Tag Archives: fiction

Review: Lucky Stiff — Deborah Coonts

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Lucky Stiff is the exciting follow up to Wanna Get Lucky? and the 2nd book in series. I was expecting another gripping caper with little momentum in Lucky’s personal life, but I was pleasantly surprised.

When the book begins, the Vegas strip is shut down when a beekeeper’s truck full of honeybees tips over in front of the Babylon, unleashing a giant swarm of P.O.ed honeybees. Lucky finds the district attorney, naked, hiding in a closet in the Babylon. A skanky, old bookie, “Numbers” Neidermeyer, turns up in the Mandalay Bay shark tank. The #1 suspect in the murder happens to be The Beautiful Jeremy Whitlock, private investigator and personal friend of Lucky’s. Teddie Kowalski, Lucky’s now boyfriend and female impersonator heads to LA to chase a recording career (at Lucky’s urging), but it leaves her feeling alone. Lucky’s mom, Mona, plans to auction a virgin while Lucky’s parents, still in love, give it another try in the newer, maybe less judgemental Las Vegas.

Interestingly, this case takes Lucky through the remaining side streets and scruffy characters of old Las Vegas. That is the side of Vegas that is so intriguing. Reading this book I kept thinking, this reads like the plot of CSI. Part of that resemblance was the shark tank thing, but mostly it’s just exceptionally gripping murder mystery.

As Coonts’ Lucky O’Toole series progresses, I hope to see some more development of supporting characters, like Mona — who could be far more of a force than she has been (thought its been hinted at). I also hope the series doesn’t end up to tightly wound around Lucky’s love life. The near-androgeny of Lucky, a powerful woman, combined with some stereotypically female personality traits makes her a breath of fresh air as a female lead. I hope that, though it may be tough to keep her walking that line, Coonts‘ manages to do it.

Interested in other books by Deborah Coonts?


Review: Wanna Get Lucky? — Deborah Coonts

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Deborah Coonts Wanna Get Lucky? is the first in an exciting mystery series that I’ll absolutely be following. Wanna get Lucky? introduces Lucky O’Toole, the smart, self-made, snappy head of customer relations for The Babylon, a premier Las Vegas casino. Lucky’s sarcastic banter is both endearing and hilarious.

While the Babylon is not a real place, Coonts’ creation fits right in on the strip. It should, the author lives in Las Vegas. The descriptions of life and land in Vegas are right on target. The interior of The Babylon is a mix of some of Vegas’ most well known hotel/resorts and I almost felt like been inside the Babylon before.

Starting off this caper novel with a bang…or a splash, Lyda Sue Stalnaker plunges to her death from a helicopter straight into the Treasure Island pirate lagoon. Why does this matter to Ms. O’Toole, head of another casino’s customer relations? Because the logo on the side of the chopper, displayed prominently on the local evening news, was that of The Babylon. Lucky also deals with a naked man in a Babylon stairwell, the Adult Film Awards banquet being hosted at Babylon, and her best friend, Teddy, (a female impersonator) pushing for more than friendship, while a sexy security guard begs her attention.

Lucky pushes her personal life to the back burner while she unravels the mystery of Lyda Sue’s demise. Coonts created an exciting, diverse group of characters who add humor, complexity, and humanity to the world of Lucky O’Toole. Her mother, the gorgeous and successful madame of her own brothel just outside the city is just one shining example. Even supporting characters to just this novel’s plot line are well-crafted, fleshed out people – believable in their element and interesting.

Gotta get the comparison out of the way now: If you like Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, Deborah Coonts’ Lucky O’Toole series will likely win your heart.

Review of Lucky Stiff, Lucky O’Toole #2, coming this week. The third book, So Damn Lucky, scheduled for release in February 2012, but you can pre-order right now.

Official Author Biography

“Deborah Coonts, author of Lucky Stiff, says her mother tells her she was born in Texas a very long time ago, though she’s not totally sure — her mother can’t be trusted. But she was definitely raised in Texas on barbeque, Mexican food and beer. She currently resides in Las Vegas, where family and friends tell her she can’t get into too much trouble. Silly people. Coonts has built her own business, practiced law, flown airplanes, written a humor column for a national magazine, and survived a teenager. She is the author of Wanna Get Lucky?, the first in a series of Lucky O’Toole Vegas adventures.”

Interested in other books by Deborah Coonts?


Review: Bite Me (Love Story #3) — Christopher Moore

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The third and final book in Christopher Moore’s Love Story series, I hope, was dismal by comparison to the first two. The hilarity and charm of Tommy and Jody’s back and forth in Bloodsucking Fiends is gone in this book. We spend the majority of the book inside the head of Abby Normal, whose interjections in You Suck were quite amusing, but whose perverted use of language just grated on my nerves by the end of #3.

Bite Me does have some saving graces that make it worth reading, especially if you’ve already read #1 and #2. First, for me, was learning the term douche nozzle from Abby. Some of her smartass exchanges had me laughing til I nearly peed. (Seriously, click that link and read pg. 31 — probably NSFW.)

After Chet, the giant cat-friend of the homeless guy, is turned, the city becomes overrun with vampire kitties. Jody’s maker is in deep for letting that happen, the cop duo Rivera and Cavuto find out that Jody and Tommy have not left the city, Steve-with-the-Honda-Civic becomes a hero, and”oh-my-fucking-God-ponies-in-the-barbecue,” as Abby says, this book is just chaos. Funny chaos, but perhaps in need of a bit more editing.

You will laugh (as long as you are a fan of Moore’s sense of humor), but don’t expect too much from this one. It is not even close to Moore’s best work.

Grab Bite Me: A Love Story used from Amazon, under $5.


Review: You Suck (Love Story #2) — Christopher Moore

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I read the first book in Christopher Moore’s Love Story trilogy, Bloodsucking Fiends, last summer. One year later, I’ve finally finished the other two. You Suck (Love Story #2) was another quick, hilarious read. Bloodsucking Fiends ended with Jody and her maker bronzed in Tommy’s apartment. In his guilt, Tommy drilled holes near Jody’s ears, so she could hear him. He didn’t know that she had learned to turn to mist. The story begins, ”You bitch, you killed me! You Suck!”

No more spoilers, but this book introduces a lot more characters and includes all your favorites from the first. The Animals acquire a dyed-blue hooker from Vegas. Tommy acquires a teenage goth chick, Abby Normal, whose diary entry-style narrative is hilarious. She flip flops between teeny-bopper, gothic-speak, French, and hip-hop speak. I really enjoyed the Abby Normal parts in this book.

Google Books has a LOT of preview pages of this book, so if you’ve never read Moore or aren’t sure if this is up your alley, you can read a good chunk of it here.

I thought the first book was much funnier, but You Suck was a good read. If you’ve read Bloodsucking Fiends and liked it, it’s worth your time to pick up You Suck and Bite Me.

Pick up You Suck: A Love Story used from Amazon for less than $1.


Review: Airmail — Naomi Bulger

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Airmail is one of the most engaging, thought provoking novellas I’ve ever read. In short order, Naomi Bulger delves into the possibilities of story telling. This quirky, left of center story sucks the reader into a sometimes magical world that seems to balance between the possible and impossible. Those of you who, like me, have enjoyed work from Through the Looking Glass to Donnie Darko will immensely enjoy Airmail. In some ways it reminded me a bit of the movie Mary and Max.

GL Solomon leads a life of solitude in Sydney, Australia, except for the days when the postman delivers letters from a strange woman, Anouk, in NYC via airmail. The chaotic letters become both part of his routine and a stressor. As her paranoia about a stalker in a pink tracksuit increases, her letters become more alarming. Eventually, when the woman claims that she is writing him from The Other Side, he decides to use his as-yet-stampless passport to travel to New York.

Bulger’s narrative prowess is a wonderful addition to the magic realism genre. I look forward to more from her in the future. I highly recommend Airmail. For a little preview, listen to Bulger read the first chapter.

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