Book Review: Dirty Laundry

Author: Tori Carrington
Title: Dirty Laundry
Publisher: Forge Books
Publish Date: May 2, 20006
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: When Sofie Metropolis decided to stop being a waitress and start being a private detective, she had no idea what she was getting into. With only a few cases under her belt, Sofie has inherited a dead woman's mean-spirited Jack Russell; fallen hard for a mysterious, charming Australian bounty hunter; and gained a rep for an itchy trigger finger. She even shot one of her clients!

Sofie's mom suspects Sofie's dad is having an affair, and Sofie's seen enough cheating spouses to know that her father is keeping secrets. And though Jake Porter is more available than ever, Sofie finds herself torn between the Australian she barely knows and a handsome, available Greek who knows that the fastest way to Sofie's heart is through a bakery.

Searching for a missing dry cleaner who left behind a brand-new Mercedes and a not-so-brand-new wife, Sofie is attacked by . . . a plastic-swathed suit? Or was it one of Tony DiPiazza's goons? Tony being the junior-league Mobster who has his own reasons to want to get his finely-manicured hands on the dry cleaner's account books.

If Sofie's not careful, her favorite kicks are going to be replaced by a pair of cement overshoes . . . .
Review: I was sat on the fence with the first Sofie Metropolis book, but with Dirty Laundry I find myself really liking the series.

Sure it is like Evanovich's Plum series. There are a lot of parallel's including Sofie's use of the word "Probably." But for all those similarities, Sofie is different from Stephanie. She lacks a side kick and her family is way more quirky than the Plum household. She's also a girly girl, something which really can't be said for Stephanie.

In this book there's more cheating spouses, or so they think, a missing ferret and a missing dry cleaner.

Oh and then there's the mob! Tony DiPiazza, who wants to have "pasta" with Sofie, if you know what I'm saying. (wink wink, nudge nudge) I have to say one of the funniest moments of the book is when Sofie's apartment is broken into and Muffy is taped to the toilet. Poor little Muffy!

There's a lot of funny stuff with Sofie, and her crush on Jake Porter, which almost made it to the bedroom is worth turning pages for. Hunky Aussie guys are always worth turning pages for.

The first book had trouble finding its footing, but with Dirty Laundry, Tori Carrington definitely has a winner. I look forward to reading more from this series. Hopefully they can keep things fresh and funny for awhile!

Rating: 4 flowers