Double Strike by Gretchen ArcherMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Have you ever sat in a public place reading a book and started to laugh out loud so heartily that people around you not only looked to see what was so funny but also smiled in appreciation that any book could produce such a reaction? Well, in places, this book produced that reaction. Davis Way is a young woman working security for a casino on Beach Road in Biloxi, Ms. She's engaged to a lawyer but her second divorce from her first husband, which she thought successful, apparently was not. She not only has to don various disguises for her job but she also is frequently called upon to disguise herself as the casino owner's wife when said snob does not wish to actually be present at some event, including a parent conference at her son's boarding school in New Hampshire. And, it would appear that there is a money laundering operation going on at the casino. How our girl, Davis, manages to keep all the spinning dinner plates in the air, produces a giddy ride that goes from Mississippi to Alabama to New Orleans and back again.
I've been to all the places described in the book and other than the fact that the boy's school is probably in Haverhill, Ma and not Haverhill, NH, it is pretty accurate--right down to the fact that touring Jefferson Davis' last abode, that belonged to some lady friend, not his wife, takes about three minutes. ( I live about half an hour from Haverhill,NH and equidistant from Montpelier, the site of a marriage other than Way's.)
All of the characters are delightful, even the immature fellow security guy, Baylor. Each in his and her own way make Davis' life easier or more difficult. Particularly funny is her grandmother and her husband but Bianca, the boss' wife is such a hoot as is Misty Jennings, the millionaire Christmas tree farm owner from Alabama. This is Book 3 of a series by Gretchen Archer and, though I'm a reader of several other series, I have to add this one to my repertoire.
It is interesting to note, in light of recent events, Davis' comments on the Alabama State flag having been designed to echo the Confederate flag and that both fly "high and proud, flagpole to flagpole, in each of the sixty-seven counties" of Alabama. One has to wonder how much longer that will be the case. In another part of the book, when she reconnects with fellow with whom she slept in college because she needs his computer hacker abilities in the money laundering case, she states that he is the type who likes to collect cats and name them after celebrity reality stars, including, among others, Bruce Jenner. Well, he has a few new options with that one, I guess.
This is a review of an uncorrected proof ARC provided me by Goodreads for an unbiased review. Unfortunately, the book went on sale on Oct 21, 2014--the day before Davis' wedding and two days before my big birthday bash at the Bellissimo Resort. So nice of Davis to arrange her wedding around my birthday plans--lol ( # Not True )
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