Stella Get Your Man by Nancy Bartholomew

Stella Valocchi left her cheating boyfriend in Florida and moved back to her hometown in Pennsylvania. There she formed a private investigation company with her former fiancé, Jake Carpenter – the man who was responsible for her moving to Florida in the first place. In order to make ends meet, they do odd jobs, even reposing a Santa’s sleigh with all its reindeer. Then one day, a client walks through their door and offers them big money to locate her brother. But big money is not necessarily easy money and Stella finds herself in the middle of car chases, gunshots, kidnapping and even a dead body or two. Can Stella avoid getting killed long enough to unravel the case, or will she end up floating in the river?

Okay Bombshell fans. This one’s for you. :) And the next one (and perhaps the next one and … )

Seriously, this is a good book. The comments on the cover hint that fans of Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum will enjoy her writing style and I think they’re right. This book is written in first person and has a relatively fast pace, like the Plum books and has a plot worthy of Evanovich, though Nancy’s sense of humor isn’t quite so over the top – instead the story has a more realistic feel. There were only two downsides to this book. First, it’s the second in the series – something I didn’t realize when I found it. Second, there is a sequel and yes, Nancy did leave a few threads unresolved so the story will carry over to the next book. So that means there are two books I need to find and add to my ever growing to-be-read pile.

Details: Bombshell #25, January 2005

Bottom line: A very good book