Ginger High- Books R Us: REVIEW OF STILETTOS AND SCOUNDRELS BY L. TURNER

Monday, June 13, 2011

REVIEW OF STILETTOS AND SCOUNDRELS BY L. TURNER

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I want to welcome Laina Turner to Books R Us. She is the author of numerous non-fiction titles and Stilettos & Scoundrels is her first fiction novel. Thanks for stopping by.

Presley Thurman, a sassy, thirty-something red-head, was looking to reinvent herself. She didn't allow the fact she was recently fired to bother her - she was ready to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a writer. Presley is a lover of shopping and Starbucks, and even though she sometimes had bad taste in men, she always had great taste in clothes. Not looking back on corporate America, Presley decided to follow her dream. With her feisty nature and a spirit to not "sweat the small stuff," she was ready to tackle any challenge (even if she had no idea how she would pay the bills). When her friend Trevor offered her a job with his online magazine to interview public figures, she jumped at the chance. However, the new job turned into something unexpected when the U.S. Senator she was slated to write about was murdered - in her home town! Presley was excited - she hadn't seen so much buzz since the spring sample sale at Saks. She was ready for this adventure, even if it didn't seem to fit neatly into her life. She couldn't pass up the opportunity to be in the middle of the buzz. Presley was determined (not to mention curious) to find the killer and write her story. After all, she couldn't afford her shoe habit without a job and she was certainly not one to shy away from danger. The only thing standing in her way was an old high school fling, Cooper Sands, head of the Senator's security. He was not actually standing in her way, but because of his good looks, he was the biggest distraction and one she was having the hardest time overcoming. Cooper felt it was too dangerous for Presley to look for a killer and tried to distract her with reliving the past; which Presley found more dangerous than any killer. While she attempted to resist Cooper's good looks and charm, Presley was able to discover the Senator's wife, Helen, had been having an affair... with her best friend's boyfriend! Did Helen kill the Senator? Or was it the Senator's love of gambling that got him killed? And what was Cooper's secret tie to the mob boss Garrison Palazzo? Presley was betting her favorite pair of Manolo's she will find the killer... but will time run out!

My Thoughts-

The plot was interesting and fast moving. The story was written in Presley's point of view and there were times in the book that confused me because I was unsure of what character was speaking/thinking at the time. Because of that, I did not get to know the other characters very well. There was a lot of mystery and romance throughout the book that kept me engaged and when I though I knew who the killer was, there was new twist introduced in the storyline. I recommend this book to anyone who likes romance, mystery and looking for a summer read.

Author's Thoughts-

"Stilettos & Scoundrels is my first foray into fiction writing. As a avid reader all my life I always wanted to write but never had the confidence. When I finally decided to pursue my dream of being a author I didn't know I was in for such a fun time. Oh sure it's been hard and as I write the sequel to Stilettos, I think of how better I am at writing now. But it has been so satisfying to have accomplished a dream."