucas, is torn between his friends opinion of the former Ms. Texas vs. the Delaney he has come to know, and possibly love. Possibly that is if he believed in love, which he didn't, at least not for himself.
The beginning of the book is mostly focused on Delaney and Lucas, their meeting and subsequent discovery of who they really are. Is she just looking to coerce the lawyer to ensure she gets the millions because she is the gold-digger her ex-husband describes her as, or is it just a matter of coincidence and is she really the injured party he suspects her to be, thanks to an unfaithful, scheming jerk she was unfortunate enough to marry. About mid way True adds the Killer to the mix, now that all the characters have been introduced, we get the killer's observations & thoughts from his POV, and while this doesn't always work in books, however in this case it does with using them sparingly in italics to identify them, also the author manages to keep these intervals short and relevant in moving the story along quickly.
I have to admit I waffled between a couple different suspects and it wasn't till nearly the end that I was fairly sure who the killer was. Even then with a bit of miss-direction I wasn't totally convinced, until about chapter thirty five or so was I sure I was correct, only to find I was correct but my second guess wasn't innocent either. The suspense isn't gripping, but just enough to keep you from wanting to put the book down until you find out what's going to happen next.
Anyway all's well that ends well and of course Delaney and Lucas get their HEA. All in all it was pretty well written, characters were likeable, or not, as they needed to be. Our hero definitely had some issues and was not exactly with out flaws, but I tend to like that in my fictional men. I loved the little "Pageant Tips" at the start of each chapter, never having done any pageant-ish things with my girls (thankgod!) I have no idea how applicable they are except they sound like really good advice, add to that they were amusing and each one very relevant to it's subsequent chapter I thought they were definitely a nice touch.
I really enjoyed this author's writing, a nice mix of dialogue and not overly heavy on the descriptive side. Sometimes authors get so involved in describing clothing, locations or even relationships of characters, the story gets buried. Ms. True describes just what is needed to set the mood, or the character and lets them tell the rest of the story. Her story moves along at a comfortable pace, and makes for a good and satisfying read. I would definitely recomend this book, and will be looking forward to more from Bethany True.
I give this book